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Edit: I meant to comment on the question of harp production but forgot, so sorry but here we go.
Back in the late 60s and early 70s when lever harps first started to become popular in the US virtually all people making them were small shops and to a large extent that is still true – the only “mass produced” harps are those such as Salvi (Italy) L&H and Camac which also make pedal harps – if by “mass produced” one means “use robotics to a large extent. Nevertheless even they do a great deal of individual hands on craftmanship.
All harp makers that have become successful use templates for their standard designs; smaller individual makers such as Another Era Lutherie, Sligo Harps, Magical Strings, etc. generally build when they receive an order. They are also more likely to be willing to customize or do a custom design than those like Dusty Strings or Rees simply because the latter have invested in larger shops with streamlined construction stages.
For example, Dusty will not mount Truitt levers because they have set up that stage for Lovelands and/or Camacs.Since they also produce their own strings they prefer to use nylon (although they have recently started to supply gut) and do not supply fluorocarbon – it is just not economical for them. All the same if someone (like me haha) wants Truitt and FC they will sell the “bare” harp – just leave it up to the buyer to mount levers, order FC and do that work. They will obvously not warranty the harp of course.
Finally a comment on sound samples: while harp makers try to provide an accurate sample of the individual sound one must realize that is how it sounds in the hands of one experienced player without enhancement for a sound studio – at least for all reputable makers whom I know. How it sounds in your hands might be very different.
At the last harp gathering I attended three professional players tried out my latest design and all three got sounds out of the thing that I had no idea were in there. They all also sounded different from each other:-) As they say” “You play the harp in front of you.”
Biagio
I’ll try to cover these questions but first dierct you to a much more detailed discussion than David’s by Rick Kemper at Sligo Harps:
Click on String Theory on the home page.
First concept – tension depends on string density (or more precisely mass) and vibrating length at any give frequency; greater density means greater tension holding vibrating length constant. Longer vibrating length = greater tension holding mass constant. Further, for the same string type, thicker diameter will increase the string mass. So you can see that it is erroneous to generalize that one type will be higher tension than another without accounting for the other variables. In terms of relative density nylon is lowest followed by gut and then by fluorocarbon.
Second concept – lever vs. pedal gut. The only difference between them is that pedal gut is thicker than lever gut for any give frequency. That’s it, they both come from the same cows.
Third concept – brightness/warmth of tone. A harder material will produce a brighter tone than a softer one. Ignoring metals for the moment, nylon is hardest, then fluorocarbon; gut is the softer. A harder material will (usually) have longer sustain.
This is just a quick snapshot, without getting into esoterics such as elasticity, sympathetic vibrations, wound strings, etc. So to generalize, if you prefer a warm tone without long sustain you might prefer gut.
When a luthier sits down to design a new harp he/she will first decide on the string design, given the approximate size and soundboard – that is what takes the longest time and why some really do not like to disclose the full details – there have been and still are too many copy cats out there trying to pass off a poorly built harp as something different.
Anyhow, once satisfied it is on to the actual build but almost every harp maker I know goes through several iterations, perhaps with a nylon string based design for one and a gut based design for the same model, or slightly longer or shorter vibrating lengths. There is science to the craft but also a lot of art!
Hope that helps!
BiagoWell, continuing in that vein (and a related thread):
I had sold most of my tools and was fairly content with a nylon strung 26 and two bronze strung clarsach but missed the lower octaves sometimes. So I bought a 5 octave kit (the Musimakers Cheyenne) and modified it as follows: spruce sound board (instead of the supplied aircraft grade laminate), added two large sound holes in the harp base, and strung the lower octave with bronze core nylon wrap and the next up with fluorocarbon.
Now, I’ve played the Cheyenne (formerly Regency) before and believe me, this one sounds nothing like the standard Cheyenne at all.
Obviously one cannot change the SB on an already built harp (not easily anyway). But you can change the string material, and even the range, and get a very different instrument sound. Some people like a very deep bass for instance and drop it two steps (from C to A). of course you lose two strings at the top:-)
Biagio
Hi Sharon,
I know Craig as an experienced hap maker, but not this particular model, so have refrained from commenting. However in light of your latest with respect to strings: it is important to understand that you are not “stuck” with what might come standard on any harp and the maker will be happy to use what you might prefer*. If in consultation with your teacher you may think you would want gut I am sure Craig will accommodate.
*Caveat: ALMOST any harp; Dusty, for instance, so far will not “do” fluorocarbon and it would be absurd to use nylon on a pedal harp except in the upper register.
Best wishes,
BiagioMikel, like any newer entrant, has to face a period of evolving acceptance. Quality control and consistency is always a big hurdle to overcome and that is especially so for harps from Pakistan, which as group started out a few years ago with very poor quality issues.
Hopefully this review is evidence of a continuing turn-around. Nevertheless I think they have a long road ahead and will probably have to charge below market for a time even if they have overcome the quality control issues.
Good luck to them, I hope they make it.
PS Rees is located in Indiana and has long been recognized as one of the best; they do not advertise however due to their reputation and small shop. There is also David Kolacny in Colorado; and for “kit” harps or those with AC laminate boards Musicmakers in Minnesota. These are all great people with excellent reputations.
