Upgrading levers

[Ann]

Hi Folks! I am new to the forum and fairly new to harping, about 6 months. I bought my first harp last November, a 30-string in ribbon mahogany, made by a local maker. I am enjoying the sound and feel very much

[barbara-brundage]

What kind of harp is it, Ann? and how old?

[Tacye]

Changing levers does need new screw holes, but they are only tiny and don’t make me worry for the strength of the neck.

[barbara-brundage]

I know you said a local maker, but the name would help. There may be someone here who knows their work.

[barbara-brundage]

Actually, if the maker is local, why not ask him if he can do it? Robinsons are sometimes used when other levers won’t fit (strings too close to the neck), but there may be other options like the Musicmakers universal lever that might work.

If you love the harp otherwise, it may be worth it to you to change them.

[barbara-brundage]

If you’re going to do it yourself (or if your maker will do it but has never used anything but Robinsons), and if they’ll fit, I think Truitts are probably the easiest of the popular lever brands to install.

[Ann]

My harp was built by David Lynch, Sweet Woods Instruments, in Warrensburg MO (http://www.sweetwoodsinstruments.com/). That’s about a 3-4 hour drive from here. Not impossible I suppose. I don’t want to offend him so I was a little embarrassed to ask, but I guess

[barbara-brundage]

I wouldn’t undertake this myself, to tell you the truth–I’m not as brave as Tacye, so no way. I’d want someone who knows what they’re doing to do this, if it were my harp.

Truitt levers are made by Betty Truitt, and I really don’t know if they’ll work on your harp or not, but you can contact her here:

http://dragonwhispers.com/

She does travel around doing regulations (or at least she used to), so you might want to find out if she’s coming your way any time soon. I’ve heard of her switching harps over to her levers on these trips, but it was a while ago.

I would go ahead and ask David Lynch first though. It might a good learning experience for him, if you can find a suitable replacement. Based on the design of the harps on his site, I’m guessing the universal lever would probably work.

One thing to keep in mind is that a set of levers is going to cost a bit, and you need to think about whether you love the harp enough to spend that much more money on it. If you do, then go for it.

If you do decide to go ahead, I’d get a sample lever first to play around with to be sure you’re going to like it better than the robinsons.

[barbara-low]

I’ve installed Loveland and Truitt levers, and while they aren’t difficult to install, they can be somewhat fiddly and you will need lots of time and patience. I’d recommend a hand drill rather than an electric, plus the other specialized drivers, if any. Also, you’ll need a good tuner to know exactly where to place the lever, and then to finally regulate it. I find it easier to work on the harp when it’s laying on a padded table. The screws are tiny, so be careful you don’t cross thread when you screw them in. It’s no fun when that happens.

The lever makers might be able to send installation instructions that might help you decide before taking the plunge. Otherwise, I second Barbara’s recommendation on getting one lever and giving it a try. Levers are sized to correspond to string diameter and vibrating length, which means you’ll need a string chart from the harpmaker. You also have to be sure there’s enough wood below the bridge pin to accomodate a lever at the very highest notes.

[Karen Johns]

I’ve installed Truitts on my 33 string Voyageur with a 14-volt Dewalt power drill (on low) as the harp was standing, not laying. The first few levers were a bit challenging, but once I got the hang of it everything went pretty smoothly. I averaged about 15 minutes per lever, accounting for minor last-minute adjustments. I’ve also installed Truitts on the F strings of my wire-strung Limerick. Installing levers, while not especially difficult, is a patience testing project. What I really, really like about Truitts is the fact that there are 4 slots for screws on each lever. That way if you mess up (and I did, a few times), you can back out the screw and put it in a different slot. If you drill a hole by mistake, a good quick fix is to plug it with a round toothpick. This way if you have to drill another hole close to it the drill won’t slip into the previous hole. In most cases, the replacement lever will cover any previous holes from other levers.

Hope this helps!

Karen

[Ann]

From the comments here, and also some information from MusicMakers, it sounds to me that although

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