harp strings

[Carolyn Clarke]

Dear Emily –

[Clarence Ross]

There are an uncountable number of highly accomplished, talented, and thoroughly professional harpists who use and even stake their reputation on Bow Brand strings. Instead of spending hundreds of dollars on strings and then complaining about them, perhaps Ms. Mitchel should merely spend a few dollars on Q-tips and clean the tin from her ears.

[john-strand]

Hmmmmm – seems to me that comment is way over on the tacky side, Clarence – Ms. Mitchell has previously established highly professional standards regarding her sound – there’s no question of that – and that sound came from the use of a string that is no longer available – she has every right to critique the available strings and find them unsatisfactory if they are not giving her the sound she previously had – our harps are quite individual concerning their sound, as are the differences in the fingers that produce that sound and what she’s saying is that she had a perfect match with the old strings and the new ones don’t measure up – so, basically, she knows what she’s talking about and the string folks need to come up with something that satisfies individual customers with their individual needs, especially if there was something working for lots of folks that they have dumped for whatever reason – unfortunately, one size doesn’t fit all –

[Clarence Ross]

Tacky? Certainly no less than calling harp strings tennis wires. I would venture that for Bow

[Amber M]

Disheartening that so many Column threads end up getting nasty

[emily-mitchell]

Classic gut are, were, more substantial in the 2nd octave. This is the way they’ve been sold in the US as thicker than Bow Brand with a more mellow, less strident sound. Over the years I’ve noticed Bow Brand thinning out in the 2nd octave producing that ping-y, residual sound, and I have wondered if the varnishing is causing the strings to go up false. This is why I stopped using Bow Brand and started using Classic. I do not expect to keep 2nd octave strings for long on my harps. They’re not meant to last, not with the amount of playing I give my harps. I remember the days when varnished Cs and Fs would flake off their varnish which resembled plastic coating. I don’t use nylon in the 3rd and 2nd octaves.

I have purchased Bow Brand from numerous harp string companies in the US. There is no option to purchase thicker strings with less varnish. Ordering directly from the factory will mean a long wait for strings via snail mail. Will there be the option to order thicker strings with less varnish here in the US?

[Jessica A]

I’ll speak up for the nylon 2-3rd octaves.

[laura-smithburg-byrne]

This is an important discussion and I am interested in hearing more about other professional harpists’ string preferences with their harps. I completely disagree with Mr. Ross but he is entitled to his opinion on his string preferences with his harp and his performance needs.

I happen to agree with Emily and have had very similar experiences with breakage in the second octave and inconsistencies in quality and tone between “Bow Brands” and “Classics”.

I love my harp and its’ sound and the conductors I work with appreciate the quality of my sound and the range of color I can achieve in my tone.

They also appreciate that I am reliable, consistent, and keep my instrument in great shape for their concerts and productions.

I change my strings ahead of time in anticipation of breakage for important performances paying close attention to trouble areas that get a lot of playing.

I recall the last two Decembers shedding second octave strings in the pit during Nutcracker runs and at concerts when I was playing a very heavy holiday schedule.

It would not be unusual for me to play 4 “Nutcrackers”, a Britten “Ceremony of Carols” and a recorded Christmas concert at Duke Chapel all in one weekend.

This would require several moves of the harp in various weather conditions and I would have to sit down, tune and pray that the strings would hold.

This was not a problem when I had the “Classics” because I could usually tell when the string was going to go and change it before the concert or during intermission. A few seasons ago I had a 5th octave E go 2 minutes to curtain before the opening of “Madame Butterfly”. The string popped like a gunshot and everyone in the pit froze in fear. I flew into action grabbing my string back yanking out a replacement, knotting it and stringing it and tuning it up in 1 minute and 15 seconds. I know because one of my colleagues was timing me and told me afterwards. By the time the A sounded my E string was in place and holding. I tweaked it quietly throughout the performance to make sure because the last thing I wanted was to hit a sour note in that beautiful Puccini harp part. The string was fine and held well throughout the run without a problem.

Another time I was playing the “Debussy Danses” at the university and had three 2nd octave D’s break in one week.

Clearly I had a bad batch of Bow Brands. The third break was at the dress rehearsal and I asked one of my students to run to my office and grab the studio strings and bring them to me. I strung up the Classic D continued the dress rehearsal and it held beautifully at the concert the next night. That D is a very important note in that piece and I was glad the string held so well. I also remember string breakage being of concern when I played “Lucia” and our pit was FREEZING cold in rehearsals. On opening night they finally turned the heat on and it was a drastic temperature change. My classics held without a problem and that is a cadenza you do not want to have to worry about a 2nd octave string breaking!

As a professional harpist I know what strings work well with my harp and my style of playing and give me the best sound and I like to use the best.

This is one of the reasons why I preferred the classics, I could rely on it for tone quality and it held pitch very quickly. The second octaves also were thicker and gave me more resistance in my articulation and I could achieve the tone I wanted without worry. A a working professional harpist I expect the best quality strings available to me in maintaining my instrument so that is performs at it’s maximum ability and gives me the finest sound possible. There is nothing wrong with asking a company for the best quality it can give you.

