How to get nice clear Harp Harmonics

tanihhiavlt

hiya, how do people get really nice clear harp harmonics? 

If I play something like a Cmaj7 chord on the 3rd and play alternate "open strings" and harmonics around the 15th fret - they're different volumes... 

so far I've tried raising the action
increasing the gain and picking more softly.

not wowed with either - any tips?

octatonic

They will be.
You have to strike the loud notes softer and the soft notes louder.
Or use a compressor to even out the dynamic range.

tanihhiavlt

hmm compressor - that's a thought will see if the ones I have do the job.

viz

The 2nd order harmonic has half the energy of the "open" fretted note an octave lower so it should sound 3dB quieter. Apart from the ideas about plucking harder, using a compressor etc, I think you could also use the fact that it's naturally quieter as a feature of the note, and make that fact matter, musically, if you see what I mean. Difficult to describe! But it's a bit like "enjoy winter vegetables during winter, don't lust after strawberries all year round".

tanihhiavlt

Cheers Viz, I've slung flat wounds 11s on the tele and raised the action a bit and I'm happier with it.

But I hadn't thought the note would be quieter due to physics.

They are a nice contrast - and I should maybe use them that way ta 

Danny1969

Compression can be a really handy tool to help bring them out. I'm terrible at harping but with a little compression I can get a usable sound, skip to 10:30 to see how compression basically evens out my poor technique 

tanihhiavlt

Thanks Danny - it was great to be reminded of some techniques I love that I've forgotten to use like tapping. and mixing harmonics into solos - lovely! 

Your demo at that time is really good, the specific problem I've got is where I'm playing a passage like this C maj 7 on the 3rd fret 

E --3-----------------------------
B --5-----------------------------
G --4-----------------------------
D --5-----------------------------
A --3-----------------------------
E --------------------------------

with harp harmonics "fretted" with the index finger and plucked with the thumb (in brackets) and the normally fretted strings (I think of them as 'open') plucked by the little finger (my finger picking needs serious work!)

E --------------------------------------------(15)---------
B -----------5---------------------(17)--------------------
G --4--------------------(16)------------------------------
D ---------------(17)--------------------------------------
A -----(15)------------------------------------------------
E ---------------------------------------------------------

I think I either need to "tame my pinky" or pick with another finger