Salvi Ana Strings

[Sara Prazenics]

Hi all, I am new to this, though my mother played the lever harp while I was growing up so I know a bit.
My husband purchased a 40 string Salvi Ana for me this past Christmas. It was not used.

I have misplaced the papers on it, and I don’t believe it specified anyhow. I have read that the strings should be pedal tension, and other places say they should be lever tension.

So, what say you? My strings are snapping left and right, I believe I have lost about 8 since it arrived here. I would like to have back up sets but I am unsure if I’m looking for pedal tension or lever. Right now, I am replacing with pedal tension nylons and they sound pretty awful. I wondering if it’s because they should be lever?

Thank you in advance

[wil-weten]

If it’s a new harp (you write it was not used), just call the shop and they ‘ll be able to tell you.
In Europe the Salvi Ana is usually strung with lever gut, but in the US with pedal gut.
Until perhaps already more than ten years ago, Salvi Ana’s were also strung with pedal in Europe.
You could call Salvi’s customer service and mention the number of your harp (it’s inside or on the bottom of your harp) and they’ll probably be able to tell you which strings you should use.
Otherwise, use a caliper from a DIY-shop and measure the strings which are still on it and any decent harp shop can tell you which strings you need for your harp.
As to (pedal tension) nylon strings, they just doesn’t sound as rich as gut. If you chose for nylon or for nylgut/silkgut, you can’t just buy any nylon strings, you need to buy the strings that are meant for your harp.

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Sara and Wil,

Just to add my “2-cents’ worth,” it’s my understanding that every Salvi Ana harp can be strung in either pedal-tension or lever-tension stringing, and that the owner of the harp can go back-and-forth on this if he/she chooses, as long as the levers are re-regulated for the change in gauges. However, I recently noticed in the stringing charts for the Ana on harp (dot) com that there is one little difference between the pedal and lever stringing: in lever stringing, the wires go one string higher (5A) rather than stopping at 5G. Does this mean that an Ana which was originally strung in lever tension will have an eyelet meant for wires on 5A while an Ana which was originally strung in pedal tension will have a regular eyelet on 5A? If that’s true, seeing which eyelet type is in the 5A hole in the exposed side of the soundboard should indicate whether the harp was originally strung in lever or pedal tension; just see if it matches the eyelet types for the rest of the bass wires or if it matches the eyelets from 5B on up. Even more obvious is to notice whether 5A is a wire string or not. Of course, an Ana should be able to accommodate pedal nylons, as well, as long as the levers are re-regulated for those gauges. Wil (or anyone else), please correct me if I got anything wrong!

[charles-nix]

One other point to add. Wrong gauge strings may change sound or damage harp, but that will not cause breaking strings.

First guess is you are having rain and high humidity?

[Sara Prazenics]

Wil: I will reach out to where I purchased for more information. I think I am just using the incorrect strings though, as I bought something on brand. I didn’t want to splurge as I am learning since they keep breaking so often but I see I should probably do that. Thank you.

[Sara Prazenics]

Gregg, that is a wonderful observation you made. My wire strings do stop at 5G, with a regular eyelet at 5A. Very interesting to note the difference.
Reregulating levers is far far beyond my skill set right now, I would be a bit overwhelmed to take that on haha. I will update when I find out what tension I should be using.

[Sara Prazenics]

Charles: yes, absolutely. Our winters are very very dry and summers very very humid. Our house is quite old and it is a challenge to say the least to regulate humidity and temperature.

[Gregg Bailey]

Sara, it sounds like your harp was probably designed for pedal tension strings, though I don’t know if the 5A eyelet is the only difference besides the strings themselves. I have several harps, 2 of which have a significant number of gut strings; I keep all of the harps in a small room in which I have both a Haier dehumidifier and 2 Holmes tabletop humidifiers which I got a little over a year ago, and I haven’t had one string break in all that time, so I highly recommend that you do something similar if you can. (Now I’ll probably experience a string breakage soon now that I’ve mentioned that, haha!)

[charles-nix]

You will break gut strings constantly when humidity goes above around 70-75%. You will even break new gut strings that you just put on recently, especially if your harp is strung in gut into the 2nd octave. If the humidity stays high, a controlled room will be far less expensive than strings.

