Squeaky Harp Strings

[Aria]

HELP!

I’ve had an ongoing problem for several years. I play a Venus Seraphim Pedal harp. The string brand is Valkyrie Cordes (Sterling Strings). And the gut strings make horribly annoying and sometimes VERY loud squeaking noises when played. The rate and volume at which this is happening is really unacceptable. I’ve noticed it seems to change / worsen in different types of weather, or different times of the day. I’ve tried all the tricks mentioned in these forums (filing my fingers, keeping my skin soft, cleaning the strings, etc) and that doesn’t work, not even a little bit).

I contacted the manufacturer, and the person I spoke with was very defensive and claimed that NO ONE had EVER complained about such a problem with these strings before! They told me it must be my fault, the strings were probably old, and I should change them. However, all the strings were fairly new when I got the harp. But I tried changing at least one octave, just to see if it would help, and it didn’t. That octave still squeaks. Also, the person at Venus Harps warned me NOT to switch to a different brand of strings. She claimed Venus harps are not compatible with other string brands!!!! Does anyone know if this is true?

Also, does anyone have any advice that could help me resolve this disturbing noise? I will just add, that I have considered the possibility that I have bad technique causing the noise. However, there is no squeaking when I play my lever harp. There is no squeaking on the nylon strings. And there is no squeaking when I’ve played 3 different pedal harps that belong to other people (with different kinds of strings). And if these strings didn’t squeak, I would otherwise be very happy, because they produce incredibly beautiful sound on this harp! Thank you for any advice!!!

[Tacye]

Are the strings squeaking on the forks, your fingers or somewhere else? Have you tried the slightest bit of oil? Oiled gut strings are what predated varnish so I wouldn’t worry about damaging them. Get your fingers just a little oily and rub it on and try playing when your hands aren’t too clean and dry.

What is the humidity in your harp room?

[Aria]

Hi Tacye. My strings are squeaking right where my fingers touch the strings to play. That is why I figured I may have bad technique. But there is no such problem when I play my Teacher’s Pedal Harps. I have not tried oil on the strings. But if you think it could help, I will try it. How does the oil interact with the varnish on the strings? I do believe these are the varnished type. As for humidity: I live in California in a Mediterranean climate. My house is super-insulated, so the temperature stays very constant inside. I’m near the Coast, so it’s not dry like the desert. But I don’t have a humidifier in my home. Should I get one?

[Tacye]

I was at a talk where Carol of Bow Brand advised treating strings where the varnish was wearing off with castor oil so they find varnish and oil are OK together. As it is your fingers on the strings that squeak rather than treat the strings I would see if playing with recently moisturised hands helps, though not to the point of slopiness, or even rub a couple of drops of olive oil into your hands. I have come across dry fingers squeaking on the strings before, but not the the extent you complain of. Maybe your teacher’s harp has less clean strings, or a more humid environment.

I think it is really sensible to have a hygrometer and know what your humidity is. I like one that records the max and min so I can tell what it has been going overnight or longer term. I see some smart phones can now do this, or mine was under £20, worth it to know how well I am treating my harp.

[Aria]

Thank you so much for your advice. I will try everything you mentioned!

[darth-mom]

My Venus came with Sterling strings, but when the time came to change them, I switched to Bow brand with Pirastro nylon in the upper octave. I was not happy with the sound I got from the Sterlings. I don’t remember any wires squeaking; I just did not care for the sound from the gut strings. My technician had to enlarge the hole for my bottom C because apparently, Bow’s wires are a little thicker, but other than that, I have had NO problems at all. I am much happier with the sound, too.

[Aria]

Thank you. This is good to know that I should be able to switch string brands, if it comes to that. I don’t know why they told me not to!

[kay-lister]

Hi Aria,

I used to have this problem. My instructor to me to rub the back of my neck just around the hair line. IT WORKS!! Your fingers are too dry, and a little “Self oiling” should do the trick.

Kay

[Aria]

Darth-Mom, when you say the bottom C, do you know which string number that is or which octave? I have a small-model harp, so maybe your bottom C is lower than mine and I wouldn’t run into the same problem with ordering Bow brand wire strings? Thanks!

[Aria]

Update: Well I just double checked with an expert and learned that I can indeed switch string brands on this harp. I’m going to try Bow Brand, rather than continue to deal with this. I did try moisturizing my hands a bit. But it seems to worsen the squeak. Then I tried cleaning the strings with a damp cloth & a touch of dish soap. And actually, that worked the best. It reduced the squeaking by 50%, which is still too much squeak! I’m going with Bow to see if I like it.

[darth-mom]

Hello Aria,
I have a 47-string harp. Sorry I didn’t answer sooner!

[Gretchen Cover]

It seems like your squeaky string problem is caused by the strings you are using. My Bow Brand strings squeak loudly if I wash my hands using any liquid soap – dish or hand soap. I always use pure olive oil bar soap for hand washing.

FYI – Make sure you have really NEW Bow Brand strings. There have been major problems with them breaking. It has certainly been a problem for me this past year. You can go to http://www.vanderbiltmusic.com to read a brief overview of the problem.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Maybe you have a mouse in the base?
Putting oil on sounds like a bad idea, it will seep into the string and make it false.

[Aria]

Haha. Definitely a mouse. What else could it possibly be? But yes, my understanding was that if the strings are dirty, or have any kind of residue build up on them, they do not produce the best possible sound. But I tried to play my harp with slightly “moisturized” hands, as recommended. And it made the squeaking worse. Cleaning the strings improved things, more than anything.

I’ve always been in the habit of keeping clean strings anyway. On my lever harp I use guitarist’s wire string cleaner to keep the tarnish of the bass strings. (That particular harp doesn’t have the tarnish-resistant kind). And I can tell you, just doing that every once and while brings the whole harp back to life in a new way. It goes from “muddy” to “articulate” in 10 minutes flat.

[HarpAficionadoBlair]

I had called Venus Harps several weeks ago about replacing strings on a Prodigy and the representative said Bow brand or their cheaper Burgundy (which is Bow brand with slight varnishing imperfections) strings were fine for all Venus pedal harps. I get squeaking with both, if my hands are too dry.

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