Instrument

Harp

Range: C1–G7
Overtones to: about 2 kHz
Peaks up close: up to 119.3 dB SPL
Sources: 11 (8 independent)

Mics sources recommend

31 setups from 11 sources, 8 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

Main pair or array

DPA 4006 (earlier version of the DPA 4006A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Zoom H4n1 independent source

Distant

AEA R881 independent source
Earthworks QTC401 independent source
Peluso 2247 LE1 independent source
omni pair (omni pair or single cardioid, at least as far away as the harp is tall)1 source, 0 independent

Close

Electro-Voice RE27N/D1 independent source
Neumann KM 1841 independent source
Neumann U 871 independent source
Neumann U 87 Ai1 independent source
Royer SF-121 independent source
sE Electronics SE3A1 independent source
Shure Unidyne 5155B1 independent source
Zoom H11 independent source
Zoom H21 independent source
condenser microphone1 independent source
dynamic microphone1 independent source
electret condenser microphone1 independent source
small-diaphragm condenser1 independent source

Contact

built-in piezo pickup1 independent source

Spot

AKG C4141 independent source

Named, no placement given

ribbon, figure-of-eight (ribbon (Royer, no harp model named))1 source, 0 independent

The 22 setups behind this: placement and quotes

Main pair or array 2 × DPA 4006 (earlier version of the DPA 4006A)
solo, main pair at least 2 m away, optional baffle disc (A-B pair, omni)
The harp and the room are "best captured with omnidirectional microphones", ideally an A-B pair at 200 cm or more.¹
Distant 2 × omni pair (omni pair or single cardioid, at least as far away as the harp is tall)
solo, 2 m or more
Placement "at least as far from the instrument as the instrument is big": about 200 cm for a 190 cm pedal harp.¹
Close condenser microphone
close, from the right side pointing at the soundboard in the treble, about one quarter down the soundboard (treble mic of two, separate tracks)
A condenser mic that I position pointing towards the sound board in the treble from the right side about one quarter down the soundboard. (tony-morosco)²
Close dynamic microphone
close, low stand pointing in from the front bottom to the left side of the pillar, slightly up the soundboard (bass mic of two)
I use a dynamic mic to pick up the base. I put it in a low mic stand pointing in from the front bottom to the left side of the pillar (tony-morosco)²
Close small-diaphragm condenser
close, two mics, treble mic on the left and bass mic on the right; move farther from the harp to control transients
I put the treble mic on the left and the bass on the right ... Also I use two small-diaphram condenser mics ... the mics can be moved farther from the harp.²
Close 2 × Shure Unidyne 5155B
pair, two identical mics on the floor facing the soundboard about six inches away, pointed at the bottom sound holes, spaced about a foot apart (wire-strung harp)
two microphones on the floor facing the soundboard of my wire-strung harp, about six inches away ... pointed directly at the bottom sound holes of the harp and are spaced roughly a foot apart (Sherri Matthew)³
Close electret condenser microphone
close, near the top of the harp about six to eight inches away, for the highs
an electret condenser mike positioned near the top of my harp about six to eight inches away to pick up the highs (Sherri Matthew)³
Contact built-in piezo pickup
