new Salvi technology

[Jerusha Amado]

Hi everyone!

The latest issue of the American Harp Journal has a photo of an Iris and Minerva on the inside cover with the caption, “The unique Salvi sound now with greater sound projection.”

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Harp manufacturers have been experimenting with incorporating Kevlar or like material in the neck and sounding board, as I understand, and the extensive research required was in finding glues that would resonate properly as well as hold the layers together. This increases the structural strength of the harp. I don’t know what the resonating qualities are of this material. It is synthetic, not wood.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

This poses some questions: do we need a louder harp? Do all harps need to be louder? How does this affect playing? What do other musicians think of it? I know one orchestral player who doesn’t like loud harp playing (of course, she’s not in the audience).

[kay-lister]

We live in a society that pushes to make the latest, greatest, better of everything.

[Jerusha Amado]

Saul,

I was wondering if the increased sound on the Iris and Minerva was due to the incorporation of Salvi’s newly-designed soundboard and soundbox that they are using on the Arion.

You bring up an excellent question about the need for very loud harps.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Orchestral players are getting louder and louder. The young string players I hear are playing as loud as they can, so once again, the harp is getting drowned out. I have always held that harps reached perfection in the 20th century, so I am at least skeptical if not dubious of recent and new changes.

[Jerusha Amado]

It is unfortunate that musicians in orchestras are overplaying, not only for their own physiological health but also because they eliminate the ability to display nuances in their performances.

[Lorenzo Montenz]

The difference between old and new Salvi harps is first the different shape of the soundboard. It is the same idea of the Apollo: a larger

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I played on a super-sized Venus harp. It did have a full bass and middle, but the top was not in the same league, though being a young harp, that is not unusual.

[Jerusha Amado]

Do the Salvis with this new soundboard design still have a “breaking in” period where they continue to grow in sound (projection/richness of tone)?

Jerusha

[massimo-dell-anna]

Hello everyone,

Mr. Zlatovski’s response suggests that it is due to the use of synthetic materials, different than wood, used by harp manufacturers.

I work at Salvi Harps in Italy, and I can affirm that this is incorrect for what concerns the instruments that Salvi makes.

Salvi Harps uses no other material than wood in making harps. The Salvi technology is very developed and it is applied solely to the wood, as we believe that no other material can produce the same quality of sound. In the case of the Iris and Minerva, the increased volume and projection of these two instruments are due mainly to a soundboard that is now more extended than before, and therefore has a

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