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Gregg, as I mentioned above, Bow Brand’s “Heavy Gauge” 5th-octave A is 2.40mm. That seems to me to be enough larger than the regular 2.29mm for that A to indeed make a tolerable G, the note below. You are correct, my dad put the same size (gauge) string on my lowest string, 5th-octave G, that was used for the 5th-octave A. I bet he would have loved that Heavy Gauge A to use as a G! The G on that little 29-string harp he made was very nice, as I remember. We did not want just a single wire string at the bottom of that little harp. The entire range of that harp, G to G, was strung in natural pedal gut back then, in the early 1960’s. I think that my dad would have tried Nylgut if it had been around then, because I do remember him talking about the high cost of gut!
I checked on Aquila’s website, and they offer Nylgut up to 2.40mm thick. It comes 180cm long, equal to about 70.86″ long. This is very generous, as I just measured it for 5G and it is way longer than it would need to be even for that note! I have no experience with using Nylgut that low on my harp, but it would be very economical to buy and give it a try.
Best to all of you,
BalfourCharles, I looked at the “standard” gauges for 5th-octave A and found that Camac, Premier, and Bow Brand are all 2.29mm in gut for that note. “Heavy Gauge” is 2.40mm. You were remembering well even without your charts.
Everyone stay safe in all this winter weather!
Harp Hugs from BalfourMy fifth octave only has A B C D & E in gut, and does not contain a G. What kind of harp do you have, Patrice?
Update! My new Nylgut NGH harp strings are doing very well on my harp and sound just like the Premier guts in the 3rd through 5th octaves which were already on the harp.
I copied this from the Aquila USA website:
Please note: NGH strings are special order by request. They are listed as “in stock” so that they can be ordered. Delivery times are 3-8 weeks. Please place your order and we will inform you of the approximate turnaround time. If there is sufficient demand we will actively stock all gauges and colors.
NGH strings (made with the New Nylgut®) are the color of natural gut, have the same density as gut (gauges are the same as gut) and possess acoustical qualities similar to natural gut. Nylgut is considered the first “synthetic” version of natural gut.
Other strong points of the NGH strings are excellent resistance under tension -greater than that of gut – but even more important is its extraordinary immunity to changes of climate, considerably better than nylon and gut, insuring stability of tuning under normal conditions.Available in natural gut color, red, or black. Gauges through 145 are supplied in 120cm length.
Hi Mark,
I sometimes use “right hand style” harmonics with my left hand, whenever it is convenient. For example, in an arrangement of a Christmas carol I recently performed in a concert, it was essential to do this, as the harmonics were imitating bells and followed each other in quick succession on the notes C-G-A-E (RH C, LH down to G, RH A, LH down to E over and over!). Playing the harmonics in the same manner with each hand made for clean quick harmonics. This was not indicated any differently in the musical score–I just figured it out. So, I think putting it in a “performance note” would be the best way to indicate this.
Wow, transcribing that Arabesque and Pastorale for 26 strings on a lever harp is a brave undertaking! I wish you the best of luck with it.
Harp Hugs,
BalfourHi Steve!
I enjoyed reading your post. Yes, these new Nylgut strings are for my Camac Atlantide Prestige, made in 2016. I think these new strings are quite different from those you tried around 15 years ago! These are especially for harps, and are called NGH.
When I got this beautiful harp back in 2017, the 2nd octave gut strings started breaking, so that 4 of them had broken in the first 3 or 4 months I had the harp. I never had this problem on the L&H 85 harps that I owned previously. I contacted Camac, and they had their head tech, Liza Jensen, examine my harp. She could find no problem! I replaced the broken ones, of course, but they continued to break as before. So, I reluctantly changed over to 2nd octave nylon strings by D’Addario. I had to re-regulate, of course, but I have never had one break over these past years. I do restring every couple of years, though, so I can only say that the D’Addarios will last that long.
When I noticed the post by Wil Weten here in these forums, I decided to try Nylgut, as I do not care for the 2nd octave “nylon sound.” I’m so glad I did! Together with Curtis Daily at Aquila, USA, we worked out a scale based on what Camac recommends for the real gut strings. So far, the strings are doing great, as I have posted.
I have not been interested in the new “sugar strings,” since they are difficult to pull up and have oversized gauges which adds tension to the harp. I have also heard about their “bright” sound, which I believe to be too much like nylon. The best compliment that I can give these new Nylguts is that they sound like the Premier gut strings on my harp, which are my favorite gut strings of all time, from the Atlanta Harp Center, made in France.
