Thank you for sharing these technical details! I have been quite frustrated with recording my (amateur) harp playing and very much admire your content. This helps me to research some additional tools.
There are a hundred different ways to record the harp! This is by no means the only or best way. I was compelled to make this video because I hadn’t seen anyone else talking about these techniques, but it’s definitely worth researching and finding what’s right for your budget and your needs.
That's a pretty comprehensive explanation. I'd be the last person to cast aspersions on the technical side of any musician's set up, because they know & I don't. However, we now know you're not only an excellent harpist, but a pretty smart cookie as well. Keep the great tunes coming, Naomi! 😉
That explanation was worthy of a Star Trek science officer, attempting to amplify a faint signal from a class 2 nebula she just received from the long range sensors 🙂
Na, it's not a Star Trek example unless it has the word "quantum" in there somewhere. Appropriate places to put the word would be before signal, nebula, or even sensors. Or you could go balls to the wall and say _"attempting to amplify a faint quantum signal from a class 2 quantum nebula she just received from the long range quantum sensors"_ 😂
That was great, very humanizing and person like, totally believable that you utilize such normal tools to bewitch any within earshot. Totally. Believable.
Keep making music and videos. Yours are truly joyful to watch. Your cameraworks, lighting, ambient, sound, music, and even your smile are godsend. Hopefully this will reach you and give you more motivation to keep creating.
Thanks so much for sharing your setup! I love how your harp sounds. I'm someone who doesn't enjoy the microphone side of things, and it's really nice to hear from a harpist who does seem to enjoy that aspect (and who gets a really good sound!)
Thank you! There are some other videos about harp recording available online, but none that worked for the setup and sound I wanted. It’s all about experimenting and finding something that works for us, and hopefully this video can help people discover options!
Aaaah audio recording. So fun. I was trying to record the ambient noise in various places and have found a few interesting things. I tried a full range speaker as a microphone, but the resonant frequency of the driver shows up in the audio big time and the noise floor was pretty bad. I tried to rig an amplifier setup to increase the voltage to my interface, but I ended up blowing both chip amps when I was trying to set them up because some chud wired grounded outlets in the house with NO GROUND. Nice 60V shock through the heatsink did them in before I realized what was going on and fixed the wiring. I'll have to try again some time. Wiring more speakers into the recording setup also didn't raise the gain, but lowered it instead. Countering my understanding of speakers, my larger full range speakers did much better than the smaller ones I tried in all ways even including picking up high frequencies. I have discovered that you can avoid the noise floor problem a lot by using a laptop as your recording computer, or anything with a battery. A/C power has lots of noise on it, and switching power supplies also love to generate noise, it all gets into the recording and makes me cry. DC battery power, amazing low noise floor. That and also shielded cables help somewhat. By the way, one time I had so much noise in my power supply that the microphone was converted into a speaker and I could hear it instead of recording anything. Lol That box you have in the middle of your signal chain before you go into the interface is neat. I don't really understand what it does? Is it an equalizer? Also... every android phone I've used has a high pass filter baked into, I think, the audio driver or the build of the operating system, not sure. I have never found a way to disable it
It was actually really hard to find info about the voltage for lav mics! I realized I needed to lower the voltage because when turning on the phantom power, I’d only get signal for half a second or so, for that brief moment before the voltage reached 48v.
@@theVoyage It never received 48V effective. DC Resistance of the electret microphone capsule hovers around 2kOhm while the internal series resistance of the 48V phantom supply is about 7kOhm per rail. One of these rails gets grounded and the other ends up going to the capsule, resulting in voltage across the capsule of around 10V. Electrically the capsule is a JFET and all of them survive 10V just fine with room to spare. Specifically it's usually supposed to be K596 or equivalent. If you drift too far away in gate voltage from drain voltage, which shouldn't really be happening because the gate is capacitively coupled, the JFET will go into breakdown, limiting the voltage, while the current limiting of the phantom supply (the 7kOhm) prevents it from destroying itself with excessive heat.
