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Here is another good thread about Premier gut strings, for all of you who are interested. My Premier guts are in the 3rd, 4th, & 5th octaves, and my New Nylguts (NGH) are in the 0, 1st, & 2nd octaves. Since my restringing, around Dec. 24, 2023, no Premier guts have broken. Only the 0G, top string, in Nylgut has broken, and that was probably because I kinked it at the anchor point, underneath the soundboard. I’m hoping for longevity with the new nylgut strings by Aquila. Their tone is equal to the Premier gut, and they have lasted longer than real guts did on my Camac concert grand harp. I am extremely pleased with both the Premiers and the New Nylguts!
Happy stringing, my friends!
BalfourI finally located this thread! Here it is for all of you who have asked about it.
Harp Hugs,
BalfourHas anyone else reviewed the Premier gut strings lately? Also, does anyone know how Bow Brand strings are holding up currently? I read that they are now making them shorter than they had been, so that you may only get one string instead of two out of the high octaves! Why would they do that?
Harp Hugs,
BalfourThanks for posting this, Charles. I can vouch for the 2024 Subaru Outback. We love ours and it has plenty of room for the two of us, my concert grand pedal harp, plus all the other accessories one must take with the harp. Don’t forget, it also comes standard with all-wheel-drive, great for winter driving here in the mountains of NC!
Have a great day!
BalfourString trimmer (weed-eater for trimming weeds and grass) strings might also work! Thanks Wil for all the ideas!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourGregg, thanks for all this great research! These all would make great hiking harps!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourP. S. Remember, don’t ever put higher tension strings on your harp than what your harp was designed for! You could go the other way, putting lower tension strings on a harp designed for high tension, but your harp might not sound as good.
Well, it’s been six months now since I installed my first New Nylgut strings (NGH). They have done very well, have beautiful gut tone, and have remarkable tuning stability, not being affected by humidity changes. Only the top 0G has broken, and that was at the anchor, underneath the soundboard, where I might have kinked it during the installation. It was very easy to replace, from the original long string, and I have enough string left to replace it again! Three strings from that one long string! Aquila still gives generous length, unlike what Bow Brand has recently advertised, that their strings now come in shorter lengths, alas!
I hope more of you will try out these NGH strings by Aquila and post your results here. Go back through this thread to find appropriate scaling and gauge information. You must tell Aquila the mm sizes and color (natural, red, or black) when you place your order. Unfortunately, you can’t just order a “second octave set,” etc., or one string for “3rd-octave B,” for example. However, Aquila makes available many different gauges, so that you can customize your harp strings for high, medium, or low tension, at your discretion and pleasure.
Harp Hugs and best wishes,
BalfourTake another look at the Dusty Strings Ravenna 26. Not only is it a great little harp, but it has a wonderful transport case with backstraps to do just what you described–take on a hike! If a new one is a bit too pricey, look for a good used one.
Harp Hugs,
BalfourYou can fit your concert grand harp into a Subaru Outback, if you can rent one or find someone who owns one to help you. Just lay the harp in, with the rear car seats folded down flat, with the discs facing up, and the column will be behind the driver’s seat on the left. The Outback is like a station wagon and makes for easy harp loading and transporting. Ours is a 2024 model and it is great!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourI agree, Gregg! The one drawback that I can imagine being a “problem” is that those wheels are very small. In times past, I have had to take my harps over lawns, fields, gravel, etc. and the large wheels of my harp caddy were nice to have! As long as you were dealing with smooth surfaces, those small wheels would work well.
Harp Hugs,
BalfourPamela, I just did some checking. On harp.com I found the Wheeled Case–Lyon & Healy Troubadour. The item number is 800317, it costs $350. and weighs 15.7 lbs. The Troubadour itself weighs 38 lbs., so when this cover is on the harp, the total weight comes to 53.7 lbs. The wheels that come with this nice case should help a lot! How are you at coping with this much weight? I am a pretty strong male and used to moving a concert grand harp that weighs around 80 lbs. Its transport cover, with all the accessories, weighs around 20 lbs., so I am moving 100 lbs. or more. We use the 6-wheel harp caddy, which is wonderful climbing up and down stairs. My sweet wife is always there to help me, putting the harp in the car and getting it out, opening doorways, etc. I am now retired, so I will no longer have to move this large harp out of my house very often.
The Wheeled Case seems self-sufficient, and I doubt that you would need anything else to easily move the Troubadour. I hope someone else has an opinion about this, and I hope I have helped here.
Harp Hugs and best wishes,
BalfourI would keep the little Ogden for sheer portability, and just enjoy the large size of the Troubadour at home, ha, ha! The older I get, the more trouble it is to move a big harp out of my house. Since I am retired, my Camac Atlantide Prestige concert grand pedal harp no longer has to go anywhere, so if I take a harp out for my own pleasure, like on vacation, it will be my Dusty Strings FH36S. She is very portable, even for an old guy like me, ha, ha!
Harp Hugs and best wishes,
Balfour
