Originally published at: Harpist with a distortion pedal | Boing Boing
…
13 Likes
Opening chord is a dead ringer for Barracuda
6 Likes
It’s really rad and would love to see harp in a rock or metal band now though the heavy distortion seems to wash out a lot of the nuance of the instrument, at least to me. There’s probably a way to make it work 
7 Likes
not your grandma’s harp with that fuzz box. i like how she plucked the strings and then sat there chilling listening to the sound.
6 Likes
I thought the way she played the lower register strings with her third hand was pretty cool.
23 Likes
Heh, I saw that too. Eep!
Cool effect, looking forward to hearing her actually play some music with it. Maybe a cover of something by NIN?
5 Likes
HÄRP
22 Likes
That’s so not (s)harp it’s fuzzy!
3 Likes
That was awesome. And the happy dimples on the harpist were great too.
7 Likes
definitely cool, but I’m left with questions.
I would have also liked to have heard a commonly known tune to hear how it sounds playing a melody, in addition to her slow noodling around.
also, how is the pedal hooked up? I assume the harps do not come with 1/4" outputs, but what do I know? which makes me think it’s mic’d? what kind of mic? where is it placed? (looks like the cable came from the angle furthest from the harpist but you can’t really tell?)
3 Likes
Yeah, do these harps have the equivalent of guitar pickups?
If they do, they must be MONSTERS.
If the overdrive’s sat between a mic and the amp, that’s a bit disappointing 
3 Likes
I suspect it has a piezo pickup. Definitely not a conventional magnetic pickup.
7 Likes
I don’t understand what signal is being distorted. Electric guitars have a pickup, which converts the vibrating string into an electrical signal. I doubt she has a pickup on every string for her harp, so is she just using a microphone next to the harp and using a distortion pedal on the signal from the microphone?
1 Like
That was beautiful. Epic.
1 Like
Next logical step: Metalica/Andreas Vollenweider mashup.
6 Likes
3 Likes
There are a ridiculous number of distortion pedals on the market, I’m sure there are several that work with a harp OK.
God help her if she falls victim to the guitarist disease “endless pursuit of the perfect tone.”
3 Likes
Nice sound. If you like processed harp may I also recommend Mary Lattimore for your attention?
1 Like
Zeena Parkins:
5 Likes
Shredding on the Harp, music to my ears.
1 Like
