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A tinny, twangy large harp (not Pakistani)

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Home Forums Forum Archives Professional Harpists A tinny, twangy large harp (not Pakistani)

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  • #148066
    eva-murphy
    Participant

    Paraguayan harps, by their very nature are significantly brighter-sounding than pedal harps, and also brighter than many lever harps. In some situations, it is a delightful sound. But in other situations, the tone of the Paraguayan harp doesn’t (in my opinion) fit in as well. Is there anything that can be done to either subdue or eliminate the brightness (or more like the “tinny-ness” or “twangy-ness”, in the case of trying to play classical music on one) of a Paraguayan harp? I understand that one needs to use a much lighter touch with a Paraguayan harp…however, what if I want to play (for example) a few classical pieces on an existing very tall Paraguayan harp that has slightly wider spacing for harpists who do not play using fingernails (yes, classical music can be played on a Paraguayan harp), and I want to mellow the sound…even if done artificially (when playing for outdoor weddings in remote outdoor locations). I’m willing to try effects used by acoustic guitarists (activated by electronic pedal switches, processed through a battery-operated amplifier). What types of effects should I be trying out? Can anyone think of anything else I might try to either temporarily or permanently mellow the tone somewhat?

    #148067
    Tacye
    Participant

    At the Edinburgh Harp festival this year Diego Laverde played a concert swapping between two Columbian harps by the same maker which were in different keys, but one had the bass (and maybe more) strung in gut I would describe its sound as mellower than the other.

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