Buzzes from levers?

[Norah Calamy]

I have an Ogden and have had problems with buzzes for a while now. Three of my five bass wires buzz levers up AND down, and there are five or six others that have the same problem, made worse when the lever is up.

I was wondering if it was just my harp or if other Lyon and Healy lever harps have similar issues. If not, I admit I can’t wait to get a Troub. (Or really a pedal)

My guess is that pedal harps do not have problems with the discs slipping as much as levers do? Or am I wrong in saying there is a perfect harp? 😉

[jennifer-buehler]

If you have that many strings buzzing (especially whether or not levers are engaged) then the problem is probably not the levers.

[diana-day]

I had a similar problem and tried tightening the bolts at the base of the column, got a kit and did my best to regulate the levers, etc. I talked several times to the harp maker, who was very helpful. In the end, though, I found the answer here on the Harp Column. Someone on a previous thread mentioned that having mechanical pencils on your music stand could cause buzzing. Hard to believe, but that’s what it was. I took the pencil off my stand and haven’t had a buzz since!

[barbara-brundage]

Yes, the very first thing to do is take the harp into another room to be sure it really is the harp itself that’s buzzing. Very often buzzes that sound like they are coming directly from the harp are really sympathetic vibrations from an object in the room.

[catherine-rogers]

I have had buzzes in the harp room that turned out to be from (on different occasions) a hinge on a cabinet door, the drawer of a metal filing cabinet–didn’t buzz when open but you can’t leave the drawer open all the time–and the metal cover on the floor heat/air vent.

[Donna O]

I have had buzzing and thought it was my strings.

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