Lever Buzz

[Laura Wilson]

Hello! I have a Troub III and am having some trouble with my second octave B. When the lever is disengaged, the note sounds fine and rings clear. However, when the lever is up, the note makes a sort of clank instead of ringing clear. Any idea about what might be causing this? The string is very new.

I appreciate any suggestions.

Laura

[catherine-rogers]

Assuming you have the original levers on it, are the levers metal or plastic? I have seen both on Troubadour III harps.

[Laura Wilson]

Catherine,

They are metal levers. I noticed that if I press the string above the lever, then the sound is much better. I’m assuming that the lever itself is somehow causing the buzz.

[catherine-rogers]

Sounds like the lever is not making firm contact with the string. The lever or the string post (or both) may need adjusting. If there’s any chance you could get a harp technician to check it out, that would be your best bet. A good regulation would probably fix the problem, especially if you’re not comfortable doing adjustments yourself. Meantime, you can try putting a little bandage tape or a tiny piece of gaffers tape or duct tape on the end of the lever to build it up only where it touches the string.

My experience with those metal levers (the larger, thick, gold-colored ones, not the small brass ones on Troubadours I and II) is that they were a composite metal and brittle. Several broke so that there was not enough to grasp to move the lever. Replacements were not available so we finally had all the levers replaced with Loveland levers, the most practical and affordable fix at the time.

You should consider getting Dave Kolacny’s book “Trouble-Shooting Your Lever Harp,” which addresses most problems with many brands of lever harp. It’s available from Vanderbilt Music, among others.

[Karen Johns]

I have experience regulating two types of levers- Lovelands and Truitts. Since I don’t know exactly what brand of lever you have, I hesitate to give you specific advice on how to fix your problem. I can, however, give you a general tip. Try adjusting the bridge pin. If you move it out or in a bit, you may find that this fixes the problem. The downside to this is that it will throw your tuning off. But if you can find out what brand of levers you have I can direct you to more specific information on how to regulate these yourself, if you feel comfortable with that.

Best of Luck,

Karen

[Laura Wilson]

I believe they are just L&H levers. The harp is 10 years old, and these are the original levers.

Thanks.

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