internal, the harp's built-in pickup blended with the mics
lastly, I use my harp's built-in piezo-electric pickup (Sherri Matthew)³
Close Zoom H2
close, about six inches from the strings on one side of the harp at about the height of the middle of the strings
I place the mic probably six inches away from the strings on one side of the harp at approximately the height of the middle of the strings. (Sam Karlinski; used for audition CDs)³
Main pair or array Zoom H4n
main, all-in-one recorder for home recording (placement not given)
I would believe the "all in one" Zoom H-4N could be the one you need. (bernhard-schmidt)³
Close 2 × Zoom H1
close, directional, 0.1 to 2 feet from the harp
I use the Zoom H1 ... I found directional mic close up,.1 to 2 feet quite good for my liking.⁴
Close Neumann U 87 Ai
close, single mono mic placed just above the soundboard
Use a large diaphragm condenser in cardioid, placed just above the soundboard.⁵
Spot AKG C414
spot, harp highlight mic on another recording (placement not given)
an AKG 414 used as a harp highlight mic ... thought it sounded great as well (paraphrase)⁵
Close Neumann KM 184
close, above the player pointed at the soundboard (first mic of a two-mic setup)
KM184 or other small capsule condenser placed above player pointed at the soundboard ... had the potential to make the harp sound more like a toy piano depending on placement.⁵
Close Electro-Voice RE27N/D
close, behind the player, low to the floor, pointed at the sound hole (second mic of a two-mic setup)
RE27 behind the player, positioned lower to the floor, and pointed at the sound hole ... I had to make sure to not get too much pedal sound which was tricky.⁵
Distant 2 × AEA R88
pair, Blumlein, a couple of feet in front of the harpist, several feet off the ground, angled slightly down toward the soundboard
placed a couple of feet in front of Johanna, several feet off the ground ... was a bit too dark for my taste, but would blend nicely with the U87.⁵
Distant 2 × Peluso 2247 LE
pair, XY, a little further out in front of the instrument, several feet off the ground, angled slightly down toward the soundboard
placed a little further away in front of the instrument, several feet off the ground ... these mics have a much brighter sound⁵
Distant 2 × Earthworks QTC40
pair, spaced omnis in a 3:1 ratio, several feet in front of the harp at about 5 feet high
These are omnidirectional and were placed in a 3:1 ratio ... would be great if you're looking for a dreamy sort of sound.⁵
Named, no placement given ribbon, figure-of-eight (ribbon (Royer, no harp model named))
stringed instruments incl. harp
Royer ribbons "from acoustic guitar... to violin, cello, harp and virtually any stringed instruments" capture the tone (no harp example given).⁶
Close sE Electronics SE3A
close, on a short stand low on the instrument, six to eight inches from the soundhole (which faces the player), out of reach of the player's feet
a cardioid capacitor mic (an SE3A) on a short stand ... The harp mic was placed six to eight inches from the soundhole. (model name as printed)⁷
Close Neumann U 87
solo, about 2 ft back from the centre of the strings
Single U87 in cardioid about two feet back, pointing to the centre of the strings (Studio SOS session).⁸
Close Royer SF-12
solo, near the harpist's ears
Tried as a stereo mic as close to the harpist's ears as possible; "a faithful representation" but little high-to-low spread.⁸

