Koto
Japanese zither
- Sources
- 43 independent: not from a mic maker
What it is
13-string Japanese zither on a paulownia body about 180 cm long, strings tuned by moving bridges (ji), plucked with three finger picks (tsume). Seventeen-string bass versions exist (Wikipedia).
Range
about three octaves in a pentatonic tuning
Where the sound goes
A sound hole on the underside, plus the top (soundboard). Common advice (search summaries of soundforums.net and Gearspace) is dual miking: one mic at the sound hole underneath, one above the strings between the player's hands. Treat the mic like one for an acoustic guitar.
About the range
No sourced range. About three octaves in a pentatonic tuning (estimate).
How loud
Sound pressure level measurements as published. Different kinds of figure (a playing level, a peak, a dose at the player's ear) can't be compared with each other, and neither can figures at different distances.
| Playing level | |
|---|---|
| 81.5 dB | just in front of the koto (箏のすぐ前方); distance not given; 13-string koto in normal playing by a koto player at home, reading for a short passage (video on the page)5 |
| Sound power | |
| 79–90 dB | sound power level Lw, no distance; koto (琴), one player, a softer piece about 79 dB and a louder piece about 90 dB6 |
One player's own reading just in front of a koto in normal playing: 81.5 dB (meter and weighting not stated); a felt mute brought it to 70 dB. A Japanese sound power study measured one koto at about 79 dB for a softer piece and 90 dB for a louder one.
Recording it
Impact Soundworks recorded koto, bass koto and shamisen in a small treated room with a Beyerdynamic MC 834, a Neumann TLM 170 and two KM 184 through a Millennia HV-3D, close and room stereo. Gearspace summary: Schoeps MK4 or MK2S, one under the instrument near a sound hole, a spaced MK21 pair for the room, main mic about 6 to 8 ft away and 6 ft high. Live: small-diaphragm condensers from underneath on desk stands or short booms, or Schertler's purpose-made DYN-K-P48 contact pickup. Ask the player where the mic should go.
Mics
- 6 setups from 4 sources, 3 of them independent of any mic maker.
- On top: the mics more than one source names for this instrument, in any role, the most named first. That is a count of sources, not our verdict.
- In the full list, each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those come from a mic maker.
No mic is named by more than one source yet: each names its own.
All the mics sources name, by setting and role (6)
Studio
Close
- Beyerdynamic MC 8341 source
- Neumann KM 1841 source
- Neumann TLM 170 (earlier version of the Neumann TLM 170 R)1 source
- Schoeps MK 4 capsule1 source
Spaced pair
The 4 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Schoeps MK 4 capsuleclose, under the instrument near a sound hole
Schoeps MK4 used on koto; mic placed under the instrument near a sound hole (search-result summary).
1 - Main pair or array 2 × Schoeps MK 21 capsuleroom, spaced pair; main mic 6-8 ft away and 6 ft high
Spaced pair of subcardioid MK21 for room; main mic about 6-8 ft away and 6 ft high (search-result summary).
1 - Close 2 × Neumann KM 184close and room stereo
Koto, bass koto and shamisen recorded with Beyerdynamic MC834, Neumann TLM-170 and two Neumann KM-184, close and room.
2 - Close Neumann TLM 170 (earlier version of the Neumann TLM 170 R) or Beyerdynamic MC 834close
Koto, bass koto and shamisen recorded with Beyerdynamic MC834, Neumann TLM-170 and two Neumann KM-184, close and room.
2
Studio and stage
Contact
- Schertler DYN-K-P481 source from its own maker
The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
- Contact Schertler DYN-K-P48stuck on the body
Purpose-made koto pickup; natural, dynamic and detailed in live use and in the studio (search-result summary).
3
On stage
The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
- Multi-mic plan small-diaphragm condensers on short booms or desk stands from underneath; second mic over stringsdual: sound hole underneath plus over the strings between the hands
Candidate for dual miking: one mic at the sound hole underneath, one over the strings (search-result summary).
4
Sources
- Gearspace: Recording Koto soloist
- Impact Soundworks: Koto Nation (developer's recording notes)
- Schertler: DYN-K-P48 koto pickup
- soundforums.net: Mic a koto live?
- Hougaku no Wa (ohju.net): 家で箏の練習！ 〜消音方法を考える〜 (practising koto at home: mutes compared, with meter readings)
- Noise Control (騒音制御) 20(1): Shiga and Ezawa, 各種楽器の音響パワーレベル (Sound Power Levels of Musical Instruments), pp. 29-33