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Hello again, harp friends!
I am posting a photo so you can see how visible the New Nylgut NGH strings by Aquila are on my pedal harp. In the USA you can order them from Curtis at Aquila USA. You need to know the gauges and colors, so please check my other thread here on these forums titled ” Nylgut Strings by Aquila” to find appropriate gauges for both pedal and lever harps. Let me know if you need any help.
Thanks again, Wil, for letting me know about these. They are GREAT!
Happy Holidays,
BalfourUpdate on this thread—my New Nylgut NGH strings have been on my harp all year, and only one (the top one, 0G) broke. Its replacement has been on the harp for months now, and has not broken. I am very pleased with these excellent strings, and they are just like gut in sound and feel, with slightly more sustain, which I love!
Saul, every time I have tried to color a red, black or blue string with a Sharpie or other “permanent” marker, the color has rubbed off on my fingers as I play. But I agree with you–no apparent effect on the tone quality! For the naturals, I maintain that this new nylgut NGH, made by Aquila Cordes in Italy, with its “heavy whipping-cream” color, is THE BEST for visibility, and I miss this on my lever harp which is strung in nylon. If it didn’t sound so good with nylon, I would change over to the nylgut just because of the increased visibility!
Have wonderful, happy holidays, all my harp friends!
BalfourThanks again for posting here, Mark. Since I have only put New Nylgut NGH on the top 16 notes of my pedal harp, I did not have the problem of too many coils on the tuning pins from strings stretching. However, I did have that problem with the lower, thicker Premier gut strings, especially in the 4th and 5th octaves. After a couple of days, I had to unwind them and take about an inch out of the string, then rewind. Like you, I prefer to have about 3 coils around a tuning pin, and certainly not more than 4!
That must mean that NGH is acting just like real gut in the amount it stretches, especially on longer, thicker strings. My Dusty FH36S still has nylon, which I prefer on that particular harp. Every time I restring, the nylons stretch a lot, especially the nylon over nylon in the baritone section of the harp. I have always had to unwind, take out an inch of the string, and rewind after a couple of days of them stretching.
Going from real gut to Nylgut, I did not have to reregulate, but going from the nylon to the Nylgut, I did. I regulate my two harps every year anyway, so no big deal.
What exactly is Silkgut? Is it Nylgut made a little differently?
Have a great day!
BalfourMark, thanks so much for posting here! What you have said confirms what I have found to be true about these wonderful strings. Nylgut NGH is indeed a synthetic gut string, and needs to be brought to the attention of more harpists. These strings are not like the so-called “sugar cane strings” which seem to have certain inherent problems. I have read about the sugar strings having to be gauged larger than the normal gut strings, and they obviously have problems being pulled up to pitch, plus, they stretch a lot and have to have coils removed at the tuning pins because they pile up from stretching! Larger gauge strings mean more stress on the harp, too.
NGH Nylgut can be installed just like gut, and holds pitch in a couple of days. The tone is clear, even better than gut in the high octaves of my pedal harp. It has none of the harshness in the overtones that nylon has. A harpist’s plucking strength is the same for Nylgut that it is for gut, and humidity changes do not bother the tuning stability.
Now, my Nylgut strings have proven themselves, having been on my harp for almost a year!
Try these out–you may LOVE them like I do!
Happy Harping,
BalfourHello Dianne!
So glad you have a pedal harp, so you can avoid all the problems this would have on a lever harp. The main advantage I know about a lever harp is its easy portability. I would use my beautiful Dusty FH36S for short or non-demanding solo engagements, but I would usually take my concert grand pedal harp when I played an entire concert on harp or played with other musicians. They did not like the limitations of certain keys being impossible to play in on the lever harp!
Happy harping over the holidays,
BalfourThank you Alison. But if you go back to the original post, she needs to play in A flat. If the harp was tuned in E flat, it would be a mess to have to use C sharps every time she needed a D flat!
Happy Holidays,
BalfourAttention harpists! This is a great time to order the new nylgut NGH strings from Curtis at Aquila, USA. He just let me know that he is expecting a shipment in mid-December, so get your orders in so that all your strings can be ordered from Italy!
Happy harping,
BalfourNow, if only the Virginia Harp Center would stock and promote these NGH New Nylgut strings by Aquila! I order all my other regular strings from them.
Hello Andelin!
I generally order my strings from the Virginia Harp Center, and they are the best, in my opinion. Since their prices are lower, that seems like even more of a reason to give them the business. Hope this helps.
Harp Hugs, and Happy Thanksgiving,
BalfourThere is a nice article “Strings that Ring” in the current issue of HC. Too bad that Hope Cowan hasn’t checked out the New Nylgut NGH strings by Aquila! They are a wonderful substitute for gut strings, as I have said repeatedly above in this column. I have also provided appropriate gauges, so that anyone might try these, to see for themselves. Please let us know here, on this thread, if you are willing to try these. Again, I am not affiliated in any way with Aquila, I just know what has worked well on my harp.
Have a great day,
BalfourUpdate! Since Dec. 24, 2023, only ONE string has broken in the top two octaves of my New Nylgut NGH strings on my Camac Atlantide Prestige. It was the top 0G, and the replacement has stayed on the harp without breaking. These strings need to be used by more harpists, so that their true advantages can become understood and accepted. I am very pleased with all aspects concerning them, and recommend them highly.
Harp Hugs and best wishes,
BalfourThanks, Alexandra! I’m so glad to know how you place the harp in the Crosstrek with all your other accessories. In the 2024 Outback, the harp can go straight in, without placing it diagonally. There is an unbelievable amount of room for our other things, once the harp is loaded into the car. My grandmother used to own a Ford LTD station wagon which was a great harp cart back then! It also carried my 6 foot harpsichord very well.
Best wishes and harp hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)
