Malfunctioning harp!!!

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

Uh oh!

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

By singling out this one company, you are omitting the facts that every harp manufacturer I can think of has major problems with their instruments at least from time to time. I am not in the least sympathetic to quality cutting when prices are sky-high, well beyond inflation. One has to wonder what kind of profit margin is being supported. But one also has to wonder why no other company has matched the best in quality?

[carl-swanson]

Sidney- It sounds like the start of the same problem, and if it is, you need to get it fixed immediately. Start by taking the pedestal off and looking at the fulcrum as you move that pedal around. See also if the rivet looks like it is coming out. If it is, then you have to deal with it.

As an emergency repair, you can replace the rivet with a small bolt and nut, or a nail bent over to keep it in place. Whatever you use, try to find a size that comes as close as possible to the diameter of the rivet(in other words, filling the hole as much as possible). That way, you’ll get minimal noise when you use it. It won’t work right until you get it fixed properly, but at least it will work.

BTW, the problem that I described is in fact in the Salvi pedal bars, and the MAJOR COMPANY I mentioned uses Salvi pedal assemblies in all of their instruments.

[carl-swanson]

Saul- Any company can make some change to their construction with the very best of intentions and have it blow up in their faces. i do not fault any company for mistakes that are made in the honest attempt to improve the instrument. Time is the acid test, and changes to the construction or assembly that made perfect sense initially can be disastrous in the long haul.

The problems arise when a company fails to recognize when a mistake has been made, or recognizes it and chooses to do nothing to correct it. I think that the problem I mentioned at the start of this thread was done primarily to cut cost, and didn’t appear initially to have any problems with it. Time has proved otherwise. So now it’s time for said company to 1)change the assembly procedure for this item so it never happens again, and 2) to fix the problem, at no cost to the owners of these instrument, and to do it immediately to all of the instruments already out in the field(like an auto recall) and not wait for a panicked call from a frantic harpist. My guess is that said company will do neither.

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

Oh no!

[jessica-wolff]

So would I! And I’d trust a reconditioned old harp before a brand-new one.

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

I just sent an email to Salvi Harps, Inc. about my harp.

[elena-k-pohl]

I may be a dummy, but I’m not getting the company you’re alluding to.

[carl-swanson]

Sidney- I just took a look at your photos. I don’t think you have a rivet problem. The pedal fulcrum is screwed into that brass plate, and it sounds like the fit between the fulcrum threads and the threaded hole in the plate is a little sloppy. So the fulcrum is moving around a little when you move the pedal(which it is not supposed to do). But I don’t think it is going to fail on you. The rivet I was talking about hold the pedal bar and the fulcrum together, not the fulcrum and the base plate.

[David Ice]

Off topic, I know, but in terms of veggie libel……..

This is a true story………..

When I moved to Arizona in 1990, the legislature had recently passed the “Veggie Hate Crimes

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

That’s good news for me.

[leonard-lim]

It’s really sad to hear that this company is having some problems with their newer harps.

[Karen Johns]

Elena,

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

I got a reply back from Salvi and they think that my problem is a washer in the fulcrum.

[carl-swanson]

Without being able to examine your harp first hand, I would agree with the Salvi people. There is a nylon washer that takes up the space between the underside of the fulcrum and the top of the brass plate the fulcrum is screwed into. The washer has probably flattened out some or may be breaking down. Replacing it should take care of the problem. But if this is in fact the problem, it should not prevent your harp from functioning until the repairman can look at it.

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