A different approach to building a pedal harp

[mike-c]

wow, thanks for the information everyone.

[barbara-brundage]

> Anything capable of pressing hard enough against the string in the right location would suffice…

Not exactly. It would have to press hard enough without moving the string out of alignment, which is a different thing.

[barbara-brundage]

and without damaging the string in the process.

[barbara-brundage]

And also, when in the off position (the open disc position) still leave enough room for the string to vibrate without buzzing against whatever it is.

You might want to look at some of the 18th century harps to see some of the other ideas people have come up with (hooks, the crochet mechanism, etc.) as well as the many levers that are out there for the various ideas people have already had about how to deal with this problem.

[tony-morosco]

Bernhard, don’t worry, you are perfectly clear and understandable.

I have always been more familiar with the keyboard controllers. I use them when working on with my DAW. What you describe is much more sophisticated and makes the idea of a MIDI harp much more appealing to me.

I have never been against them, but I play Jazz and pop, and I always thought that some of the techniques I use often, like applying pressure to the string between the tuning and bridge pins to bend notes or add tremolo, as well as things like adding vibrato, just wouldn’t work with MIDI. I have found MIDI guitars to have these problems.

But if I understand what you are saying these techniques would work on your MIDI harp?

How about transmitting other sounds from the string? Can samples be created that would allow, say, the sound of a fingernail being scraped along a bass string produced? I use that sometimes, and it works exceptionally well on my electric harp, which picks up all noise off the strings and amplifies it clearly. Of course MIDI wouldn’t pick the actual sound up, but could a sample be used to mimic that?

MIDI has come a long way it seems.

[bernhard-schmidt]

“….

[bernhard-schmidt]

I wanted to say also something to the theme of the original question of this thread.

As far as I know harpmaking, I must say that there is no possibilty

[tony-morosco]

Thanks for the explanation. Yes, being able to play both MIDI and electric at the same time solves a lot of issues. In fact MIDI guitars pretty much all

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The simple answer would seem to be to reproduce Wurlitzer harps, as they are as near to the best as you can get.

[jennifer-lusch]

First, let me state that I am not a harp builder, nor a technician, and consider myself only an advanced beginner/intermediate as a player…weigh my answer accordingly 😉

I own an experimental single-action pedal 34 string harp.

[carl-swanson]

Bernhard- I agree with you entirely. Given what the pedal harp has to do, and how dependable it is, it would be very difficult to come up with a better system. And Saul, I agree totally with you too. The Wurlitzer action was the best action design ever, bar none. By the time Wurlitzer started building harps(because the original Lyon & Healy patents had expired) Lyon & Healy had been building harps for almost 20 years. Wurlitzer hired their head technician and I suspect it was he who improved the Lyon & Healy design. It’s so sad that they did not continue to build harps.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Not to knock the harps you do make, but why don’t you make Wurlitzer designs, Carl? Just wondering. And what makes their sound darker than Lyon & Healys of the same vintage?

[jack bramwell]

I have also been thinking of a hydraulic mechanism.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The spring system we have is not bad, as we have a dynamic relationship with the pedal, which is giving us feedback as we move it. Making it more consistent is a matter of materials and adjustment. A different type of spring may be the only improvement needed. How would a hydraulic system feel underfoot, and isn’t there a risk of leaking fluid?

[kreig-kitts]

As long as it leaks somewhere the brass players can step in it, so they’ll know how the rest of us feel.

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