Audio/video recording

[reyesarpa]

Hi there!

I want to have some good quality recording of myself and I’m looking for recording machines to buy.

I like Zoom Q2n or Q4n, some musician friends said the sound quality with these portable recorders is quite good but I would like to know if it works as well when recording harp sound.

Has anybody tried them?

Or, Do you recommend any other brand/model?

Thank you!!!

[eaglelady11]

this article is by Kristina Finch from a previous issue and is about recording devices.  This article is from dusty Springs about devices.  

 

and finally,, you may want to contact Kolacny music in Denver and ask for Dave, the harp expert. He knows everything harp!

[tracey-kjonegaard]

Hi there!!

I did a lot of research before purchasing a recording device and I can give some input on what I bought.

I ended up buying a Zoom H4N. From my research, this is like a “tried and true” field recorder. I thought about getting a newer model Zoom, one that looked nicer and more compact etc.. but the H4N seemed to have overall better reviews and of course, it’s an older/ more “established” model so I trusted the reviews more.

It works well for recording things outside (bird sounds, wind/trees, traffic etc…) as well as inside, recording my harp. I self-recorded and self-released an EP in 2015 and got great feedback on my recording quality from some harpists. I’ll link my website at the bottom if you want to listen to hear the quality of it. Its an XY microphone which (I think) means that it has two microphones on top to do the recording. I know that there are various settings that you can set them to if you want to get fancy with the recording but I just use something basic to record my music.

Lastly, the H4N is easy to use and there are a lot of youtube videos on it if you can’t figure it out. It’s a product thats been out there for awhile and I can tell you, it’s worth the money for what I use it for. I’m sure that there are a lot more features that you can use with it but if you just need it for personal use, it would be fine. (though, I’m sure if you need it for professional use as well, depending on what you need, it could be handy for that too!)

It’s a little bit bulkier than some of the newer models that you can find but like I said, it had great reviews and I got the recommendation from other musicians so I went with it.

 

If you’re interested in hearing the recording quality, my music is at wretchedwren.bandcamp.com

I did minor editing to my songs (like adding reverb effects etc..) but you can still tell how good the quality is.

Hope this helps!! Good luck!

 

Tracey

 

[billooms]

Tracey — could you give more details about how you placed the microphone? How far away from the soundboard? Place higher up, toward the bottom, in the middle? A photo of the microphone near your harp would be nice to see.

Thanks,

Bill

[teifiharps]

Hi Tracey, what do you intend to use the recordings for?

[tracey-kjonegaard]

Hi Bill!

I placed my microphone about 1-2 feet away from the bottom of my harp. Unfortunately I can’t take pictures right now because my recorder is in storage but it’s a really simple set up. I want you to keep in mind that I recorded on a Prelude 40 lever harp so I also didn’t have pedals to deal with. I think I had tested putting the recorder on the back, near my feet and sound holes and also at the front. However, I believe on all of my final takes, the mic was in front of the harp about a foot or so away, on the floor.

I imagine if you’re playing on a pedal harp, you would probably want to put the mic/recording device at the front of your harp so you’re hearing less of your feet/pedal changes. Another idea is to mic up your harp with a transducer or pick up (I’ve had people recommend Fishman brand pickups that are used on pianos but also work well for harps) and you can plug it into an amp and record from an amp. Some modern amps have ways to record directly from the amp. HOWEVER, I actually connected my keyboard to my amp to record piano parts in one of my songs. I ended up playing it through the amp and I had my recording device about 2 feet in front of my amp recording it and that worked out well! So theres another option.

Depending on your setup at home, the kind harp you have, the acoustics of your room/house etc… you may just have to mess around with a recording device and see which placement results in the best quality of sound for what you’re trying to record. Hopefully my advice helps though! Let me know if you have any other questions!

 

Teifi Harps- I’ve used my recordings for music that I’ve self-recorded and released. I’ve recorded my harp playing, keyboard and also field/outside sounds and used it in music. If you’re interested, my website is WretchedWren.bandcamp.com

 

Thanks!!

Tracey

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