tracking harmonica
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tracking harmonica
I'm having a hard time coming up with a good harp sound. I'm using a blues harp and I've tried out a bunch of mics and preamps and can't come up with much. My ADK TC through the OSA L3 is accentuating a little too much high end in the wrong places. A Heil PR20 or Cascade Fathead are getting a little honky. The ADK A51 is close, but still lacking. Anybody got any suggestions? This isn't a blues riff or anything. It's Americana kinda stuff. Anything to get unstuck. I'm gonna go track vocals.
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Best harmonica sound I've gotten was with a Shure 330 (re-ribboned by Marik) through a JLM 99v preamp. I didn't need any EQ at all. Sat right on top of the mix.
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- JGriffin
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I have generally double-miked harmonica: one mic is the "clean" mic, an AKG 414 or Shure KM44, or sometimes an EV 667, and right next to it a "dirty" setup-- Shure SM58 or 545 running into a small guitar amp, which is then miked with another 58 or 545. Print to two tracks and blend to taste.
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"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
- losthighway
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This sounds dumb, but I've never had problems getting a decent mic sound when I leave up the condenser I was recording vocals with, with the pop filter in front of it. I record the harp in front of the popfilter about a foot away from the condenser. Sounds like what it sounds like. Not the most character, but a straight delivery.
- heylow
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Absolutely! That's all I've done anytime it's just straight harp....it's all over my record as well. In my case, the SM-7 and the RED B7 did a stellar job. When I record myself this way, I actually do NOT use the pop filter and I'll even rest my pinky on the capsule and just *slightly* cup for just a taste of vibe.losthighway wrote:This sounds dumb, but I've never had problems getting a decent mic sound when I leave up the condenser I was recording vocals with, with the pop filter in front of it. I record the harp in front of the popfilter about a foot away from the condenser. Sounds like what it sounds like. Not the most character, but a straight delivery.
Sounds great!
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Re: tracking harmonica
It seems like some of the other suggestions are either for mics with a more inconspicuous upper range (e.g., ribbon) or a real pretty one (vocal condenser).aaronaustin wrote:My ADK TC through the OSA L3 is accentuating a little too much high end in the wrong places.
I like the tc but it isn't either one of those things. Its best feature (that big bottom it can get) is pretty useless for the frequencies where the harmonica lives, I would think.
- JGriffin
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Not dumb at all. Most of the time when I use the setup I described above, the only thing that changes from a/the vocal tracking setup is the addition of the "dirty" mic, the one through the amp.losthighway wrote:This sounds dumb, but I've never had problems getting a decent mic sound when I leave up the condenser I was recording vocals with, with the pop filter in front of it. I record the harp in front of the popfilter about a foot away from the condenser. Sounds like what it sounds like. Not the most character, but a straight delivery.
"Jeweller, you've failed. Jeweller."
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
"Lots of people are nostalgic for analog. I suspect they're people who never had to work with it." ? Brian Eno
All the DWLB music is at http://dwlb.bandcamp.com/
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thanks for all of the responses. this really helps. There are some great ideas to try here. Also, percussion boy, thanks for the info on the TC. I guess I should have realized that by now, but I haven't had a decent monitoring setup for very long. I've been spending a lot of time tracking drums with them and they work great for that. I guess I just picked up the most expensive mic I had and figured I should use it for vocals *gasp*. So, I was actually just trying to use my vocal setup for the harp. I guess this has helped me see that I really need to change out vocal mic, cause the problems with the harp have made me realize how much vocals are lacking. I've been thinking about trying out a heil pr30 or 40, but the cash isn't there right now. I figure that's more along the lines of the SM7.
- centurymantra
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I've usually found an off-axis mic to help out - usually aiming from above...sometimes slightly off to the side. I do really like ribbons on the harmonica. An M160 can be good and found the Crowley & Tripp Naked Eye to be kind of a magical harmonica mic. I like using two mics, one of them being a condenser quite a ways off...like 6-8 feet away. I'll just move around the studio with the condenser until the blend with the close mic clicks. Oddly enough, I've gotten some of the best results with a close mic and a SDC way off to the side and near to the floor.
One mic I like to point out and suggest for harmonica is, believe it or not, the AKG D112. Kinda drab on a kick drum (IMHO), but it gets an awesome retro kind of tone on harmonica. Try it out if you have one.
One mic I like to point out and suggest for harmonica is, believe it or not, the AKG D112. Kinda drab on a kick drum (IMHO), but it gets an awesome retro kind of tone on harmonica. Try it out if you have one.
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"Pop music is sterile, country music is sterile. That's one of the reasons I keep going back to baseball" - Doug Sahm
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