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Or maybe a teeny tiny spray of WD40?
Silly question (but you never know ;)) – are you levering it the right way to loosen the locking screw? Even though the discs are reverse threaded you still have to lever it anticlockwise to loosen it initially.
I once had a top D string keep breaking each time I replaced it – must have been a dud. my Dad gave me some fluorescent yellow fishing line, which he measured as being the same diameter, so I popped it on just to get me through until a new string arrived. It sounded fine and people kept asking what the significance of the yellow string was. I was quite sad to see it go!
I always use the full set. Base, pillar and outer cover. But I move my harps around a LOT. I have Lyon and Healys but always use Salvi covers. They seem sturdier and a bit more padded. They are very good I the rain. They have to be, I’m in the soggy UK! I used to have an LH style 17 which I guess is a similar size to yours. The Salvi semi grand set fit it perfectly. The downsides of them are that they are bulky to store and the dreaded Velcro fastener DESTROYS your tights!
Maybe this might be worth considering!
If you want a good finish then I think you will find the price you mention is not overinflated! It’s a really labour intensive job as I understand it. To get a good finished product there is a lot of preparation work that must be done. The people Tacye mentioned are all excellent. You could also try Mike parfett. http://www.michaelparfett.com/new08/gilding.html
I think it’s actually a gilded Aoyama Delphi. It’s difficult to tell from that video but it’s a bit flat looking to be a Musa. One of her other videos here shows a clearer but brief shot of a Delphi right at the beginning so I would guess its the same harp?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfhPHpDmZ5w&feature=youtube_gdata_player
(Not sure I would want to load my harp that way!!!)
My Dad used to use something call Nutlock to stop screws from coming undone by themselves. It comes in a tube like toothpaste but smaller. Not sure if its available worldwide, I’m in the UK.
Have you changed any strings recently? I once had a nightmare buzz and it turned out that when a string had broken, the knot slipped down inside the harp and got stuck inside the bottom. I had searched everywhere for it but never thought about checking inside the harp. Once I remembered and had a rummage, I found it and the buzz was gone!
You were saying you bruised your hand trying to get the string through the soundboard? I could be reading you wrong but it sounds like you are threading the string from behind after tying the knot? I always thread the string from the front and then tie the knot. I hold the knot firmly while pulling the string back up through the soundboard so it doesn’t come loose. Once it is against the back of the soundboard I give a firm tug just to make sure the knot is secure. I use the normal knot and have never had a problem with it. Oddly though, I cannot for the life of me demonstrate it to pupils. If I try to do it slowly enough for them to see I just lose track of what I’m doing and it all unravels!!
If you look in this book,
http://us.harp.com/info/products/pact_show/id_19397700/
The Adagio by Croft is essentally the same melody but it is a very simple, short version.Well, she’s been in touch with John at pilgrim and he suggested rubbing candle wax on the vertical part of the pedal slot. Fingers crossed it works!
Wowsers! Tim is amazing isn’t he? Eleni is stunning. Hope to hear her one day. DPAF festival next year perhaps………
I have done both. I have a Lyon and Healy style 11 that is over 35 years old. I bought her second hand and love her. The sound is beautiful but I have to treat her carefully and keep her regularly serviced and maintained. Her sound remains totally constant. Before I bought her she was given a thorough going over by the L and H technician here in the UK but that didn’t stop her breaking a couple of pedal rods and developing the biggest buzz in harp history shortly after I bought her. Sounds daft I know but it was almost as if she had decided to rebel at being sold to someone new. Once she settled and decided she liked me she has never had another problem.
Two years ago I was lucky enough to be in a position to buy a second harp new. I heard that there was a beautiful ebony and bronze 23 at the Lyon and Healy stockist so off I went to look. The sound blew me away instantly. I said yes there and then. Two years down the line and that amazing sound just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to hear what it will be like when he is over 30! I think that if you like the sound of a new harp then it will only improve. I would be wary of going for a new harp that you like the look of but that doesn’t quite have the sound you are after and then hoping that the sound will develop as the harp ages. It may but it may not. That’s not a risk I would want to take.I kind of agree with Tacye. It’s a tricky one. You could take a look at either the first or second movements of the Handel or maybe Saint Saens Morceau de Concert. I remember doing that one when I was fairly inexperienced. The Rutter that Alison mentioned has a beautiful first movement. It isn’t actually a new composition. It was originally called Suite Antique for flute, harpsichord and strings. He has arranged it for harp and orchestra and re named it Suite Lyrique. I used to play the piano reduction on harp with my flautist and it wasn’t too bad but I’ve never seen the solo harp version. Good luck with it. Keep us posted as to how you get on.
