Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player

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windsurfer25x
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2009/10/19 09:33:19 (permalink)

Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player

Hey all,
 
My girlfriend's brother-in-law's mother is a professional harp player... apparently at a national level of competence... so I sent a message her way that I'd like to record some of music for free...
 
I have no experience recording harps... or anything like it really. Does anyone have any suggestions. I was probably going to rent some equipment from the local store... I have no idea about what an optimal mic setup would be. I'm looking for ideas and suggestions....


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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/19 09:41:35 (permalink)
    Is he going to play thru a 5E3 amp?

    Or are you going to record the actual instrument?


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    windsurfer25x
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/19 09:42:47 (permalink)
    She would be playing the actual harp


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    vinski
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/19 09:48:56 (permalink)
    I would put a condenser mic near the bottom of the harp facing up to capture the finger strokes and maybe some lower freq., then I'd place another condenser about 10 inches away to the opposite side dead centre for the warmth.

    All just guessing of course.  I've never even stood within 10 metres of someone actually playing a harp so I've no idea of the behaviour of the beast! 
    Mind you, there was once an old man playing the saw with a violin bow in Bath town centre once.  He was amazing.

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    feedback50
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/19 12:25:48 (permalink)
    I'm assuming this is a concert harp and not an Celtic harp??? I've never recorded one, but we had to write for them in college (complete with little pictographs for the pedal positions). According to the Owsinski book there may be differing timbres since there may be a combination of steel, gut and nylon on the same harp (differing by range). The sound of course comes from the sounding board so a bit of distance (3 feet) may your friend. Acoustics start to play a role here the more you back away from the instument as well as how quiet your room is. It will be something like a piano, so if you close mic be prepared to deal with some dynamic range. A concert harp is a bit like a pedal steel in that pedals are used to tweak the string tuning. The pedal mechanism could make some noise if the pedals are to be shifted during the piece, so you may not be able to go too low on the sounding  board. Similarly, I believe the upper arch has the cam mechanisms that change the pitch although I wouldn't expect them to make much noise.

    Owsinski suggests a mic 2 feet to one side and a foot ahead of the harpist (and four feet off the floor).  If noise is a problem a figure 8 mic aimed at the sound board is reccommended (usually in an orchestra). Another approach suggested is a clip on mic tucked into a sound hole. Another suggestion is a small condensor 2/3 up the sound board (about a foot away).

    good luck. sounds  like a fun project.

    RC
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    rob.pulman
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/20 05:44:55 (permalink)
    I thought you were talking about recording a harmonica when I read this lol.

    I used to play the Welsh harp in school, but not even thought about recording one. I know the soundbox will be very important for the bottom end, and you'll need to record near the strings at some point. A lot of the strings are very short and nylon, so picking up the real highs up toward the player end may be a challenge too.

    Not much use this I know, but would be interested to hear your recorded instrument when it gets done.

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    The Maillard Reaction
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    Re:Help!! Possibly recording professional harp player 2009/10/20 07:12:06 (permalink)
    "I thought you were talking about recording a harmonica when I read this lol."

    Me too. :-) :-(

    A string harp?

    I'd record that in X/Y stereo in a nice room from several feet out.

    If the room isn't great... move in closer and try M/S

    best regards,
    mike


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