Steve, I know you like to design your own scale and gauges, but if you would like to know the gauges I am using, I will be happy to post them here.
Thanks for your post, Steve, and have a great harping day!
BalfourI received the top five Nylgut strings for my pedal harp and have successfully installed them. Even at those high pitches, the gut sound of these new Nylguts holds true! I know why some harpists brave the expense of gut up there, although they tend to break more than I would like, ha, ha!
A tip from Aquila about installing these very thin, high-pitched strings–when you put them on, tune them flat to a “step” below (I pulled them up just to the second string below the one I was installing.) In other words, when putting on an F, tune it to the D below it. The next day, tune all of the new ones up to the pitch of the string below them. Later in the day, or the next day preferably, finish pulling all of them up to pitch. This used to be recommended for gut strings anyway!
These sound really good on my harp, like Premier gut with a little more sustain, which I love! It all depends on their longevity at this point, for the “long haul.”
Does anyone reading this have experience with how long these Nylguts will last on a harp?
Have a great harping day, everyone!
BalfourGregg, I did not copy and paste all of that post–just enough for you to see if that is the one you are talking about.
Sally, good luck in your harp quest! I know there is one out there that is “just right” for you!
Best wishes and harp hugs,
BalfourGregg, are you talking about this post?
“Hi, Sally (and Balfour),
If you visit harp.com and select the “Harp Strings” tab, you can scroll down and see exactly what the stringing choices are for each L&H and Salvi model. The Ana has two stringing choices: folk-gauge (“lever”) gut in the middle with folk-gauge bass wires, or pedal-gauge gut in the middle with pedal wires. The Hermes has three choices: the same two stringing choices for the Ana, as well as (folk-gauge) biocarbon in the mid and top. I actually wasn’t previously aware of the pedal stringing option for the Hermes; that’s very interesting! I see on salviharps.com that the Hermes weighs just a little less than the Ana and would be less expensive, being in the “student” category. I should also point out that when a folk-guage (“lever”) stringing is chosen for the Ana or Hermes, the bass wires go up one note higher (to 5A) before switching to non-wires, which means the 5A wire emerges out of a “dot” in the soundboard instead of an eyelet just like the rest of the bass wires.
Also, be aware that the Ana is available with either the pewter-colored levers and pins (less expensive) or as the Ana Deluxe with the gold-plated levers and pins…..etc…..”
This post came up just fine, but if you have sent a further detailed one like you described, I don’t see it here. Thanks my friend!Harp Hugs,
BalfourWow, Sally, a 40 year old harp! It will indeed be different when you get a new one. I looked at photos of the Hermes online, and it looks like a nice harp. It has that beautiful, graceful shape of a small pedal harp which I like. My pedal harp is a Camac Atlantide Prestige, which they advertise as “understated elegance,” ha, ha! When I was growing up, I always wanted a gold harp, like the L&H 23, but right now I would not trade my gorgeous harp for any gold harp! For one thing, we live in a very simple little house, and a gold harp would be totally “out-of-place.”
Gregg, thanks for all of that detailed information. I always love to see your posts here.
Have a great day everyone!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)I continue to be in love with these new Nylgut strings! They sound and play much better than the nylons do, which are above them in the first and zero octaves, now that I have gotten used to the wonderful sound and feel of the Nylguts. I am planning to purchase more Nylguts so that I can try them all the way up to the top of my harp. The “heavy whipping cream” color is so much more visible than the nylons–it will make playing up there a pure joy! I will let you all know how this ends up!
Have a great harping day, my friends,
BalfourHi Wil!
Today I am even more impressed with my new Nylgut strings in the 2nd Octave! When I went to tune them after breakfast this morning, I was amazed to find that the lowest four of them had held their pitch overnight, and the others required only a very slight adjustment. Their tone is very rich and deep, with a long ring tone, longer than either real gut or nylon.
Last night, I played Hasselmans’ La Source on my beautiful harp, and could not believe the improvement in the sound from these new strings. Anyone who knows this concert etude can attest to the fact that many of the high melody notes are on the 2nd-octave strings. They ring out like never before! Like the young folks say, “I was totally blown away!” ha, ha!
Try some of these nylguts, everyone–you won’t believe it!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour
