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Thanks for posting the link. However, when I opened it there was no sound. I tiried going to YouTube directly and the same result. No, my sound was not muted. I finally turned the volume up all the way and could barely hear something, but not enough to even hear the melody.
Thany you both for the information. It’s always fascinating to learn about the origin of some of these wonderful pieces of music. I downloaded the music this morning and it’s on my music stand.
I’m also interested in people’s experience using effect pedals with an accoustic harp and piezo pickups. Emily Hopkins and Laura Somogyi get some very nice sounds with the pedals. Will you get the same sound from an accoustic harp and pickups? Any one have experience with this?
You are right about a microphone picking up all the surrounding sounds. In a noisy environment (such as playing with other loud instruments) the surrounding sound will reflect off the sound board and into the microphone. This causes a lot of challenge for the sound technicians running the mixer board.
For recording (presumably in a quiet environment) I think the microphone will give the most accurate sound including the resonance of the entire body of the harp and sympathetic vibrations of other strings and even the reverberation in the hall (such as when you are recording in a larger performance hall). It’s true that many listeners might not hear the difference.My first pedal harp was a Chicago Petite 40 (about 3 years ago) and I had no problem with the pedals. My feet are wide, so I had to wear shoes that didn’t have an extremely wide toe. For example, Crocs sandals were too wide to wear while playing. The only issue I had is when taking lessons on a larger pedal harp I would occasionally hit the G pedal rather than the A pedal.
Now I’ve traded up to an 85CG and it only took a day or two to get used to the wider pedal spacing. In all honesty, I would say that I’ve noticed no difference in the amount of pressure required or the vertical distance.
I agree that the small price for the Peterson tuner app and “sweetener” is worth the price. Last year at the L&H “Harptacular” the tech used the iStrobasoft tuner. I also saw my harp regulator use it too.
Earlier on this thread, I mentioned that I had L&H include the K&K Big Twin on my new 85CG harp. Since then I’ve had a few issues. In particular, one of the transducers did not adhere and dropped off the soundboard. Also, the plastic connector on the bottom of the harp was easily smashed (see photo). I had a very helpful talk with John Papadolias at L&H and I’ll share the information he gave me:
The Big K had leads of 18″ and 36″ to fit the full sized harp. Transducers should be placed about 1/3 and 2/3 the height of the soundboard along the center strip. Prior to attaching, use an alcohol prep pad to clean the surface. John uses double sided carpet tape to attach the transducers.
We talked about the need for a more solid connector than the plastic connector provided by K&K. John recommends a metal connector (Fishman Switchjack Endpin Jack — available on Amazon) and mounts it in a metal clamp which has a rubber insert (McMaster-Carr part #8981T26). The connector is stereo, but the pickups are mono. Some soldering is required (I’ve done a lot of electronics work, so that doesn’t scare me). I’ve ordered the parts and will report back after I’ve installed it. I’m going to mount the connector much closer to the front foot to provide better protection.
Saul — The private option seems like a good solution for what I want to do. I’ll look into how that works. Thanks.
I’ve done a CD several years ago, and I understand the process here in the U.S. which is actually quite straight forward. The question is about YouTube videos because videos are handled different than music CDs here in the U.S.
I was inclined to just post something on YouTube and hope for the best. However, it was pointed out to me that if YouTube takes something down it’s a stike against you. 3 strikes from YouTube and you are completely banned.
Lyon & Healy now provides the K&K Big Twin as an option on their harps. I have one on my 85CG and tried it (just to see how it sounds). The sound quality is not as good as a properly placed microphone, but in a situation with high ambient noise I would use it rather than a microphone.
As others have said, I would encourage you to make the small investment to travel to where there are harps to play. I combined a vacation to Chicago (to visit family) with an opportunity to go to Lyon & Healy’s factory in Chicago.
If you choose to do the same, be sure to take the factory tour (at noon every weekday). The person who gave the tour had 40+ years of experience building harps and now restored older harps sent to L&H for repairs. He had answers to all my questions about different construction on the L&H harps as well as Salvi harps. Call ahead, of course, and make an appointment with a sales person.
I had origianlly thought that I might like the 2000CG with its excellent pickup system. However, after playing several I did not like the accoustic sound when playing alone (without pickup or amplification). I played some Chicago series and then moved on to the “professional” series (an 85CG). My wife will tell you that it only took about 3 notes to tell the difference.
After a lunch break, I played several more of the 85CG and found significant differences not only in the sound, but also the feel of the harp. (I was surprised that there was a difference in the feel when playing 3 different harps of the same model).
Travel costs are very small compared to the major investment you make when buying a big harp. Spend a bit and enjoy yourself!