Studio and stage

Spot

DPA 4011 (earlier version of the DPA 4011A) maker's advice1 source, 0 independent

Contact

Fishman PRO-SBT-HAP1 independent source

The 2 setups behind this: placement and quotes

Spot DPA 4011 (earlier version of the DPA 4011A)
spot, above the pillar pointing down at the soundboard
Spot mic such as the 4011 near the top of the pillar pointing at the sound board (paraphrase).¹
Contact Fishman PRO-SBT-HAP
contact, on the soundboard away from braces and an inch or two off the central string line, into a preamp
I use a fishman transducer harp pickup PRO-SBT-HAP ... Don't stick it near any braces & keep it an inch or two away from the central string line⁴

On stage

Close

AKG C451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)1 independent source
DPA 4060 maker's advice1 source, 0 independent
Shure SM811 independent source
condenser, miniature (miniature mic taped to the soundboard)1 source, 0 independent
mic aiming toward the player, about 2 ft from the soundboard1 source, 0 independent

Contact

AKG contact microphone1 independent source

The 7 setups behind this: placement and quotes

Close DPA 4060
stage, in the second sound hole from the bottom (miniature omni)
Conceal a miniature omni such as the 4060 in a sound hole; try the second from the bottom, cover the lower holes with foam.¹
Close Shure SM81
close, aimed at the middle of the soundboard, oriented away from the timpani
For the harp, Colby eschews the use of a contact mic and usually points an 81 or a 451 at the middle of the soundboard, orienting the mic away from the timpani (the '81' is the SM81 named elsewhere in the article)⁹
Close AKG C451 (earlier version of the AKG C451 B)
close, aimed at the middle of the soundboard, oriented away from the timpani (alternative to the SM81)
usually points an 81 or a 451 at the middle of the soundboard⁹
Contact AKG contact microphone
contact, outside on the soundboard, lower left beside F of the 4th octave (one of two)
They capture the natural sound of the harp, especially when placed outside on the soundboard ... Position A produced the most natural warm harp sound, with the least amount of feedback¹⁰
Contact AKG contact microphone
contact, outside on the soundboard next to the middle/high register, at the height of C of the 2nd octave (second of two)
placed next to the middle/high register, at the height of the C of the 2nd octave¹⁰
Close condenser, miniature (miniature mic taped to the soundboard)
stage, on the soundboard
Tape miniature microphone to soundboard: somewhat constricted; minimizes feedback and leakage.¹¹
Close mic aiming toward the player, about 2 ft from the soundboard
close, 2 ft
Harp: aiming toward player at part of soundboard, about 2 feet away: natural.¹¹

Advised against

Contact contact pickup
contact, on the harp
Personally I prefer using external microphones rather than contact picups that a lot of people seem to like. (tony-morosco)²
Inside microphone
inside, hung inside the harp
Definitely DO NOT hang a microphone inside your harp – the sound is really just awful. (Sam Karlinski)³
Contact contact pickup
contact, pickup instead of a microphone for recording
pickups are generally used for amplification in a live performance. Microphones will generally give better results in a recording than a pickup.⁴
Contact contact microphone
contact, on the harp
For the harp, Colby eschews the use of a contact mic⁹
Contact piezo contact microphone
contact, on the soundboard
The sound of the harp amplified in this way looses a lot of its clarity and sweetness.¹⁰
Contact AKG contact microphone
inside, contact mics inside the soundbox
Position B ... more feedback ... less clean and clear sound, that is harsher in tone (paraphrase)¹⁰
Contact AKG contact microphone
contact, against the bridge in the middle of the soundboard
placed closer to the strings, against the bridge in the middle of the soundboard ... attacks harsh, especially in forte chords (paraphrase)¹⁰

Range

C1 to G7¹²32.7 Hz – 3.14 kHz

Concert pedal harp, strings C1-G7; with pedals Cb1 (= B0) to G#7 (VSL).

Low	C1–G3	full; long resonance (4-5 s)
Middle	Ab3–C#6	brilliant and warm; 1-2 s
High	D6–G7	bright, hard, short

VSL boundaries F#3/G#3 and C#6/Db6, rounded to string names.

Overtones reach about 2 kHz (the highest harmonic within 40 dB of the strongest, at a moderate level; louder playing reaches higher)¹³.

The sound

Harpists pluck near the middle of the string, which suppresses the even harmonics: here the 2nd, 4th and 6th are 25-49 dB down while the 3rd and 5th are strong.

Where the sound goes

The harp's sound field is complex and "can only truthfully be picked up" at least 2-3 m away; its stereo distribution is vertical, not horizontal, and a mic close to the soundboard picks up only part of it and sounds boomy. The soundboard resonates and projects the sound and is in contact with the player.^1,8

Recording it

Distance: for a solo harp, at least as far as the harp is tall (about 2 m), so its sound blends
Spot mic: near the top of the pillar pointing down at the soundboard, or just behind the harp from the right
Stage: a miniature omni in one of the sound holes (the second from the bottom), with foam in the lower holes
Watch: boomy low mids around 180 Hz up close¹

