I forgot I did that, can't think of what I was thinking. I'm glad the video helped you out a bit. I've stopped operating a commercial facility, these days I just stick a field recorder in front of the harp and edit it on a laptop. Seems to work for most things, although while the field recorders that are commercially available are quite good, I'd certainly recommend experimenting with EQ to get a suitable sound for what you are after and to be wary of the hiss those things create and look at some way to gate it out.

I'm glad you got something from the video. Both options are ok. I usually record in mono if I am going to put the harp in a mix with other instruments as I find it easy to place. Solo I usually record in stereo. If you record in stereo be careful to avoid phase cancellation issues (other people have videos on this). There are plug ins to assist in phase cancellation issues if you are recording with a DAW or often a phase inversion button if you are going through a mixing desk. In the end it is all subjective like most other things about recording, there is no definitive "right" way, trust your ears to get the sound you like the best.

***** Cheapest option is to get a dynamic microphone, stick it in the back of the harp. You should be able to wedge it somehow in the bottom so it doesn't roll around. Something like a Shure PG48 will do it. Use the EQ on your PA or amplifier to change anything you don't like. A dynamic mic only pics up what is in the immediate vicinity so you won't get any background noise. Mic and cable should cost you less than $100. Less than $50 if you shop carefully. I use this method with a Shure sm57 with one of my harps and it works fine. Doesn't have to be a Shure any decent dynamic will do it. The thing you need to be worried about is keeping the instrument out of this wind.

Its all you need to get started, although the Samsons that I have heard tend to be a bit noisy (hissy).. I don't know what type of set you have but there is plenty of advice about if you google removing hiss from recordings. experiment with mic placement to get a sound you like. About 3 feet in front of the harp, pointed say a third up the soundboard might be a good place to start.

@@AdamBHarrisHarpist thanks for the advice Adam will give it a try :)

Hi Sarah, thanks for watching, I'm glad you enjoyed it. To be honest with you I haven't done much streaming, but with what streaming I've done I"ve just used my phone inside a clamp on a cheap tripod and it seemed to work fine. You only sound as good as the weakest link in the chain of course, but if its something that people are going to only listen to once I'm not sure that it is particularly worth worrying about. Probably your delivery and your context are more important. If you want to go for higher end sound however, I'd go for a decent dynamic mic (ie SM57 or better). Stay away from condenser microphones because they will pick up a whole bunch of background noise in your environment that you may not want to be streamed (streamt?) and have that running into a laptop or PC that has a video card which supports live streaming. Hope this helps. Cheers Adam.

@@AdamBHarrisHarpist thanks for your advice!

I use Sony Soundforge but the free software "Audacity" which is good for PC or Mac is more than sufficient.

oh wow I forgot I did that!

+Earphonesan analog. The desk is an old Behringer MX9000 completely analog.

I'm a freaky guy.