solid wood soundboards vs veneer

[diane-mcclung]

I am interested in one of Timothy harps, he does not veneer his soundboards and I was wondering if anyone has any experience with harps of solid wood vs ones with the veneer. I absolutely love the sound of his new small harp, but will it require more care. Right now I have a Heartland Dreamweaver and it requires no special treatment.

[unknown-user]

David from Heartland says that the veneer makes the soundboard stronger, if I recall correctly.

[diane-mcclung]

I love my Dreamweaver, and it is concert spacing and I do not have any trouble with playing the lower notes. I am new at learning the harp, but I absolutely love it.

I was asking about the Timothy harp because I want a small harp to take places and the Dreamweaver is a bit large to move easily. Timothy has a new 27 string harp that has deep tones, but I was wondering if solid wood would be harder to care for than veneer.

Thanks

[unknown-user]

My instinct is to say that solid is better than a veneer, but my experiences woodworking are outside the luthier’s world.

Can any luthiers out there comment?

PS, if you like Heartland, they do make a portable harp, either 25 or 27 strings, I think. It is very lighweight – I think 7 pounds, they say. I haven’t had the opportunity to try one, but I don’t think that Dave puts out bad instruments.

And you wouldn’t have to deal with it going through customs, either.

[diane-mcclung]

They do have the small harp, but the tones are too bright, the timothy has 27 strings and has the deep tones of a larger harp, which is what attracted me to the instrument.

[bernhard-schmidt]

Better or not is a question what one whishes.
Usally the veneer is only for not seeing the possible crack which can occur on a solid spruce soundboard.
Imagine you get a new harp

[diane-mcclung]

Thanks to all for your replies –

I have heard that solid do get cracks but it does not affect sound, but as you said you pay big bucks for a harp and cracks appear is very scary. I wonder if there is something one can do to keep the cracks from showing up or is that just part of what is going to happen if you buy solid rather then veneer!

I will have to do some more research on the subject before I make the decision.

Thanks

[Karen Johns]

Check out this article:

http://www.harpkit.com/Merchant2/articles/sdbrd_debate.html

Best argument I’ve read or heard, and it comes from an experienced luthier, Jerry Brown of Musicmaker’s. I have built three harps from kits, the oldest one is over 15 years old and not a crack in sight. This harp was not from Musicmaker’s- I got it in Tuscon, AZ

[tony-morosco]

I think you need to differentiate between Veneer and Laminate.

Laminate is when you take several thin sheets of wood and glue them together under pressure and then make a soundboard out of that.

Veneer is when you make a soundboard out of one piece of wood and then cover it with a thin layer of another wood.

One is for strength the other is for appearance. Most pedal harps have a veneer. Look at the grain on the front vs. the back. Inside the grain runs horizontal, but on most pedal harps on the outside the grain runs vertical because the outside is a veneer.

As mentioned veneers can be used to hide the cracks that develop over time, or they can also be used to make the grain look nice. Considering

[erin-denhartigh]

I’m waiting for my Llyr 36 to be finished by Timothy Habinski in April. I haven’t owned a harp before, but I’ve really looked into how to take care of my harp. I’m wondering what sort of special care you’re expecting the Niamh to require? I’m planning on regulating humidity around my Llyr and I know I should be washing my hands before playing to avoid getting oils on the wood and wiping the harp down with a clean, dry cloth, but I expected that was for all wood instruments.

As for soundboards, Mr. Habinski talks about them on his website here: http://www.timothyharps.ca/features_soundboard.htm
In reading there, in speaking with him and in researching, I’ve been led to believe that a veneer compromises around ten percent of a harp’s voice when it’s applied, and purely for cosmetic reasons. Because Mr. Habinski, to my delight, is particularly dedicated to the wonderful sound of his harps, I believe he prefers to sacrifice that cosmetic detail for sound quality, and trust his judgment.
The cracks that appear over time in a spruce soundboard are not detrimental to the sound or quality of the harp. In fact, as soundboards of this caliber age, their voices develop – here’s a helpful page: http://www.harpkit.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MK&Category_Code=lib_soundboards
If, however, the cracks are simply too horrendous, I doubt it would be difficult to install a veneer later. But I’m not a luthier!
I hope that helped a little?

[Jerusha Amado]

Glenn Hill of Mountain Glen Harps also prefers to use a non-veneered soundboard for his harps.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The veneer protects the precious sounding board from injury, things falling on it, etc. It also adds another layer of resonating material as well as a better appearance.

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