lever harp soundboard surface crack

[michael-steadman]

Thanks for bringing up humidity. I am not sure the level in my harp studio but I am in Virginia and it is humid here, especially right now. I did have the same thought that managing humidity would help to keep the body in good condition.

[paul-knoke]

The old Troubadours can sound quite good strung with lever gauge gut and bass wires, assuming you don’t mind the expense and decreased tension. Lowering the tension could prolong the life of the soundboard.

[balfour-knight]

I agree with Paul about the lever harp gauge of strings for your harp, Michael. I can see no use in increasing the tension to pedal harp standard, and I believe the smaller gauge lever gut strings might even sound better on the Troubadour. I owned a Musicmakers Large Gothic 36 for years and it sounded lovely with lever gut strings.

Also, do not worry about the laminated soundboard versus the solid spruce one. I owned a Ravenna 34 for years that had one of the best tones of any harp I have ever had, and the Ravennas have laminated birch soundboards, as do the harps by Musicmakers. Of course, I prefer the solid boards on my Dusty FH36S and Camac Atlantide Prestige, but laminated ones can be quite successful if the wood is of very fine quality.

Best of luck bringing your Troubadour back to life. This has been a good thread!

Cheers and harp hugs,
Balfour

[Biagio]

I agree Balfour old buddy. In the earlier years composite boards (loosely called “plywood”) made with two thin outer layers and a thicker inner one were not acoustically nor structurally very good. One can still find them on some smaller older harps; most larger ones failed a long time ago. Then some bright sparks discovered the acoustic possibilities of high strength laminates more often used in light airplane and racing yacht construction.

A board of this sort chosen for harps usually has five cross-grain laminations per 3mm (1/8″) thickness, making them very strong and flexible; splitting is very rare. When such a board fails it will usually be at the glue lines on the harp body if the maker has exceeded the glue’s shear strength. A board of this sort will have acoustic properties more similar to the hardwood boards found on a wire strung harp and will not experience the tone that develops over time with spruce, cedar etc. On the other hand, they do not shrink and swell much if at all with changes in humidity and cost a good deal less.

Savvy makers also double taper them as they would a solid wood board. The main detraction in my experience is in the treble where the strings can sound “tinny” because they are so hard and dense that thin strings cannot move the board as much. This may be overcome by making the board wider than usual and increasing tension somewhat. Lower down, some resonance and overtones may be lacking compared (again) to spruce.

I know one famous harper who plays a Dusty FH36 (spruce and mahogany board) indoors and a Magical Strings Oran Mor (laminate) for outdoor concerts. People with better ears than mine might tell the difference; what I mostly notice is that the Oran Mor has greater volume and a richer bass. Since the Oran Mor uses the same strings as the FH36 I attribute that to the wider SB, somewhat deeper box, and the care that the maker took in shaping the board contours.

Biagio

[balfour-knight]

That was great, Biagio, my friend! If Michael wants to replace that soundboard, this will tell him exactly how to do it. Thanks for posting!

Have a great day, my harp friends,
Balfour

[Biagio]

Thank you Balfour, but I might add a few things:

First, he or someone must remove the old board, keeping the string rib intact as a template for the new one. This is most easily done with a rotary tool. Then the raw box edges must be planed flat.

Second, he must analyze the string design to determine the tension. Only then would he be ready to make the new board.

He could go with a laminate or if he prefers he could order a custom spruce or cedar board from Rick Kemper (Sligo Harps). That would cost somewhere between $200 and $350 depending on whether it is veneered or not and whether he wanted Rick to glue on inner and outer ribs as well.

A luthier would probably charge the same as Rick for the board and perhaps another $500+ for the labor.

Given the age, I would do as Carl suggested i.e. play it until it fails and then decide. Putting on a new laminate board and analyzing the string design himself would of course be educational (strings might run up to $300 or more BTW) and he would probably want to replace the levers as well – another $500.

Adding it all up, better to just buy another harp if/when the board fails.

Biagio

[balfour-knight]

Thanks for the additional information, Biagio!
Cheers,
Balfour

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