@@NaomiSV They're intended to run off 3V via 2kOhm feed resistor. Rode VXLR+ feeds it approximately 5.1V via 2.2kOhm, which is perfectly fine as well. They'll gladly take more, within reason. Another common arrangement is 10V via 10kOhm. For some reason this whole area is less hard engineering and more "well this is how we've been doing it, works for us" 🤷♀🤷♀
I've been watching your videos for two or three years now and I just thought of something - how heavy is that large harp? - it must be quite a chore getting that to all the places you've recorded, and now I learn you have a lot more equipment to contend with - so much work to entertain us - just to let you know, we really do appreciate it! -
Wow, you can get an amazing sound with just one mic placed inside the instrument! Not many instruments are that simple to get a natural, full sounding recording from.😮
Kind of thought you were using something for a pick up. I didn't know what it would've been, but that Mike is a good idea. I never worked much with harps.But when you think about it. Use microphones inside a pianos to pick up the sound and do intensify it. Good thinking I love your music.
The BIG question all your fans have is how do you attract deer? ; ) Interesting explanation of your recording methods Naomi. I hope you're having a wonderful summer... take care!
@@NaomiSV look up nordic hearding call. notice music by aurora and the cranberries and others sound like this. animals are attracted to music. i've heard cos produce more milk when exposed to good music.
Honestly I thought you were miming, but I had no problem with that if it was the case. I assume everyone who makes music videos does the song itself in a studio and then mimes the video recording. It doesn't make me think they're lying to me. I appreciate your efforts more because of this information. I wish I had a microphone that would eliminate wind as well as yours does.
Thanks for the video! Out of curiosity, which lavalier are you pairing with your DR-10L - the included microphone or another model? If you ever feel like splurging on gear, the DPA 4060 or 6060 are excellent, but also very expensive. However, they’d need to be supplied with at least 5V, which the DR-10L can’t output (the Tentacle Sync Track E, Deity PR-2, or another device could). Another 5V lavalier option is the Clippy EM272, which performs very well for its low price. I’m just sharing this info in case you’re interested; I think your audio sounds good and there isn’t any need to upgrade. Thanks for your videos 🎵
Thanks for the great recommendations! I do use the mic that comes with the Dr-10. Upgrading my mic is on my wish list, and I did look into the DPA ones, which as you mentioned are quite pricey haha. I'm very intrigued by the Clippy, I'll look into it! That might be closer to a "true" stereo sound by placing two of the same mic at different points in the soundboard!
@@NaomiSV The Clippy mics come in TRS and XLR varieties, with the TRS version having models wired for mono or stereo. I’ve had good results with the stereo-wired TRS set I own. You’ll want a recorder with relatively clean preamps to take advantage of them, though. I first tried them with a Zoom H1n, but the recorder’s self-noise really held the mics back. When I paired them with a camera that had better preamps, they sounded much better. But keep in mind that if you elect for stereo-wired TRS, you won’t be able to properly use your VXLR+ with them, since you’d have stereo going into mono. One thing I’d check is distance between where you might want to place the mics and where you’d like a recorder to go. If it might be a bit too far, or if it might lead to a recorder or audio interface hanging between the mics, you might want to opt for either two XLR Clippys or two mono TRS Clippys ordered with custom-length TRS cables that will be long enough for your needs. If I was starting from scratch again and knew that I’d eventually buy the XLR-oriented field recorder I have now, I would’ve opted for a couple of the XLR Clippys. However, my stereo-wired TRS pair has been great when I’ve used it in conjunction with my camera. A few recorder options: The Deity PR-2 can record two tracks/stereo via TRS, but it was just released, so you may want to listen to tests and reviews to hear what its recording quality sounds like. Other recorders with 3.5mm stereo capabilities are available, but I don’t think they’re as small as the PR-2. A semi-compact option could be a Zoom F3. This has two XLR inputs (unfortunately not the 1/4” combo variety) with very clean preamps. It only records in 32 bit float, if that’s a consideration. This can accept two XLR Clippys, other XLR mics, or 3.5mm mics with VLR+/Pro. With your audio interface, if both inputs are available, you could use two mono XLR Clippys, or two mono TRS Clippys with an additional VXLR+ to use with them. There are plenty of other options, too, with varying inputs, sizes, and prices. Some other information: If you’ll be placing the mics where wind might reach the capsules, I’d recommend picking up the foam windshields and the furry windjammers to use together. They do a good job of keeping the wind out without distorting the sound too much. There are also shock mounts available, but I haven’t tested them and they might not be needed for your use case, depending on how you place the mics and if vibrations or movement might be issues. There are versions of the microphones with extra RF shielding available, if that’s important to you. Some people have reported interference in RF-heavy environments, but I haven’t had issues in towns or in my home, apart from needing to maintain some room between the TRS cable and cables delivering power. I don’t think a stereo-wired TRS set needs more than 5V, even though it’s powering two microphones. It makes me wonder what the minimum voltage for decent performance on a single microphone might be, but I think the DR-10L’s 2V would likely still be too low. My guess is the DPA mics are probably pickier about voltage and would need the full 5V. There is a low voltage low sensitivity variant, but it may not perform as well. I hope this information was helpful. If you’re interested in Clippys, I’d suggest checking audio forums and subreddits to read about people’s experiences. There are also recordings on RU-vid and various websites. These mics are often well regarded and recommended in field recording communities, along with similar offerings from LOM (which are often out of stock). Best of luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to ask. Unfortunately, I don’t have a harp to test them on.
