Recently, we here at Reverb had the pleasure of sitting down with harpist Lara Somogyi who talked about how she uses effects to manipulate her harp tone and treated us to a performance. And though the harp might be a unique instrument that we don't see a lot of here at Reverb, we were very familiar with a lot of the effects living on Somogyi's unique pedalboard.
"My journey with the electro-acoustic harp and my pedals and effects—it all started with the looper. The looper is my best friend," Somogyi started, showing off the robust Boss RC-300 Loop Station that she graduated to after starting with the RC-30.
After the looper kicked off what would become a self-described effects obsession, Somogyi started exploring all manner of delays, reverbs, and distortions. Reverb, specifically, in an important effect that helps her create washes of vibey tones, and her board is filled with a variety of reverb flavors chained together by the likes of EarthQuaker Devices and Walrus Audio. Somogyi also showed off a variety of modulation pedals she keeps on her board to turn the normally soft and light harp sound into a grungier, dirtier, and sustained bellowing beast.
After walking us through her pedalboard and showcasing some of the dynamic sounds it helps her to build, Somogyi played her own rendition of Beyoncé's "XO" from 2013's Beyoncé, which you can watch in the video above. Be sure to check out both videos for Somogyi's unique showcase of her electro-acoustic harp, and be sure to let us know what you think in the comments below.