Using nylon will 1) alter the tone, especially until the nylon stretches in, 2) alter the regulation until the harp is regulated for nylon, and 3) cause more tuning, because nylon reacts even more than gut to humidity changes, though it doesn’t break.

Very dry in winter is an equally bad problem–or at least cycling between two extremes is quite damaging to the harp structure. The soundboard and/or body can easily crack from cycling extremes.

You absolutely need a room that you can control humidity and temperature. I keep within a range of 40-60% RH year round. An occasional day or two above/below won’t hurt except a broken string.

A good RH meter is one of the best investments you can make.

[balfour-knight]

Very good posts here, my friends! Has anyone tried Nylgut to know whether it really sounds as much like gut as they say? If it sounds good, then it might be a cheaper alternative to so many breaking gut strings.

I agree, do try to control your humidity and try to keep it between 40% and 60%. It is better for people, too, so we benefit from what our wooden instruments seem to like.

Harp Hugs everyone,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[Sara Prazenics]

Hello everyone,
I wanted to update that the harp is indeed intended for pedal gauge strings.

I spoke to Atlanta harp center (where purchased) and they just said the 3rd, 4th and 5th octave just do not sound “right” with nylon strings.

I figured I would go the cheaper route while I’m learning, which is why I went with nylon, but I think I will have to change that approach.

I have since put a dehumidifier in the room and kept the harp at 50% humidity and will strive for that in the winter as well. Hoping for no further snaps!!!

Thank you all.

I think while I have you here I will ask, the base of my harp is wobbly. Always has been. I asked about this today and they seemed unsure. It’s like when you have a chair or table that’s wobbling and you need to wedge some folded up paper underneath to stop it. Thoughts on that?

[wil-weten]

Hi Balfour, I put nylgut meant for pedal harps (from Camac, but made by Aquila) on my L&H Prelude (which is built for pedal gut). It has about the same diameter as the corresponding gut strings.
At the site of Aquila one can buy nylgut in every length and diameter, also for the very highest strings where Camac would put nylon.
As to the sound, generally, I really like it. They sound a bit brighter than gut, and a lot warmer and richer than nylon strings. They almost sound as rich as gut in the upper and middle register. However, from middle C downwards, the sound gets gradually duller and duller.So, frankly, in general, I wouldn’t advise it for use below middle C. I guess this has something to do with strings needing a longer length to sound well and I think the lower strings of the Prelude, though a rather big harp for a lever harp are a bit too short for having pedal nylgut below middle C. Yet, everyone’s ears are different and I can imagine some people finding the sound of the nylgut G below middle C just fine. The nylgut strings can be bought from Camac including the A a bit lower than middle C and I guess they wouldn’t sell it these very low strings if they’d sound horrible on a pedal harp.
Anyway, the strings are dirt cheap (anyway, if bought from Camac France) and they seem to last forever. They are also much less sensitive to differences in humidity. They do take ages to stay in tune (with lots of tuning) and I think you’ll have to wait for a week or two before they start sounding nice.

[balfour-knight]

Thanks so much, Wil! It sounds like Nylgut might work really well here! I like the part about them being “dirt cheap” and that they “seem to last forever.” In my opinion, real gut should indeed be used for the 4th and 5th octaves, no matter what other strings may be available.

Harp Hugs and best wishes,
Balfour

[balfour-knight]

Sara, regarding the “wobbly” harp base–does this happen on all floors, every place you set the harp, or only on an uneven floor? If you test this on a perfectly flat, even floor, you could add a felt or two underneath the base of the harp to even out this problem. Lowes and Home Depot sell self-adhesive felts in many different shapes and sizes.

Best wishes,
Balfour

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Sara (and everyone),

I’m glad you determined what string type was originally on the harp! Since the time I posted about the eyelets, I have learned from Balfour that the reinforcements for the bass wires on most concert-tension harps like this which are flush with the soundboard are actually called “dots,” and that the term “eyelets” is really reserved for the donut-shaped grommets that stick out of the soundboard (usually for the non-wire strings). Thanks again, Balfour! 🙂

I still would like to know if a Salvi Ana strung in lever tension has a dot or an eyelet for 5A since that string is wire in that case.

-Gregg

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