David is a very respected harp technician and often has harps on consignment. I noticed that he has some beautiful and hard to find harps on consignment: a Rydecki, Salvi McFall and Hummingbird for example. Those are hard to find because most owners hold on to them!
Best wishes,
BiagioThese are “lever gut” strings ie a lighter gauge than on a pedal tension harp such as the Prelude. If the harp has been sitting around unplayed for any length of time it will probably need new strings and regulation, so add that in to the asking price. If it is in good shape otherwise and the price is acceptable it should be fine…but….
Her teacher can give better guidance on what would be suitable, all else being equal. Some people insist on gut strings, others prefer on nylon, those who like rapid Celtic tunes prefer a lighter tension such as the Sligo Luchair, others a more medium tension like the Dustys and so on.
For better range and sound quality, Dustys Camacs, Thormahlen, Triplett, Sligo Raven, and many more are all excellent but her teacher would be the best person to help you make a judgement. In any case you should not buy a used harp without a personal inspection accompanied by an experienced player.
John certainly seems to know what he is doing so I would be fairly confident just on the face of it, though you are wise to meet with him and discuss in more detail – and of course try it out yourself. The fact that he uses Camac levers is a plus as is the vacuum molded round back box. I prefer that box design for a harp such as the Camlan as it is light, very strong, and has excellent acoustics. It is what I use on my own harps for my own use.
The Ravennas have a different approach which is described on Dusty Strings’ website. Those are good harps too of course.
When you meet with John you might discuss hiring the harp for a while rather than purchasing it immediately. He offers what in the US it is called “rent to own” and that is a good way to go. His description is pretty standard in the industry.
Biagio
If you’re interested in the hammered dulcimer, and it has a fascinating history, you might start with what Dusty Strings has to say in their beginner’s guide. People have been making and playing them for several centuries in one form or another.
They are a bit more difficult to make from scratch as compared to a harp, but if you buy a ready made kit, very simple. Musicmakers sells a 17/16 kit at a very reasonable price.
I have sold a number of harps over the years and do in fact require the funds to be paid before delivery. I offer a limited warranty however, and would expect any reputable seller to do the same. These were lever harps: for a more expensive pedal harp, particularly if it was necessary to drive to meet the buyer, I would negotiate some recompense for my time and expense.
So, no I do not think this is abnormal from a sellers standpoint; I have had any number of seemingly serious “buyers” who turned out to be flakes or scammers. But in your shoes I would prefer to see the harp in person before making a monetary commitment..
Biagio
Hi again,
There are so many good YT harp videos it is difficult to know where to start haha. So I will just throw out some names and you can view them to find what suit s you best: Josh Layne (Harp Tuesday collection), Harper Tasche (especially him playing one handed “Just for You”), Chris Caswell (You Can Play the Harp – an introduction), Christy-Lyn! (Learning the Harp), Marta Cook “Plays with rhythm”, Yolanda Kondonassis (Many videos))…..
You might consider buying a DVD or two – Pamela Bruner’s “Play the Harp Beautifully” is very popular, sometimes used by teachers as an adjunct. For fun and education see also Caitrin Finch’s documentary “History of the Harp.”
The strings I mentioned are those used on new Signature harps; sometimes on metal wrapped strings the wrap is tinned to deter oxidation and that may be the case here.
Have fun!
BiagioThe lowest (bass) strings are steel core/fiber bedding/copper wrapped; the next 3 or 4 bronze core nylon wrap.
I gather that the “buzz” results from your nails scraping on the copper winding; if so you should adjust your hand position, trim your nails, or both. This is just based on the comments but a teacher can provide much better guidance. If you do not have a teacher refer to a good harp book with pictures of hand position. I recommend Yolanda Kondonassis “On Playing the Harp.”
Damping is an entirely different issue; in any case do not slam your hand down (unless your are trying the slap-bass technique – side note); a light touch is all that is required.
There are lots of Youtube videos of excellent players illustrating good harp technique.
Biagio
It’s a difficult situation indeed. Be that as it may though, some comments: WD-40 is an excellent lubricant but it also has a nasty habit of attracting and trapping dust. Not what you want on strings and levers or pedal mechanisms. I advise a light machine oil such as used for sewing machines: wipe it lightly on your wire strings, then wipe off. Same for levers or any other metal-metal contacts.
Biagio
Balfour my friend, I won’t debate the merits of different levers as IMO all those currently on the market have both pros and cons and I do know that you and many others really like Camacs when playing. I’d just point out that installing them yourself is more exacting than for instance Truitts or Rees. For instance, the bridge pin holes require two sizes of metric bits.
If Jap or another has never installed levers of any sort though I would urge him to have it done by a professional harp maker. I mean, if I’m going to invest around $1,000 to fully lever a 40 string harp I would be happy to pay a professional a bit more to be sure the job is done correctly.
Truitts and Rees are undoubtedly the easiest to install but to be honest I made a few boo-boos the first time and that was a real pain to fix LOL
I picked up a Clark model A that had been sitting in rental storage unit for 20 years; the entire contents of the unit were sold at a blind auction (no disclosure as to the actual contents). The purchaser had no idea of the Clark’s value, just wanted to get rid of it as fast as possible. Needless to say, most of the strings were broken and the neck needed some work but at $500 it was worth it!
