AGCurry said:
Amplified blues harp requires that you cup a microphone in your hands along with the harp. For that you will mic the amplifier.
With the "amplified" sound, the amplification itself is only half of it, and the half that has nothing to do with the player (other than his choice of amp, of course
) The other half of it is the cupped microphone, which for all intents and purposes becomes part of the instrument. Not only does the placement inside the cupping capture a sound that just cannot be gotten from outside, but the shape and size of the cavity itself as affected by the microphone itself also is a major contributor to the sound. It is entirely possible to record the mic direct if you want to capture that cupped sound without the amplifier. But then again, that's rather like getting a hot fudge sundae and skipping the whipped cream and nuts
. I have a hard time thinking of an actual blues harpist that lived in the days of electricity that didn't prefer doing it that way.
If you wanted to record straight harp acoustically, there anything from a 57 to a Sen 441 could be mounted just about forehead height, angled down. (keep the mic off-axis from the airflow istelf.)
Or, if you want an Ennio Morricone/spaghetti western sound, far mic it in a bright room or run it close and dry through a big assed plate.
But for true
cross harp blues harp, stick that mic in his hands if you want it to sound like an old Muddy Waters record.
G,
