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These are great posts, friends! You are never too old to enjoy playing the harp, and it is indeed its own therapy. It is the instrument of my soul, and I play it much more than the piano and organ, even though I love these keyboard instruments, too! The harp is much easier on my aging fingers, without requiring the impact playing the piano needs. I also find myself enjoying the light action of my clavichord with its very quiet tone, more as I get older. I used to adore the strong, heavy playing of the piano concertos, Chopin Polonaises, the large Liszt works, to name a few, but that is no longer possible. So I am very thankful for the harp, especially my Dusty FH36S “Cherie,” to take me into old age, gracefully and beautifully!
Have a wonderful day, friends,
Balfour
So sorry to hear of all the problems with the broken strings! If I had ever had that problem with a harp, I think I would have just given up. But I’m glad you did not just give up, John! Of course I have had my share of broken strings all these years, but always one at a time, and few and far between. The funny thing is that they always seem to break in the middle of the night, about 3:00 A.M., and we roll over and ask each other, “which princess is unhappy tonight?” Ha, ha!
I have always used Bow Brand on my pedal harps. I love the tone, and some strings have been good for eight years or more, in the 4th and 5th octaves. I also have never had but one or two break in the 3rd octave, and only the highest ones in the 2nd octave. I use Artist Nylon in the First Octave, and would never consider using gut way up there! I restring this first octave every two to three years, and have never had a broken one between string changes. My replacement strings, both gut and nylon, are now about eight years old, and have held up well over that time, in a humidity-controlled house, between 40 and 60 percent humidity all year, heated to about 68 degrees F in the winter, and cooled to about 72 degrees F in the summer. I take the harps out to lots of gigs where they are exposed to various changes in temperature and humidity, but I have never had that problem with breaking strings like you folks talk about, thank goodness.
Maybe my strings all date to BEFORE the time of having the problem with the weak strings from Bow Brand, like you have said, Gretchen. I do not know which brand of strings my harp tech used last time to restring my Second Octave, but only the top E has broken in a year since the regulation, and that is normal. If it breaks again, I plan to go to nylon on at least that note, and maybe the entire second octave. I have heard harps strung in nylon through the Third Octave, like Saul mentioned, that sound very nice. This might solve a lot of the breaking of the higher strings, I think.
Does anyone use the Venus affiliated Valkyres strings? I wonder about their longevity.
Well, continue on with this thread, friends. Best wishes for NO BREAKING strings for a while!
Balfour
Thanks, Adolfo! I really enjoyed that video of Tavener’s “Song of the Angel.” Your posts always inspire me to look at piano and organ works to see if they are playable on the harp. How stimulating!
Cheers and best wishes,
Balfour
Fascinating reading, friends! Thanks for all these posts, and I have enjoyed catching up with this thread. Of course, Biagio, you know my favorite wood for sound and appearance is cherry, no other is quite the same! I have enjoyed working with this beautiful wood again, making a matching stool for my Dusty FH36S. I am just waiting now for a good dry time to apply the satin lacquer finish to it, but I am already enjoying sitting on it to play this gorgeous harp. And, “Cherie” seems to appreciate all the work I have done on the stool–she whispers that to me as I play–another “secret” of the harp, ha, ha!
Have a great day folks,
Balfour
Thanks, Adolfo! I loved the first one, “Lady Carey,” particularly the TONE of that harpsichord, and thought the second one, the “Ligeti,” was very interesting. “Continuum” is a great title for that work. All of these videos are very enjoyable, and I wonder how many of these harpsichord works are playable on harp–interesting, indeed!
Best wishes,
Balfour
Hello, everyone–sorry I mis-read the charts. Premier strings are indeed thinner than Bow Brand except for six notes on the chart. I was reversing the two! It pays to read something again to check your memory!
Have a good day,
Balfour
Please let us know how this turns out. We all wish you the very best in your quest for a harp!
Sincerely,
Balfour
Thanks, Michael! I don’t suppose that using heavier gauge strings like these would put too much tension on a pedal harp, or at least I hope it would not. I know that one has to be very careful about placing too much tension on a lever harp, like trying to put pedal harp strings on one that was intended for less tension, say lever-gut strings.
I forgot to thank Josh for this posting, too! Many thanks, and it was great, like everything you do, Josh! Gretchen, I like the “feat with your feet” comment, too, like telling me about my C flats. I don’t have to worry about them on my gorgeous lever harp tuned in C, I just play B naturals, like on the piano and organ. It is only the pedal harp that “messes me up,” ha, ha!
Have a great day, everyone.
Balfour
Thanks, Gretchen and Alyson! John, I use Artist Nylon in my first octave, then gut until the wire strings, as specified by Lyon & Healy. I look forward to Carl’s comparison of the string gauges, and Michael’s answer about the distinctions between Premier and Bow Brand!
Have a great day, everyone!
Balfour
Jon,
Have you purchased the L&H Troubadour yet? What a nice gift for your wife!
I wondered if you had explored any other options for a lever harp, such as one made by Dusty Strings? String tension is medium on most of their harps, unlike the higher tension of the pedal harps, and requires less work to draw the tone out of the instrument. Playing my Dusty FH36S is a breeze compared to my pedal harp–I am getting absolutely lazy in my old age, and quite spoiled by this wonderful new lever harp! The new Camac levers are absolutely the best, in my humble opinion– I finally have tone quality as good as on my pedal harp when the levers are engaged, and they move very smoothly with NO scraping on the strings! The leverage is amazing.
You do not mention where you are located, but if you are anywhere near the Atlanta Harp Center in GA, I heartily recommend them for your harp purchase. Also, the Virginia Harp Center, owned by the same family. They are all lovely folks to do business with if you are in the area.
Good luck with your harp purchase, and I know your wife will be thrilled!
Best wishes,
Balfour
Alyson, would you mind telling us who regulates your harp? I would be interested in hearing from all the harp techs concerning how they feel about these new strings. I know Gretchen C. loves them–she must have missed this thread, otherwise she would have replied. I look forward to trying the Premier strings myself when my pedal harp needs restringing.
Best wishes,
Balfour
Andelin, I just wanted to tell you that I had already named my L&H 85GP pedal harp “Eglantine” before I found her! I really did dream about her before I went to the Atlanta Harp Center, I traded in my black 85 CG for her, and I have never regretted it. A smaller harp is so much more comfortable and playable for me, especially now that I am 61 and feeling the “pains of aging,” ha, ha! Even Eglantine’s 69 lbs. is a lot of weight to move when you have arthritis, and I am so blessed to have my sweet wife of 40 years to help me with this harp. My Dusty FH36S “Cherie” is THE BEST to take out “on a date” and I have no problem loading and unloading her all by myself. Andelin, I do hope you are able to get the pedal harp of your dreams before long, but I must say, I am enjoying my Cherie lever harp most of all right now!
Best wishes everyone,
Balfour