By the time you do all the processing, recording and mixing, how close is the recorded sound of your harp to what you hear live when you're playing it? Do you attempt to get your recordings to sound like real-life, or do you enhance them beyond what your harps can actually do?
@@liamg6328 I have the option to plug an aux cable into my camera. However, because the camera is usually far from my harp, I prefer to record separately into my computer or lavalier recorder. It takes just a few seconds to sync everything afterwards!
Hey Naomi ✨ Absolutely loved the insight into your artistry, and hats off to you for understanding the technology and enhancing the natural sound of the harp, neighbours lawnmowers aside, and inquisitive deers who are entranced by the sounds! You are utterly mesmerising .........a beautiful Enigma..... “In a world of the ordinary and the predictable, be a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma.” Looking forward to the growth of the pedal board, is that a possibility? Stay Safe as Always ☮🕊☯🧡✨
Merci Vincent! Ce sont des choses que j'ai apprises au fur et à mesure que je faisais les vidéos, puisque les recommendations les plus courantes pour enregistrer la harpe (avec un micro à l'extérieur de la harpe) ne m'allaient pas. Mention spéciale à Emily Hopkins pour ses recommandations de pédales!
People saying "it's fake" are 15 years late on RU-vid. So many music videos are recorded in studio then videorecorded, and that doesn't make them less good nor fake. I never really bothered to ask myself if you played live or not ; even if I kinda suspected it cause I always thought I could hear the birds singing, crickets noises and angels clapping from Heaven, but couldn"t tell if this was added in post or just my mind playing tricks.
The Cicadas are clearly miming. The tree in the back is obviously faking its photosynthesis. No doubt that’s a squirrel disguised as a real harp. 😜For real though, amazing stuff. Love the flow of your arpeggios. Wish I could do that. I’m just a lowly guitar player. ❤
Je viens de voir que vous étiez sur Bandcamp :) Il serait vraiment super me suis-je dit que vous y rajoutiez du contenu, ne pensez-vous pas ? A titre personnel j'aime quelques fois y acquérir des œuvres disponibles uniquement au format numérique. Meilleures salutations.
I mean if you want to use pedals outdoors, most are 9v centre-negative (so backwards from household stuff); surely someone makes a powerbank for pedals. Thomann's Harley Benton?
Haha... super tech! I was listening to Nina Simone's Here Comes The Sun LP yesterday.. Amazing harp on it, but just looked it up... she's not the harpist :(
@@bruisedhelmet8819 There are definitely cows in Canada, but none as close to where I live as the deer! I'd have to plan a little road trip (with ample snacks) to pay cows a visit. Hopefully they enjoy the harp! (Also moose are scary!)
An army of deer is impressive still, but if you plan to take over the world you gotta move to something a tad more intimidating, maybe not moose... perhaps those Canadian geese, those are scary too.
Wooohooo... What a great time to hear your voice Naomi .. Today is my Birthday. 😊😊.. Such an information packed video this is. So much work goes initially to bring our a fantastic video by you. You are a champ. 🎉🎉🎉🎉 I really encourage you to bring more of such videos as they get deeper into your hard work associated with playing harp with such proficiency. Have a great great time and I really wish I could have given you an exciting treat on my B'day!!..