Playing techniques

Près de la table: plucked near the soundboard; brighter, metallic, guitar-like
Harmonics: an octave up, soft and bell-like
Étouffé: damped by the hand, short and dry
Glissando: the sweep across the strings¹²

Problems to watch

Boomy lows in small rooms (stuff the lower sound holes with foam), pedal action noise, finger damping noise, and ringing bass strings.¹

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
90 dB	harp, single musician secondary¹⁴
89 dB(A)	player's ears; harp at forte, dry (direct) sound at the player's ears, computed from the ISO 23591 Annex A sound power (Lw 92 dB) estimate¹⁵
Peaks
111 dB	harp, single musician secondary¹⁴
119.3 dB(C)	0.1-0.5 m from the ear; 1 opera and 3 symphony orchestras in Poland, meters on tripods 0.1-0.5 m from the players' ears, group rehearsals, concerts, performances (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. 2011)¹⁶
Player's exposure (dosimeter)
87 dB(A)	player's shoulder; Finnish National Opera orchestra, dosimeter on the shoulder opposite the instrument (Laitinen et al. 2003); 1 harpist, Swan Lake¹⁷
89–90 dB(A)	player's shoulder; Finnish National Opera orchestra, dosimeter on the shoulder opposite the instrument (Laitinen et al. 2003); 1 harpist, individual practice¹⁷
81.5 dB(A)	0.1-0.5 m from the ear; 1 opera and 3 symphony orchestras in Poland, meters on tripods 0.1-0.5 m from the players' ears, group rehearsals, concerts, performances (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. 2011); 5 samples¹⁶

No source found.

Sources

DPA Mic University: How to mic a harpmanufacturer · dpamicrophones.com
Harp Column forum: question on recording lever harp (2007)forum · harpcolumn.com
Harp Column forum: Recording your Harp (2012)forum · harpcolumn.com
Harp Column forum: How to Simply Record the Harp at Home Inexpensively (2016)forum · harpcolumn.com
Production Expert: How To Record A Solo Harp - Expert Tutorial (Audrey Martinovich, 2019)magazine · production-expert.com
Royer Labs: Recording Acoustic Guitar, Violin, Ukulele, Cello & Other Stringed Instrumentsmanufacturer · royerlabs.com
Sound On Sound: Recording & Mixing An Acoustic Ensemble Gig (Paul White, 2007)magazine · soundonsound.com
Sound On Sound: Session Notes - Recording Harp On Locationmagazine · soundonsound.com
Mix: Sound Reinforcement for the Boston Pops: Miking the Orchestra (BSO live mix engineer Steve Colby)magazine · mixonline.com
Research Catalogue (Royal Conservatoire The Hague): Cosmic Journey - Exploring the possibilities of Harp and Live-Electronics (Kyra Frimout, 2025)educational · researchcatalogue.net
Shure: Microphone Techniques for Live Sound Reinforcementmanufacturer · 2007 · music.arts.uci.edu
Vienna Symphonic Library Academy: Harpeducational · vsl.co.at
VS Chamber Orchestra 2: Community Edition sample library (Versilian Studios), CC0; own FFT analysisgithub.com
Representative noise levels table with orchestra noise guidance (UK Sound Advice material)eclass-b.uoa.gr
Forum Acusticum 2023: Skalevik, Sound levels at musicians' ears from classical instruments during solitary practiceMagne Skalevik · academic · 2023 · dael.euracoustics.org
JOSE: Evaluation of Sound Exposure and Risk of Hearing Impairment in Orchestral Musicians (Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska, Dudarewicz, Zamojska, Sliwinska-Kowalska)Malgorzata Pawlaczyk-Luszczynska et al. · academic · 2011 · portal.ciop.pl
Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene: Laitinen et al., Sound exposure among the Finnish National Opera personnel (2003), Aalto repository preprintHeli M. Laitinen, Esko M. Toppila, Pekka S. Olkinuora, Kaarina Kuisma · academic · 2003 · aaltodoc.aalto.fi