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I would definitely wait until you go on holiday and then have her try all the varieties that she can. I believe our harps, like lovers, sing to us, seducing our ears. But we respond with our hearts to our true lover’s voice.
Now you would not want your wee lassie to be unfaithful now, would you?
Thank you!
I will get in touch with them. I have been contemplating building a jig to test string gage and length. I also have a very strange idea for the soundboard I want to try.
Do you see any distortion,
Just found my notes…. The Stoney End has plywood sides on the body which should not affect the tone or the instrument, I just did not want plywood sides.
I’m sorry… I missed Stoney End when I was writing. Yes it is a good instrument. I believe you could put sound holes in the front if you have an adequate soundboard thickness. Perhaps they would send you those details? I had them on my list as well. Looking for my notes on why I scratched them and honestly cannot remember.
BTW I may have just put my final coat of danish oil on my Druid. We’ll see if it is ready for final buff and wax. Tell your husband there is no joy like the way cherry starts deepening it’s colour and glistening as you apply the finish, it is quite like a butterfly emerging from the cocoon.
I have plans from scratch for a wirestrung, which means you would have to find the bits and pieces you need. However I have a list of sources as well, so it is doable. Let me know, I could send them along.
My concern on the Music Maker kit is the much higher tension of the wire and the appearance that it is a Nylon design which they are offering wire string for. I would feel the lot more comfortable if it were a wire design exclusive.
Audrey,
If I could be of service… I am currently finishing a Dreamsinger Druid.
I did a lot of research of the various Wire offerings and finally narrowed it down to the Dreamsinger and the Ardival.
I evaluated the Music Maker kit extensively and feel the design differences of wire and nylon are simply too great to settle for a design that goes either way.
As part of my research, I talked quite a bit with Cynthia Cathcart, (a simply divine lady!). She is the US rep for Ardival and it is a good deal. She also is in my opinion, the expert of wire harps.
My choice of the Druid was economically based. The Druid was ~50% of the Ardival Kilkoy in unfinished state.
I am so ashamed after reading these accounts.
My first harp
was bought as a toy for my grandchildren. Two octaves, steel strings,
steel frame.. A Harbert Golden Jr of Italian design and manufacture. It
came with song cards held in by clips. I tried it out, “Oh Susannah”
and after finally getting it in tune by sitting next to a neighbors
piano and tweaking had a moment of revelation!Jan,
I play wire and nylon both. No real problem. If you will remember, when your hand is in the “Hitchhike position”, you actually play with the side of the fingerpad, not the tip.
If you will shape your nails away from the playing side and just give your self the wee “Peek over” tip it should serve for your guitar and your harp as well. The wire harp hand position is closer to the guitarists “Claw” then it is to the harpists “Hitchhike”, so this should work. I can pick a guitar with my nails without difficulty other then being totally intimidated by those bothersome frets.
Of course you could sell off your nylon and get a lovely wire….. and that would end the issue!
Thanks Carl,
Your information concurs with what my research showed. I definitely appears to be the drying which is the issue. As my lips and my wife’s hair will tell you, the “humidified environment” here is anything but. Some of the rattan furniture we brought here has really given me fits. My home in Phoenix now has humidifiers.
I actually found a luthier here in the desert who told me to aim for 50% humidity and keep it there. He repairs everything from harps to hurdy gurdys and he told me one of the biggest problems is instruments coming into this area and then not having their humidification augmented. I ran the soap dish idea past him and after hearing my “In harp” readings of 50% he approved.
