First pedal harp arrives tomorrow, do I need to wait before tuning / playing?

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This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 2 years, 12 months ago by balfour-knight.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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April 17, 2022 at 9:40 am #286554

byoung2690
Participant

My first pedal harp (Camac Egerie EX) has been in transit storage over the weekend about 60 miles from my house. Is there a protocol I should follow to bring my pedal harp into tune such as waiting a few hours or only tuning a certain amount each day? Any other information that might be valuable to a first time owner is also greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Brad

April 18, 2022 at 5:59 pm #286566

Sid Humphreys
Participant

First, CONGRATS!!!!
Make sure the pedals are all in the upper position (all flats). Go ahead and tune to c flat. You may need to do this a few times in a row before it begins to hold pitch so don’t be discouraged! (Really, as soon as you get to the top strings, the bottom ones, especially the gut, will already be out of tune. Don’t turn the string pin quickly even if its way off pitch; they’re gut and and need to be treated kindly. This is also the case when you replace a broken string. It will seem frustrating but you’ll make it through this frustrating bit of time. You will probably have to tune every time you sit down and play throughout the day, then after a few days it will hold pitch all day. Avoid drafty areas like an open window and such as the temp and humidity change will cause the harp to slip out of tune.

April 19, 2022 at 3:57 pm #286862

balfour-knight
Participant

Good to see your post here, Sid, old friend! Brad, Sid gave you good advice. If the harp is VERY flat, you could also try tuning all the C’s first, then the G’s, E’s, A’s, and so on, to help the harp get back to tension. Camac does not advise tuning the harp down very much for shipping, so this harp may be closer to being in tune already than say, a L&H. Best of luck, and congratulations! Let us know how you like this new harp.

Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

April 27, 2022 at 6:33 pm #287380

balfour-knight
Participant

Brad, we want to know, how did all of this turn out? Has your Egerie arrived yet? Hope it has, and that the new harp is everything you expected it to be!

Best wishes,
Balfour
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