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Home › Forums › Harps and Accessories › soundboard cracks

Viewing 8 posts - 1 through 8 (of 8 total)
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  • July 31, 2010 at 12:37 pm #73779
    deb-l
    Participant

    there is a 7 yr old Pilgrim Ashdown harp I’m interested in as a second, portable harp that has this note:

    ‘the unveneered soundboard has developed a few horizontal cracks which
    run parallel with the grain of the soundboard.

    July 31, 2010 at 1:47 pm #73780
    carl-swanson
    Participant

    The cracks that you describe do not compromise the life of the soundboard at all. They are not an indication that the board is weakening. This type of cracking also has no effect whatsoever on the sound. It is only vertical cracks that run parellel and close to the center strip on the soundboard that are ominous signs that the soundboard may need to be replaced soon.

    July 31, 2010 at 2:10 pm #73781
    deb-l
    Participant

    thanks for your sharing expertise Carl.

    July 31, 2010 at 7:35 pm #73782
    deb-l
    Participant

    just curious, are these cracks normal wear and tear for a 7 year old harp, or are they likely due to poor humidity?

    July 31, 2010 at 8:40 pm #73783
    carl-swanson
    Participant

    Horizontal cracks are caused by the movement in the soundboard wood, which happens over the course of the year from changes in humidity. Some wood pieces move more, some less. Ideally an unveneered soundboard should be installed at the driest time of the year when it has shrunk as much as it’s going to. But that’s still no guarantee that it will not crack later. Again, it has to do mostly with how much a particular piece of wood expands and contracts with changes in humidity over the course of the year. There is no way I would blame the builder for those cracks.

    August 1, 2010 at 12:45 am #73784
    Dwyn .
    Participant

    My approximately 175 year old Stumpff Grecian double action pedal harp has a few of these horizontal soundboard cracks, and I expect it’s had them for over a century.

    August 1, 2010 at 12:55 am #73785
    carl-swanson
    Participant

    A friend of mine who had studied with Renie told me that her favorite harp had a bunch of horizontal cracks in the board that you could see light through.

    August 1, 2010 at 11:13 am #73786
    deb-l
    Participant

    I really enjoy hearing stories of well loved, worn older harps.

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