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Is the string wound close enough to the lever? Sometimes after tuning the string extends on the pin too far for the lever and has to be re-wound. Also is the lever itself tight to the harp?
First, there is the wood the harp is made of- that wood be something like walnut or cherry or mahogany or spruce.
Then there is the finish- It could also be the name of the wood if it were, say ,spruce and being stained to look like another wood- not that common though- especially the better the harp.
It might also be painted or clear coated. Generally, an unfinished harp is going to deliver the best volume and resonance and sustain longer. Top coating materials add mass and density that kills the natural vibrations, yet this is a nebulous affair and good harp makers know what they are doing.
Finishes, paint or clearcoating can add strength to the harp where it needs it- the frame- the top, the pillar without having much effect on the sound. The sound box is more sensitive and the best sound is when it is lightweight and not heavily weighted by a finish.
Hope that helps.
I have a 26 string Sharpsicle- levers on C and F
the string spacing seems to be about 12.5 to 13mm center to center- near as I can measure and my eyesight’s not getting any better these days.
Hope that helps.Here is a 1933 Supertone guitar I got last summer. The top was rather compromised and wouldn’t hold it’s shape as much as I’d hoped after straightening and urethane. The only choice I had-outside of using very light strings, was to keep filling in some top bow with urethane. It finally worked pretty well. The guitar ids originally small bodied and it doesn’t have great volume still- but it’s an 88 year old guitar I got for $58 delivered and a cool antique. If you enlarge and look closely to the right of the soundhole, you’ll see the urethabe is rather caked there. I really need to sand it smooth again there, but it’s filling a rather large warp. My Supertone collection L to R: 1933, 1938 and 1941.
It’s hard to say not seeing the soundboard, but I was musing on this topic just last night tuning my Limrick steel string harp that is rather unstable and now appears to have more of a bend to the soundboard.
Urethane may protect your soundboard- a coat gives a piece of wood a great deal more strength, and as my Limerick Clarsach has great volume and tension, both because of the steel strings, I’m considering using some clear coat urethane on one or both sides.
If volume is an issue- a strengthening such as that will cut the volume a slight bit. I’ve either painted or urethaned several harp string support pieces- the reinforcement behind the soundboard the strings run through, and it has cut down on the sound board bowing without discernable difference in timber, I think partly because it is a piece involved in transmission of sound to the box and not the actual sides of the box.
Just a thought- might by the box some time if the board is cracked, but probably cut volume to some extent. A dent you can also fil with repeated applications using artist brushes right where the dent is then- the dent will still be there- it just won’t show then.
Not about learning music, but thoroughly enjoyed “Ellie and the Harp Maker” novel, if you have the time for some quirky funny enjoyable light reading.
It may honestly be circumstances not even acknowledged by those in charge. I’m speaking mostly of climate disasters that have been building and which many want to ignore or seem like business as usual, when there has been a marked change. How many harps have been burned in the copious amount of housing lost in wildfires for instance? Or damaged or lost in flooding, or severe storms or hurricanes? It is obviously SOME raised number, but when is it enough to actually affect the market? The price of used cars has dramatically shot up in the past year. The stressful loss of house and home and dwelling, and the decline of civil behavior probably aren’t helping production of new harps either. And then there are the the Corona effects.
Other than that, I can’t say. I’ve occasionally followed the harp market on ebay and several sites, including this one. They are generally slow moving items unless exceptional deals. And yes, unfortunately, the prices have risen steadily and dramatically the past half decade I think more than than the one before that.I’m sure a bunch of people would still like a Caswell Sweetharp! They were very nice, and great sounding lightweight harps. I’m not sure how many were ever made. I’ve searched them a few times, and never seen one at random on used listings.
Just inquired about the Odyssey harp and was given a quote of $2500 before shipping. Probably won’t be diving in to that very soon. But if anybody’s got a used Bardic they would sell at a relatively low cost I might be interested.
Stoney End makes a lightweight lap harp. I’ve got an Eve but wouldn’t mind a Brittany either. Five harps had better be enough here, including an inexpensive Musicmaker Lyric Clarsach.
Good luck in your quest.
WD 40 is great, but smells bad- more to dissolve any rust or corrosion already there. Car wax or even furniture polish with wax will give good protection, but apply it every week or two. It won’t hurt anything else either. I don’t think WD-40 would be good for nylon strings so keep it off those. I usually just spray furniture polish on either steel or nylon guitar strings when I do those- a good coat of wax really helps wood resist scratching.
Thank you Gretchen-
It just dawned on me- the old keyboard has a crude synth function, and if I cut down the release time of the tones in the higher range- the first track I recorded- it would probably sound more harp realistic- the high notes ring on too long. It doesn’t seem inappropriate in the lower ranges- my second track.
I’m giving some time lately to better learning my newer board- a WK-6600, I’ve had for three years. The voices are much more realistic already and more control over tome editing- it records and mixes 16 tracks (don’t think I’d ever use more than 3 or 4 though, as compared to the 5 on the 90’s board) and it stores 5 songs- or works in progress- as opposed to the 2 the old one does.
The technology is cutting into my practice as much as being spread too thin on too many instruments, and I can’t seem to either shut up on computer or wasting time looking at stuff I don’t much intend to buy.
Then there’s the beach partially re-opened, and summertime. have a good one.
I’ve always understood that D.C. and D.S. did _not_ include the repeats. However in searching around the internet, I find there is some controversy about that for Beethoven and later
Ha. And sooooo typically internet somehow, where it seems that nothing is ever really verifiable but an ongoing argument between self-appointed “experts”
The “information highway” is cluttered with the rocks of large egos.
Personally. I often repeat the phrases for practice, but I know they generally are ignored on the second pass.
Actually I’m disturbed by the film after a night of semi-sleeping on it
Gratuitious male fist fighting
disturbing sado-masochistic images
and a violent endingA harpist (pissed) who doesn’t seem typical of many musicians- hopefully
an insane brother who self destructs in his own violent passions
and an unlikely suitor interested in the harpist less for her music than by his penchant for writing dark pornalmost a sis-kill…