Excellence and customer satisfaction should be the most important value a company holds, a great reputation for a great product assures profit margin.

Why would you settle for less when you’ve had the best?

[steven-amazeen]

“And if the old Classic strings were so fabulous, why did they go belly up?”

Classic was the brand name of strings

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I would greatly appreciate it if Ms. Clark would make a reliable channel available for ordering heavier-gauge strings for U.S. customers. Many of us have been unhappy for years with the thinning gauge. Stronger players need heavier strings, to be sure. But there is no difference in regulation, unless there is a great difference in string diameter. And that is hard to measure without a, I think it’s called a micrometer.

As few of us may have heavier strings left from the good old days, it may be hard to say what we need differently, but I believe there are old string gauging charts that someone like Don Hilsberg or Bernard Schmitt may have.

If I could get heavier-gauge Bow Brand gut AND nylon strings, I would be quite happy. After all, this is our art. If they started making harps out of cardboard, we would be upset as well.

Emily Mitchell is one of the finest and most musical living harpists. To say that she needs her ears cleaned out is dumb. But good for a laugh. I don’t like gut strings in the 2d and third octaves anyway, because they don’t sustain tones long enough. But I miss having a fat, warm, rich sound in the 4th and 5th octaves like I used to have.

It’s probably not that hard to measure. The string should only just fit through the string holes. I don’t think they have changed. It used to be a bit difficult to get them through the tuning pins, the varnish would scrape off. That’s how thick they were in the early 1980s.

[steven-todd-miller]

I also really miss the Classic strings. I tried going nylon (I posted about it many times) and after a year my right thumb stayed continually spilt open and I could never get my harp to stay in tune. But here’s a question-does anyone put a lower thicker string on that would increase the gauge? For example, replace a 2nd octave E with a 2nd octave A or B? Would it harm the instrument?

[carl-swanson]

You’re asking for trouble by putting thicker strings on the instrument. It’s going to increase the tension and will have a direct effect on the longevity of the soundboard.

I was under the impression from another post that strings have actually been getting thicker over the years. Current string diameters, when put on older harps, are causing them to pull up and split open. And don’t even think of putting modern strings on 19th century instruments.

I’ve actually tried, over the last several years, putting thinner strings on full size harps and I prefer the sound. The strings feel slightly springier, but they are perfectly playable and the sound is clearer, especially the initial attack. I use Bow Brand lever gauge gut strings for that. I did that to the Wurlitzer DDX which I have for sale on my web site, and it sounds better than it did with standard gauge strings. That harp by the way just sold.

[unknown-user]

I’ve actually just sent L&H an email about heavy gauge gut strings. I’m interested because I’m a stronger player and I’m looking for that warm tone that been discussed. The funny thing is that everyone seems to agree (except, it would seem, Carl) that slightly heavier strings produce warmer sounds, but no one I’ve spoken with – and this includes two L&H certified regulators – have actually seen a harp strung with heavy gauge gut! One of the regulators I spoke with mentioned that the thicker strings are sometimes used to help with a regulation problem – someone mentioned that the thickness could change the regulation if the difference was large enough. Maybe it is, in which case the strings could be too thick! Whatever the case, we do know that strings were much thinner back in the 19th century and earlier, as Carl has said, but many people have noticed that although the strings thickened up once harps modernized and soundboards also thickened up, they started to thin out again maybe twenty or thirty years ago, maybe even sooner. We know that the harps we have today were built for slightly higher tension because the strings were thicker at one time. Or, perhaps, the harps weren’t built for that tension, and that’s why the strings are thinning out. However, I think the former option is more likely, because we surely would have seen news about studies, or at least anecdotes, about how the string tension was too high and soundboards were regularly pulling up. I don’t believe anyone’s mentioned that those types of stories/events were more frequent 50-30 years ago than now. So, it would seem to me that the harps CAN take the slightly higher tension (emphasis on slightly), but heavy gauge might be too heavy. I’ll post on here once L&H gets back to me.

[emily-mitchell]

@Steven-I’ve heard from other harpists who place only one whole step upwards in order to have SLIGHTLY thicker gut strings in the 2nd octave. Cs and Fs obviously have to retain their present gauge.

I don’t have a problem with the gauge of the gut strings BELOW the 2nd octave. 3rd octave gut tend to go up false, but the gauge is fine. 4th & 5th octave gut, no problem. I even put gut up to 1st octave C. No prob with 1st octave gut strings. I don’t have a problem with breakage. However, it gets expensive when I go through two sometimes three lengths of gut strings in the 2nd and 3rd octaves only, effectually going through my entire stash of 2nd & 3rd octave gut strings, looking for a string that isn’t false and doesn’t ping from thinness.

Several people have commented on nylon strings. Perhaps nylon has improved. I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but maybe I’ll try nylon. What’s interesting is that my original comment written in utter frustration prior an important recital seems to have opened a major concern about a major tool of our trade.

[unknown-user]

I’ve heard many people praise Pirastro nylons, because they apparently are the same price as other nylons and because they are more stable. People say they keep a tune and have a much better tone because they are slightly thicker. I’m planning to try them soon, so I’ll report back.

~Sam

[Author]

Posts