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Enjoyed reading about your adventure, and glad it turned out well for you, too. Sounds like it was fun.
Tacye, I’ve done some oil gilding, but haven’t heard of using epoxy. Do you wait for the epoxy to become almost dry, but still somewhat tacky before you lay the gold?
What would be nice in the forums is the ability to edit your own posts for misspelled words and typos.
I also agree with Saul regarding censorship, but it would be so much more pleasant if people did practice some restraint when they respond to a post they have an issue with. I’d vote for more politeness.
Maria, There are lacquers that will not yellow or darken over time. I think they’re a relatively new development, so you won’t find it on older harps. Water gilding has been known to last from 3 – 4 thousand years, judging from what’s been discovered in Egyptian tombs, so if the harp isn’t touched the gold should last a really long time. And probably a regilding job would have to depend on how extensive the work is. The difference between a natural 23 and a gold 23 is over $17,000, but I’m sure you could have it done for much less.
The picture posted is from the L&H final assembly room. I don’t know Mr. Flores, but my husband was able to point out to me, “Reggie’s old bench, the fire escape exit, the cabinet that holds the action, and the window where you could see the gilders, and the fan in the window.” The harp being worked on is an 11, and an action stud is being hammered in. Not having ever been to the factory, it was like being given a mini tour.
I have lots of dreams with harps in them, and they are all weird. In my latest, my harps turned into horses. One horse was a beautiful palomino with a white blaze.
I wouldn’t worry about the harp going out of tune quickly, which will happen with a new harp. The wood and strings all need time to settle in, and depending on the kind of strings, some take longer to become stable than others.
There will be some variations in depth when setting the tuning pins, but if you’re concerned you should contact the seller/maker.
Thank you for posting the links to the string gauge/tension calculators. It was interesting putting in data and watching tensions change.
Nice harp, Carl. How fortunate you are to have harps for the different repertoire you perform.
I was able to see a “Wagner” harp close up once. It hadn’t been tuned in quite a while and had some broken strings, so I didn’t get a chance to play it, but I did enjoy looking at it. It had a crown carved of wood and gilded, and the back of the wings (of the extended board) were gilded along the outer edge. I’d never seen that before.
Hi Ro,
Yes, please do send a pic.
Who would have thought such an innocent request for information would have started all this. But in truth, I’ve heard the frustration of harp technicians crying in the wilderness … “They don’t know how to take care of their harp!!!!”
Maybe we should start another topic on “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” or “things your teacher may not have mentioned…” under the Coffee Break heading.
Barbs
Oh, and if the strobe isn’t picking up the sound because the shorter strings die out too fast, play the note faster, like quarter or eighth notes, instead of half notes. You want to keep feeding information to the strobe so that it can give you an accurate reading.
Hope this makes sense and it works for you.
Wow, a harp made to your own specifications. What could be better? Congratulations, and may it serve you well.
Yes, you are correct over the additional stress placed on the pedestal and feet from pulling on the body, so the issue lies in whether the harp can take it or not. I don’t know of any instance where carts or wheels were the sole cause for feet or bushings to loosen, though theoretically it could happen. I am aware of a rear foot that fell off a harp prior to playing for President Reagan’s funeral, and even though that harp had been moved by cart, I doubt that was what caused the foot to loosen. My belief is that the stress exerted on the feet and pedal box is not enough to lead to inevitable damage.
Cosmetic damage is always expensive to repair. Yeah, most people don’t realize the time, effort and expertise required in refinishing and gilding. The real killer is to have all that extra protection, and then have someone knock a chair or stand into your harp when it isn’t protected.
I appreciate your concern, but I haven’t cheaped out, nor am I too lazy to protect my harps. My harps have so many accessories and back up parts, I’m running out of places to put them all.
