Miking a harp

[Dubmaniac]

Hi tapeheads. On Thursday, I'm going to be running sound at an event. Specifically, I'll be miking a choir, a pipe and drum corps and an orchestral harp- no, not all at the same time, though that could be interesting! I'm not worried about the choir or the bagpipes, but I've never miked a harp before in my life! I've got an AT4047, a KSM27, an AKG D-200E, a Sony ECM-62P and three SM-58s. I wish I had a matched pair of good condensers, but wish in one hand, and you know the rest...

I've been thinking I would use the KSM27 on the harp, but the jury's still out. Out of the ones I have, what mic would you use on an orchestral harp, and, more importantly, where would you stick it? Don't forget, feedback is an issue. We won't be in a studio!

I know what you're thinking- this is a LIVE sound question, and I'm posting it on a recording forum. But I am thinking I'll roll tape on the whole event and see what I get. Plus, I'm willing to bet someone out there has miked a harp before, either to record it or for live sound, or for both purposes. As always, any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

Daddy Dub

[locosoundman]

For recording, there are two primary schools of thought - mic the strings or mic the soundboard. Mic'ing the strings from the side gets a nice "pluck," but there will be bleed all over it. Mic'ing the soundboard gives much better isolation, but adds more beef to the sound - not always a desirable thing.

For live sound you are probably better off mic'ing it down by the soundboard, but you'll probably want/need to use a bass rolloff. I would be curious to hear how an SM58 would work - I wouldn't consider it for recording, but for a live sound situation it might work just fine.

[philbo]

Try to find out how noisy the environment is - - harp has a lot of very quiet detail that is easy to lose in the noise floor. For a quiet room, I'd suggest a ribbon 4 - 6 feet away, and an ambient mic 15 or more feet away. If the room is noisy at all, add a good quality contact mic or PZM.
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[Dubmaniac]

I forgot to mention- this gig is outdoors, in a park, so I don't have to worry about room noise- I have to worry about kids yelling, dogs barking, AND the firestation around the corner. Who says running live sound isn't fun?!?

To be honest, I'm not worried so much about capturing the intricacies of the harp- I'm thinking more about just hurling as much sound as possible at the audience, without feedback. If it happens to sound pretty, well, great!

One last thing- I don't have any PZMs or contact mics- just the ones I listed earlier- unless someone wants to send me one before Thursday!

[japmn]

Harps are really hard in live sound applications. I would use several (3-4) mics on the body at equally spaced intervals where the strings meet the body and one at the horn opening to grab the lows. mics on the strings from the side will not render much usable tone for an outside park type show.

Good Luck.

[vvv]

See this Albini thread going on right now. Somewhere around page 25 of that linked thread, he talks about mic'ing a harp with, I believe 5 crown mics he taped on it (contact mic's?), a better LDC a foot or so out and an ambient mic.

This is what I recall, but better check as above.

[locosoundman]

Is this outdoor live sound for a park gig?

Somehow having LDC's flapping about in the breeze and trying to plug in five contact or PZM mic's between stage changes just doesn't seem practical. Just wait till the thunderstorm comes...

If it is simply the "live sound for a park" option, one thing I should have mentioned is that some harps have a pickup. If this is the case a DI would be a handy thing to have around.

Give me a 58, a DI, and pass the sunscreen...

[Dubmaniac]

Locosoundman- you nailed it! It was in a park. I say was because I just got done unloading all my stuff. Every time I lug my speakers, my arms grow another inch! Anyway, it went better than I thought it would. Turns out the harp player DID have a pickup after all, and I DID bring a direct box after all, so it wasn't much of a problem. The only thing that went wrong was that I had set up my KSM27 on her soundboard, to use along with the DI, and she kept moving it to use it as a mike for announcing her songs, then she'd leave it off the soundboard. I finally ran out there while she was tuning up between songs, grabbed the KSM27 away from her and gave her a 58, just to keep down the feedback. The harp sounded surprisingly good with her pickup and my DI. This afternoon, while I was packing up my gear, I came across the DI and figured "what the hell- I'll bring it". Good thing I did!

Hey- thanks to everyone who replied. I really appreciate all the input I got- you guys are all right! Just remember, the next time you're packing up your gear, if you're not sure if you should bring something, bring it if you can. It might be exactly what you need. I guess that's today's lesson... now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to take my tired self to bed, long arms and all...