Fat acoustic harmonica sound

S

SweetDan

New member
Anybody have tips on how to get a nice, "fat", acoustic harmonica sound? Something like this - https://soundcloud.com/filipjers/february-sun. That guy's an awesome player to boot, and I know that performance is key, but if anybody has ideas to get a rounder sound from harmonica, I'm all ears.

My guesses are that -- after performance -- it has to do with mic choice (dynamic vs. condenser) first, and then mic placement. And up close, but maybe not handheld, since that seems to box in the sound I think.

(For comparison, here's the best I've gotten on my own so far -
. To my ears, my sound is a little thin still. Recorded with a Blue Spark, and I think it was placed near my chin, about 3" out in front, but I didn't take good notes and I don't remember.)
 
I know next to nothing about harmonicas, but listening to the two clips in comparison, I'd say the main difference is compression and maybe more fader riding. The filipjers clip seems to have much more compression than the yours. His might also have compression artifacts edited out, like breathes in between phrases. I don't know what other extraneous noises are associated with the harmonica that could be amplified by hard compression; but if any, they were edited out, too.

I'm kind of speculating on this, but that's what I hear.
 
The absolutely standard "go to" mic for harmonica is the Shure 520DX "Green Bullet" hand held/cupped against the instrument for maximum proximity effect which warms everything else up.

Obviously I don't know for sure but that first clip you like sounds quite green bullet-ish to me. The other difference is that they've gone pretty heavy on the reverb (to make up for the cupped mic I'd guess) and, as Chili says, a lot of compression and/or fader riding.

GREEN BULLET
 
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For this type of sound I would use a LDC mic and record it very similar to how I record vocals. Don't forget the room it's in is a large part of the sound you get.

I usually compress the harp and to get the sound on the recording I again would treat it a lot like vocals, unless I an after an in you face sound then I would compress it more.

Alan.
 
Bobbsy said:
The absolutely standard "go to" mic for harmonica is the Shure 520DX "Green Bullet" hand held/cupped against the instrument for maximum proximity effect which warms everything else up.

Obviously I don't know for sure but that first clip you like sounds quite green bullet-ish to me. The other difference is that they've gone pretty heavy on the reverb (to make up for the cupped mic I'd guess) and, as Chili says, a lot of compression and/or fader riding.
Click to expand...

We are typing at the same time LOL, I use a green bullet or cupped 57 etc for a more old blues sound than the one on the clip.

Alan.
 
I use a "Green Bullet" into either a tube mic-pre or an old tube amp combo (to overdrive the tubes to add some dirt). Before I purchased the Green Bullet, I used an SM57 for a long time.

THe key is playing technique, the mic/amplification simply adds the "dirt"
 
Thanks all for your replies. I'm mostly interested in an un-amped sound; I want it really clean, yet still really full.

I'll try more compression (obviously in conjunction with lots of edits to remove breaths/clicks/etc.). Also I'll see if I can find a better room than my basement. And improving my technique, heh.
 
SweetDan said:
Thanks all for your replies. I'm mostly interested in an un-amped sound; I want it really clean, yet still really full.

I'll try more compression (obviously in conjunction with lots of edits to remove breaths/clicks/etc.). Also I'll see if I can find a better room than my basement. And improving my technique, heh.
Click to expand...
Yeah. This is not cupped/amped', that's a whole nother can of fish. The thought 'fat and 'acoustic as you've no doubt seen :) starts out at least, a contradiction in terms :D
Your clip is pretty warm, heck you're half way there at least. Being chromatics and not 'Blues harp helps a lot!
I don't have any quick fixes right off (it's been a challenge when I've done it). One thing I'm hearing is the ref clip sounds like 'closer (a little more 'intimate image), and proximity effect.
 
I was not thinking of the reference clip, I was thinking that the OP should not be drawn into editing that may be not needed. I agree that the reference clip may have been edited but maybe the player is really good at controlling the noises.

Cheers

Alan.
 
I'm new to this forum, but I've been following it for awhile. I couldn't help noticing the picture on the "album cover" that shows during the first sound clip. Filip Jers is holding a harmonica that would, I imagine, set you back many hundreds of dollars. I'm always in favor of getting the best possible sound out of whatever instrument is available, but I've definitely found that there can be BIG differences in sound between different qualities (also types, brands, ages, etc...) of instruments.

That being said, I'd suggest a VERY dead (vocal booth?) tracking, LDC, compression as needed, then possibly some very light sub synth on another track just to compensate for differences in instruments. Judicious eq to taste. Add reverb or other ambience as needed, afterwards.
 
A great harmonica & player will get you 75% of the way there. I think it really depends on the context of the music. If the focus of the song is the harp, then definitely rock something a little more hi-fi like a large cap. But really, I've had many records worth of success using a 57 on harmonica. In the context of blending that instrument into a whole arrangement, it not only focuses on the harp's natural frequency response, but it cuts like a mother fucker in a mix without being brashy. Those Green Bullet mics have been really helpful in the past too, especially if you get inspired and plug it in/mic the amp you're using.


[San Francisco Bay Are Recording Engineer Producer Studio Audio Mix Master Record A&R]
 
I just recorded a harp using an SM7B, sounded good to me . Once you get the sound you want its all in the treatment to get it fine tuned.
 
So, after some experimentation, I think I'm able to answer my own question (the question being "how to get a nice, big, fat acoustic harmonica sound").

Proof - https://soundcloud.com/tapostrophemo/striking-out-mix3

How did I do it? 2 things mostly. First, mic placement. I'd been trying over and over to do it hand-holding a mic (E/V Cobalt CO9, basically a SM58 clone). For me, that just wasn't working; the sound was too piercing, too "direct", and didn't have enough body. After experimenting with various placements on a mic stand, what works best for me is to have the mic about 6" from my face, about 2-3" beneath my chin, and pointing the mic up towards my chin.

Second, playing technique. I got more of the sound I wanted (and less of the sound I didn't want) if I kept the harp tightly cupped with my hands while playing. Opening up my hands let out the "piercing" sound again (you can hear it around 1:20 in the recording, and a little near the end too around 2:05).

Finally! :)
 
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