Alison and Stephen Vardy

Stephen Vardy runs the sound for concerts featuring his wife, harpist Alison Vardy. The Vardys live on the West Coast of Canada, and also do amplification at events like corporate receptions, trade shows, weddings and parties, where the harp music is more of a background feature. When I ran into Stephen on the LAB, I was fascinated by their cottage business, how they earn a good living by servicing a niche market that is unknown to people from the pop world. We traded e-mails, and I asked Stephen to elaborate on some topics he referred to, about his work with the harp and other instruments.

Also, check them out on the Web: http://www.alisonvardy.com/sound.htm

Chris Kathman: Please give us just a very short synopsis of your own background, particularly in reference to whether you had formal training in audio or electrical engineering, or like many of us, you ran away from home to join the rock show.

Stephen Vardy: I am a professional listener. My earliest memories are of falling asleep listening to radio. I do not play an instrument but I am steeped in music all day, every day. Did math and physics in high school and received a BSc in Genetics. Went to work as a beekeeper, ended up working as an Apicultural Specialist for the New Zealand Government without a beekeeping course to my name. I am a firm believer in the trial and terror brand of learning. Practical experience backed up with self-directed study to understand and expand upon that experience.

My first sound experience was courtesy of The New Edinburgh Folk Club in Dunedin, New Zealand in 1993 - the Celtic Capital of the Southern Hemisphere. Dunedin is at the end of the musical road at the ends of the earth. We had an act through every 2 - 4 weeks and it was always a scramble to get someone to put a sound system together by begging and borrowing from other musicians. Dunedin was noteable for music stores selling only one piece of any brand of gear and everyone else borrowing it.

I quickly realized that my presence at the club gigs was desireable if I had some useable gear and since my wife was just starting to perform harp professionally for a fee, I bought my first system. An antique entry level Peavey with its classic brittle sound. I made a snake that could be fitted to any combination of gear and bought a Midiverb III (NZ$1100). The snake and Midiverb got me invited to lots of gigs to "help" with the sound. I got to hear a lot of different gear in action, to see different styles of engineering and see how an engineer's manner had a profound effect on the musicians. I learned in the fine art of the "do not panic, it will work somehow, trust me" school of sound engineering. To this day I carry everycombination of spare cable and connecter with me "just in case" and have a backup strategy for most of my gear.

C.K. : I was interested in your work because I have a background in harp work myself, amplifying many concerts and corporate appearances, and recording one CD, for an artist in San Francisco. In the studio, I could run microphones hotter and just fill in a little bit with the pick-up (at that time a Barcus-Berry, now that performer uses an amazing harp made in France, with lo, mid, and hi 1/4" outputs.) At gigs, I would use very little mic signal and at times be forced to go 100% with the pickup. What has been your experience, with pickups, and mics? Favorite brands, and techniques?


S.V. :I like a warm, detailed vinyl LP record styled sound. I believe your biggest bang for your buck is in the microphones and speakers. With good gear and placement my desk gets very little tweaking.

For clean sound suitable for noisy stage and outdoor environments I use a Barcus Berry Folk Harp Pickup made on special order by Alfredo Ortiz. I put it through an L.R.Baggs Para-Acoustic preamp which has a great EQ function. For more detail, I will also use a single SM57 when outdoors or a small diaphram condenser AT4041 indoors. Either mic is focused on the "sweetspot" about 2/3 down the
soundboard with moderate gain.

When Alison is doing solo stage performances with foreign engineers she usually has two small diaghram AT4041's . One a little below the sweetspot and the other used to add presence and the string plucking sounds. I put it just about on her right knee and aim it at her mouth through the strings. These mics have a wonderful low end and great detail up top.

Catching the plucking sounds is very important as the harp is a very sonically tactile instrument. A good harpist plays the spaces between the notes just as much as the notes themselves. The plucking sounds accentuate this. When Alison "zens out" an audience, they are literally in the space between their thoughts, reluctant to arise back into this world for applause at the end of a tune.

