Other Engineer's Commentary
Another Viewpoint

I have added this page as I receive comments from other engineers and harpists on what does and does not work for them. I find this very valuable as there is no single right solution for all harp sound and recording gigs. Celtic harps and harpists differ, rooms vary, audience size can be dramatically different, uses are multitude and of course, skills levels range from neophyte to crusty veteran. If you have a comment, email me and I will give due consideration to adding it to this page.

Stephen V

hi steve

I use the barcus-barry planar wave system
it's for harps or pianos
the pick-up goes on the outside of the soundboard
on any size harp (5,4,or 3 oct.)
the pick-up includes it's own pre-amp (sits on the floor under my gig stool)
which in turn plugs into my polytone bass-keyboard amp
the only EQ I use is rolling off (turning down the bass)
the mid and high range I set at 0 (no EQ)
it sounds great and never needs to be changed for any gig
of course, I always have my harp on a small carpet, to decrease any vibrations from contact with floor
I also need to re-tune if someone opens a drafty door

now...the barcus-berry system retails around $260
my amp is $1,200 (it has 3 inputs with dedicated EQ for each) I sing and play a bow harp also!
you can get a polytone amp with 1 imput that sounds great, for around $600
it's called the mini-brute....many of my student have purchased them
will last for a lifetime

I know how frustrating all of this can be
quality is quality, and it ain't cheap

good luck
shawn (sassafrass harps)

ps. 14 years ago I bought my polytone, new, for $450....now that's inflation!!!!!
it's still going strong.....yahoo

The only bargain is the gear that does the job well

Stephen V

Hi Stephen,
The session went ok.
I finally record with 1 mike on the sweet point (U87), and 2 stereos above
and in front of the harp.
The musician really liked the sweet point.
The stereo's just gave a little bit of air and the mono was nearly enough!
My room is not big but well designed by an acoustician.
The music was very "improvised contemporary".
I just had trouble to record when she was only "brushing" the strings (very
low noise). I had to change the mikes.

Thanks again for your help that gave me confidence.

Jean-marc B.
Paris France

Jean-marc was looking for a recording method and tried the first method on my recording page. Then trusting his ears and knowing his recording room's capabilities he morphed the set-up and settled into the format as he used above. That is how all sound should be done - gain confidence as necessary and then trust your hearing.

Stephen V

Hi Stephen:
First, I thank-you for the thorough and thoughtful section on your website regarding amplification. I was doing my research last Spring and am quite satisfied with my choice of crate taxi and paracoustic DI, which I based quite a bit on the information you shared.
The back-story: I hired a friend of mine (sound engineer in a major theatre) to help me establish levels on the paracoustic DI while I was at the Celtic harp. Both he and my wife are quite satisfied with the amplified sound quality.
My question: it seems that the volume adjustments on the crate taxi are hairline adjustments. . . one millimeter movement of the dial. Any more than that and the volume shift can be too much. Does your experience seem similar?
Gratefully,
Martin
Ashland, OR

Thanks for the compliments, Martin

You got it first time! Finicky preamp. There is some kind of shelf in the onboard Taxi preamp. Below it and all is quiet and above it nothing apparently happens (but beware as too high and you will get periodic static farts out of the speaker) but inside the shelf micro-movements create buckets of volume.

I set the +/- volume on the Para-acoustic DI to zero (12 o'clock) and set the Taxi #1 channel preamp level to the maximum volume I may go for that particular gig. I keep the setting on the shelf not above it.

All volume adjustments during the gig are done on the DI which is much easier to control with more macro-movements.

Have fun and always try to bounce the music off the ceiling first. It can sound wonderful that way or conversely you can send the signal right across the room.

Stephen V

Hello Stephen.
I enjoyed Alison's site, and the info you contributed.
I wanted to add another possibility to the angle of amplifying harps:
I often work with a couple of classical harpists, and one of them recently showed up to a (notoriously troublesome) gig with a pair of these: http://www.c-ducer.com/
WOW.
With the c-ducers inside, and a high-placed AKG C-1000 for plucking and clarity, I had a harp sound like I have never gotten before.
Full range, smooth, clear, and LOUD.
They aren't cheap- but good gear often isn't.
I heartily recommend you try them out.
Take care- good gigging.

Jeff "Biff" LeGrand
BiffTech Sound and Lighting
Lethbridge Alberta Canada

Thanks Biff
I have been tempted by the C-ducer as it has a lot of strong characteristics suitable to harping. I would like to try one sometime. The C-1000 I am a little more cautious about as it tends to over-emphasise the upper frequencies. This works well with softer more dark sounding harps like gut strung concert harps but could be way over the top on a brighter sounding Celtic harp, wire strung or South American harp especially if played with the nails. The AT4041 and the Octava MC012A come to mind as an alternative.

Stephen V
Harpsound Audio

Here is an excellent article. Recording the Celtic harp by Darhon Rees-Rohrbacher (appeared in Folk Harp Journal spring 1999 issue)

Stephen V
Harpsound Audio

I will add your knowledge and experience to the “mix” if it can add to the effectiveness of these articles. The rest of the Celtic Harp Amplification Series is available here.

Stephen Vardy
Harpsound Audio
[email protected]