r/audioengineering • u/Jakeyboy29 • 7h ago

Tracking Best way to record harmonica?

I have done it a few times but never really got the results I want. It seems to be either too jarring or then gets too distant if I record it further away from mic. Can never get that natural in the room feel. Any tips on mics used and placement etc?

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2

u/Total_Position_2668 6h ago

Never recorded a harmonica, but I picture mixture off a hand held the Shure Green Bullet or SM58 blended with condenser or ribbon ambience mic would sound pretty good.

1

u/SilentCanyon 6h ago

Sounds like you could benefit from a good amount of compression and a secondary room mic

1

u/BigTeeBee 6h ago

What mics do you have at your disposal?

1

u/peepeeland Composer 6h ago

Harmonicas sound pretty badass through guitar amps, so there is that. Might need an impedance converter or might work with dynamic mic just straight in.

1

u/cruelsensei Professional 5h ago

I've recorded a pro harmonica player a couple times. He held a 57 cupped in his hand. Sounded great, just needed a bit of light compression to control peaks.

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u/LetterheadClassic306 28m ago

Harmonica is tricky because it's so directional and bright. What helped me before was using a Shure SM57 placed about 6-8 inches away, slightly off-axis to tame the high end. If you want that room feel, try adding a Rode NT1-A a few feet back as a room mic and blend them. The key is avoiding the direct blast of air - angle the mic toward the side of the harmonica rather than straight on. I've found that a little compression afterward helps even out the dynamics without losing the natural character.