Free reeds
Harmonica
A small free-reed instrument played with the mouth: air blown or drawn across tuned brass reeds. Also called blues harp, mouth organ or French harp. The 10-hole diatonic (Richter-tuned) is the common blues and folk instrument; the chromatic uses a slide for semitones; the tremolo harmonica has two slightly detuned reeds per note.1,2
Part of the Free reeds family; that family's advice shows here too.
- Range
- C3–C7
- Sources
- 5 (4 independent)
Mics sources recommend
14 setups from 5 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.
Studio
Close
- AKG C1000S1 independent source
- AKG C2141 independent source
- Neumann TLM 1031 independent source
- Neumann U 871 independent source
- Shure SM571 independent source
- Shure SM581 independent source
- large-diaphragm condenser, treated like a vocal1 independent source
Clip-on
- flat (boundary) condenser or mini mic, 8 in away1 independent source
Handheld
- Shure Spher-O-Dyne (late 1960s)1 independent source
The 6 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Shure SM57 or Shure SM58amp mic
Run the bullet through the smallest, dirtiest amp, and close mic that with a 57 for more bass or a 58 for more mids.
3 - Close large-diaphragm condenser, treated like a vocalclose, acoustic
When I don't want a Bullet sound, I take any of my usual LDC suspects and treat the harp exactly like a vocal.
3 - Clip-on flat (boundary) condenser or mini mic, 8 in awaystand or clip, close
Place a flat condenser mic or mini mic 8 inches away (harmonica).
4 - Close Neumann U 87stand, 1-2 ft
Normally I'd use a good quality studio mic like a Neumann U87, and stand between one and two feet away (Brendan Power).
1 - Close Neumann TLM 103 or AKG C214 or AKG C1000Sstand, 6-8 in
Audio examples with three condensers (TLM 103, C214, C1000S) positioned 6-8 inches from the harmonica.
1 - Handheld Shure Spher-O-Dyne (late 1960s)handheld, cupped, into amp
I use a late-60s Shure Spher-O-Dyne dynamic mic. Modern microphones tend to be too good, too clean (Keith Parker).
1
On stage
Handheld
- Audix Fireball1 independent source
- Hohner Blues Blaster1 independent source
- Shure 520DX Green Bullet maker's advice2 sources, 1 independent
- handheld cardioid dynamic, or into a guitar amp and mic the amp1 independent source
Clip-on
- Harmonica Honker1 independent source
Close
- cardioid dynamic pointed at the middle of the instrument from about 8 in1 independent source
The 6 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Handheld handheld cardioid dynamic, or into a guitar amp and mic the amphandheld, dirty tone
For a dirty, bluesy sound, mike up close with a handheld cardioid dynamic mic, or plug it into a guitar amp and mike the amp.
4 - Handheld Shure 520DX Green Bullethandheld, cupped, into amp
The 520 housing fits nicely into cupped hands and allows the harmonica to sit on top of the grille.
5 - Handheld Shure 520DX Green Bullet or Hohner Blues Blasterhandheld, cupped, into amp
The modern-day Shure 520DX Green Bullet features a conventional dynamic transducer designed to reproduce the coloured response of its forebear. ... Modern reproductions featuring crystal or ceramic elements include the popular Hohner Blues Blaster.
1 - Handheld Audix Fireballhandheld, cupped
Dynamic mics designed for harmonica, such as the Audix Fireball, are built to handle high SPLs with a wide response.
1 - Clip-on Harmonica Honkerclip-on, on harmonica or finger ring
Some players use miniature electret mics attached to the harmonica or on a ring, such as the Harmonica Honker.
1 - Close Free reeds advice cardioid dynamic pointed at the middle of the instrument from about 8 inclose, live dance
Sax, clarinet, bagpipes, accordion, concertina: point a mic at their middle from about 8 inches away and they should sound ok.
6
Studio and stage
Handheld
- Shure SM571 independent source
- Shure SM581 independent source
The 2 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Handheld Shure SM58handheld, cupped (amplified) or stand
Toots Thielemans uses a hand-held SM58; an SM58 or SM57 is a perfectly adequate stand-in for a harp mic.
1 - Handheld Shure SM57handheld, cupped, or stand a hand's width away
SM57 is a better fit for smaller hands; a dynamic on a stand a hand's width away gives a punchier sound.
