Minor buzzing problem

[Owosso Harpist]

Done that. The buzzing does stop when I touch the mechanisms in the neck by the head and by middle C. I now believe that there’s something wrong with the mechanisms inside the neck. Somewhere inside there’s something wrong that could be the cause of the buzzing. I don’t know if the rivets are going bad or it’s dirty in there or a screw is loose somewhere. I’ll have to get a hold of Richard, the owner of Budget Harp rentals and see if he has any advice on this, or better yet a young decent harp with no issues at all.

[Owosso Harpist]

Actually I intend to keep Gilligan and send him to Venus Harps to get him a major make over so he won’t have issues anymore. After harp lessons, I’ll go back and talk to Richard about the problem Gilligan is facing and see if it’s OK for him to bring the harp over to Venus Harps get him checked out. I can’t afford to send him back to Florida and have Richard check him out. I’d rather send him the Venus Harps and get him all checked out there because it’s closer.

[Tacye]

Lyon and Healy published a little pamphlet some time ago called Happiness is a Contented Harp.

[Owosso Harpist]

Tacye, the cloth I found is about 2 inches long. If that’s the culprit that causing the harp to make buzzing noises just by falling out of the column, how am I going to put it back in?

[Tacye]

I doubt it is the one I am thinking of as it is more dish cloth/tea towel sized on my harp.

[Sid Humphreys]

What color is the cloth? Is it a thin piece of red felt or a thicker piece of white felt?

[Owosso Harpist]

The latter. The felt is white. Dirty, but white.

[barbara-brundage]

It sounds like a slot felt, Sherry. Look at the top of each of your pedal slots. There should be a piece of felt in each of them. Is one missing? If so, just look at the others to see which way it goes in and then glue it back.

[Owosso Harpist]

There’s no slots missing. I’ve looked underneath and find none of the slots are missing. Thus the object in question may have been something else unrelated to the harp. When I stood the harp up and plucked the problem strings, they still buzz. But when I hold on to the mechanisms inside neck area of the harp in the high octave section, the buzzing stopped. I think there’s something a little wrong with the mechanisms in the neck of the harp. Probably the plates are a little loose or something.

[Owosso Harpist]

I contacted Richard Fleischer about the problem and he gave me this advice (with correct spelling):

“My experience tells me that
buzzes happen when the harp is not moved properly. That happens
sometimes when they are shipped. Finding a buzz is not always easy as
there are direct buzz[s] and sympathetic buzz[s]. First, push the
stationary nut [what the string touches above the disks] with your
finger as you play the note. Sometimes the 2 little screws are loose.
Then try changing pedal formations as the plates may be touching
inside the neck. Check the 4 bolts that holds the base on.”

Before I moved the pedals, the notes sounded fine, but when I moved the pedals, the notes made the buzzing sound. I had to move the pedals to make the buzzing noise go away. Perhaps the plates are touching inside the neck which I think they are not supposed to do. If that’s the case, then how do you make the plates stop touching each other?

[carl-swanson]

GOOD LORD! This thread is longer than the Brooklyn bridge. I’m not going to sit here and read every post. But I did scan the answers and my impression is your shooting in the dark. Here’s my experience with buzzes.

1) Make sure it’s the harp and not something in the room. Move the harp to a different room and try it. If the buzz is still there, it’s the harp.

2) Make the buzz happen-I think you said it was D natural, which octave I don’t remember- and while you are playing the note over and over again move each of the other pedals slowly through all of their positions. If the buzz gets better or worse when a certain pedal is in a certain position, then it’s probably something inside the action OR one of the rods inside the column. You will then have to try touching linkage inside the action with a thin screwdriver to see if touching one link or another stops the buzz.

3) Make the buzz happen as mentioned in 2 above and press your thumb against the side of the nut that the string goes over. Also, if the buzz is happening on natural or sharp, take a larger screwdriver with a flat blade, put it between the back of the disc in question and the action plate and twist the handle, which will force the disc forward and the spindle to which it is attached hard against the front action plate. If that stops the buzz, then the backplate screw for that disc has to be tightened a little. If the buzz stops when you press against the string nut, then tightening the two screws that hold it in place, OR putting a small piece of paper towel or cloth between the string and the nut may stop the buzz. You can also try wrapping the groove in the nut with thread to pad the string a little.

I’ll add to this later. Have to go now.

[Owosso Harpist]

I’m going to have to get a harp technician for this. I have no experience in handling the pedal harp when it comes to trying to fix the action inside the harp so I’d rather go get an expert do all the repairs for me rather than trying to do the repairs myself and make matter worse for me. Thanks for all the info, guys.

[Author]

Posts