Lever Issues – poor resonance

[pmbhagyam]

I have Truitt Levers (C,F,G) installed on my Jolie by Musicmakers. I frequently have issues with the strings losing resonance when the levers are engaged, The biggest problem is with the highest G lever. I am stumped. I took it in to the shop – to have it fixed, but the “fix” doesn’t last long.

[charles-nix]

All levers damp the strings a little–even the forks on a pedal harp. Truitts are good enough that they should not be particularly noticable.

The groove in the roller attached to the moving handle of the lever should be matched to the string size, and they should be gold-colored in the upper range. The groove must align perfectly with the string, both being parallel. The fret pin needs to be low enough so that lifting the lever moves the string enough to stop it off fully. If it only lifts the string a little, it will buzz or be deadened. However, adjusting the fret pin height WILL change your regulation, so the lever position will also have to be adjusted. It is possible that the fret pin is raised too high because the lever position won’t move far enough.

The most likely possibility is that the screw that holds the roller to the handle is loose. That screw must be dead tight, holding the roller firmly to the handle. Any slack at all will allow the roller to vibrate and absorb the string vibration. Be sure to use the correct size hex wrench to tighten. If you must hold the roller, be sure to pad the pliers with leather, or you WILL leave marks.

The last possibility is that the entire lever assembly is not held firmly to the neck. One or more of the screws may be stripped out. At least two (preferably more) must hold completely, clamping the levers to the neck.

Charles Nix

[Biagio]

What Charles said. All Truitt lever screws are Torx size 6; you can get a driver at most good hardware stores.

[Jerusha Amado]

Charles–You mentioned that Truitt levers don’t affect the string sound much when engaged. Are they better than Camac levers, in your opinion, or about the same?

[charles-nix]

Jerusha, first off, I’ve never compared them side-by-side, or even on the same model harp.

I think the Truitt’s are probably the easiest to regulate of any–because they have no “pinching” action, but just fret the string at a different place. Mostly, adjust the bridge pin height, and you’re good to go.

Many people like them: they are easy to flip (maybe too easy) but they have a looong throw. The Camac pinches the string more like a disc, and makes an excellent sound.

I would be reluctant to use Truitts with a harp strung for pedal or lever gut gauges. I suspect, but am ready to have someone disagree, that the string would dislodge from the groove under heavy finger pressure. That said, I’ve seen a lot of Heartland harps that they work fine on.

I doubt anything available now makes a better sound than the Camacs, but they’re fussier to regulate.

[balfour-knight]

Interesting about the Camac levers–I have found them very easy to regulate on my Dusty FH36S. Of course, Dusty installed them very well to begin with, and I can fine-regulate them just by turning the bridge pins slightly. I have never had to actually move the entire lever up or down. There is a good article by Dave Thormahlen on his harp website about regulating Camac levers, and why he thinks they are the best lever out there. I totally agree with him!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour

[peg-haynes]

I am having the exact same issue of poor resonance on my new Lyon & Healy Ogden harp, which has the Lyon & Healy Performance levers installed. Some of the strings produce a dull, plunky sound with the lever engaged. Has anyone else experienced this problem with the Ogden? None of my other lever harps have this issue.

[charles-nix]

To work properly, any lever mechanism must 1) fully engage the string, locking it to the lever, firmly fretting it at a single point; 2) be firmly fastened to the neck, so that the string energy is not absorbed by the lever itself; and 3) be firmly assembled at all of its points, so that string energy is not absorbed within the lever.

Absorption of the string energy is why pedal forks cause much less “damping” than a light, bent sheet metal lever design.

Your Ogden has a problem with the way the levers engage the strings, or the levers are loose on the neck, or the assembly of the lever needs to be tightened. Performance levers work well when they are adjusted right. I have seen some that are mis-adjusted, and some that had rough castings that would wear strings terribly, but when smoothed, tightened, and adjusted, they sound fine.

[peg-haynes]

Thank you Charles-Nix for all the very useful information about my Ogden levers. I can see you are highly knowledgeable about them.

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