1
Range
C3 to C77131 Hz – 2.09 kHz
the bottom from the 16-hole chromatic; the top from a C diatonic (commonly stated, not confirmed)
- 10-hole diatonic in C:
- 12-hole chromatic: 7
- 16-hole chromatic: 7
- 10-hole diatonic (Richter) in C: Wikipedia: a C harp starts on middle C (C4) at hole 1 blow and there is 'a three-octave distance between 1 and 10 blow', so hole 10 blow is C7 (my arithmetic). Harps in G, Ab, A, Bb or B start below middle C; Db to F# start above it.8
The sound
Reeds in cells vibrate when air passes through; the mouth and hands shape the sound. Hand shape sends the sound forwards, to the side, down or past the player's ear, depending on the player.1
Where the sound goes
From the cupped hands, not a fixed direction. SOS shows photographs of how different hand cupping sends the main sound up, down or to one side, so the engineer must find where it goes (even walk round the player).1
Recording it
Recording, acoustic (pop, jazz, folk, classical): - A stand-mounted condenser is the natural start. Brendan Power uses "a good quality studio mic like a Neumann U87", one to two feet away "to give it some air". SOS's audio examples used a Neumann TLM 103, AKG C214 and AKG C1000S condensers 6-8 in away; at six inches the sound is full and focused, and at a foot or more it is airier with more room.
- Set the mic low, below nose level or chin, to avoid nasal breath noise; pointing it up into the hand aperture picks up more harmonica and less breathing. Move it a few inches off the air stream to clear windiness; small-diaphragm mics tolerate off-axis placement better.
- Producer Gareth Williams: for accompaniment back off or use a pencil mic plus a room mic; for a lead go close with a large-diaphragm, as on a lead vocal.
- Bartlett: a flat condenser or mini mic about 8 in away.
Recording, amplified (blues, rock): the player holds a bullet mic cupped with the harmonica into a guitar amp and the amp is miked like a guitar amp. Cupping gives a treble roll-off, a bass and low-mid boost and a honky peak near 1 kHz. Keith Parker uses a late-1960s Shure Spher-O-Dyne; Lee Sankey carries crystal, controlled-reluctance and controlled-magnetic mics and matches them to the amp. The Shure 520 "Green Bullet" (1949) fits the cupped hand, and the original high-impedance version worked with tube guitar amps; the current 520DX has a modern dynamic element voiced to sound like the original. A forum thread suggests an SM57 on the amp for more bass, an SM58 for more mids.1,4,5,3
On stage
A handheld cardioid dynamic for a dirty sound, or plug it into a guitar amp and mic the amp.4
Problems to watch
Breath and nose noise; feedback with a cupped mic and amp (a tight seal reduces it); vintage mics are high impedance and need a high-Z input or DI; level jumps on note bends and on the high register; rings and jewellery clicking on the case, and a noisy chromatic slide. SOS suggests a high-pass at 150-200 Hz.1
About the range
The standard diatonic gives 19 different notes across three octaves in one key; chromatics cover three or four octaves. A 12-hole chromatic's lowest note is middle C (C4) in standard solo tuning and a 16-hole starts an octave lower, at C3. A C-key 10-hole diatonic starts at C4 and tops out near C7 (estimate; commonly stated, not confirmed in a page I opened).1,7
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Playing level | |
|---|---|
| 85 dB | not stated; 10-hole blues harp played normally ('普通に吹くと85dBくらい'), in a Gizmodo Japan article on the Suzuki SHINOBIX silencer harmonica; the silenced harmonica was about 65 dB. secondary9 |
| 80–90 dB | not stated; Ordinary harmonica, normal playing ('通常時 80～90dB'), versus 60-70 dB with the Suzuki SHINOBIX silencer, in a Shimamura music-store article on the product launch (2018-10-09). secondary10 |
No figure found for the instrument. Harmonica mics (such as the Audix Fireball) are built for high SPL; players are loudest when bending notes down.1
Sources
- Sound On Sound: Capturing Perfect Harmonica Recordings (David Greeves, 2013)
- Wikipedia, Harmonica
- HomeRecording.com forum: I've got a harmonica player coming in (2006)
- ProSoundWeb: A Guide to Microphone Techniques for Studio Recording, page 5
- Shure: How the Green Bullet Became the Definitive Blues Harp Mic (2013)
- Jeff Kaufman: Contra Dance Sound, Mic Placement
- Wikipedia, Chromatic harmonica
- Wikipedia: Richter-tuned harmonica
- Gizmodo Japan: 家の中でも練習できそうなサイレンサーつきハーモニカ「忍SHINOBIX」
- Shimamura Music: サイレンサー付きハーモニカ『忍 SHINOBIX』が10月19日に新発売