When I have full control of the sound environment, I use a large diaphram condenser, an ADK A51s series, at the right knee and sometimes another one just below the sweetspot. Both will have relatively high gain. These mics are Neumanesque in their sound. They have relatively tight cardoid pattern for a big condenser and are absolutely ideal for stage work. (strings and hand percussion). I prefer the "s" model as it is much more versatile.

In concert I usually have two complete chair/ mic setups for Alison, who often changes places 6 times while performing with her different harps during the concert. Changing harps adds sonic variety to the program. For spoken vocals I use a SM57 with the dedicated Shure foam windscreen. I like it much better than the SM58 but I am thinking of upgrading to a higher end AT condenser for a more clean natural sound. The speech mic sits forward facing on a platform taped on the left side Alison's chair. Life on the edge! In this way, I avoid a forest of stands around her with using only one low K&M with 2 short booms for each harp.

C.K. : You mentioned the need to deal with superfluous noise, "stage sanitation," to be precise, what are some of the situations in which you have had to fight those battles?

S.V. : In Alison's solo stage/ concert situations keeping stage volumes down is absolutely critical. No foldback nor sidefill. (Alison is getting 82 to 85db at her right ear from her harp which is usually sufficient) As I use large condensers on stage pointed at Alison's mouth through the strings from an angle and over a 2 foot distance with medium gain, any stray sound reflection is liable to be picked up. Careful EQ usually does the trick. Using a plush carpet helps and also watching for hard surfaces behind Alison. All pretty standard stuff really. What most people do not realise is that a harp is in its own right an omnidirectional microphone. If there is a resonance in the room, it will find it. Alison's 14lb 36 string Paraguayan harp will light up like a firecracker at 400hz plus any resonances specific to the room. I can ring out in one key and at intermission she will retune to another key and "pow" some fast on-the-fly EQ is happening during the first minutes of the second half. It pays to reduce volumes after a retune and gently nudge back up when "safe".

Playing in groups and/or having internal soundbox mics accentuate this feedback problem. Pickups are usually the answer in this instance or else the stage sanitation/ EQ has to be very very clean.

C.K. : What are the different types of harps that Alison uses, and do you approach them differently in terms of sound?

S.V. : The key to good harp sound is avoiding muddiness with well matched room reverbs, clean sounding well placed gear and understated use of the reverb. Experiment at the harp, not at the desk.

Alison is a multi ethnic/ cultural folk harpist who uses a number of harps. She has a 36 string paraguayan style harp that she made herself in Australia. This harp is built lightly like a guitar, with a tight, bright sound and a short sustain. Very suitable for Latin and dance rhythms, fast Celtic, boogie woogie, improvisations, and situations where the harp has to punch through a noisy environment/ mix. Her newest is a 30lb 36 string Celtic levered Nova harp made by Sandpiper instruments in Oregon. This harp literally overwhems a room with its presence, volume, warmth and sustain. Ideal for music with accidentals and flourish - Celtic, Jewish, Balkan, Russian, light classical, contemporary and spirituals. Alison loves rhythm and obscure time signatures.

Alison has 4 other folk harps for use outdoors, trade shows, craft fairs and rentals. Alison prefers more lightly strung harps that allow her fingers to fly. Many people associate the harp with the classical or concert harp which has pedals, as seen amidst orchestras with lots of glissando. "Real harps" in some eyes. These harps are often very tightly strung and more tiring to play. They weigh 80lb, are comparitively fragile, require a large morgage and really add little advantage to our situation as we need portability and ease of play over long periods of time. The amplification takes care of volumes.

C.K. : Is there a difference between ringing a room with a harp, or using an SM-58?

S.V. : Simple. Set everything up, power up to moderate levels, get the harpist to quickly pluck each string in succession down the instrument. The offending frequencies will pop out and resonate at you. Keep plucking the offending string and notch the frequency. Repeat until flat at the loudest possible volume likely in concert. Bring back to an average level. Repeat the finger walking down the strings in any other key as required.

Folk harps are not chromatic like a guitar. They have all the white notes like a piano and a white note needs to be sacrificed to create a black note. This means a key change mid-concert may add new frequencies to that omnidirectional microphone called "the %#**! harp" in your mix. Smile.