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How old is the harp, then? Ideally. bass wires should be changed every 2 years. They have a limited life span, and being in humid or polluted air can shorten it. If the strings are rusty, they are probably also dead, and should be changed.
It’s on IMSLP if you want to take a look:
https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/5/59/IMSLP20965-PMLP48602-Caplet_Conte_Fantastique_score.pdfYes, Four Seasons is still in business. I’ve had no problem ordering several covers from them. They did a great job making both a column cover and a padded cover to fit my scroll-top Erard.
Sam Pratt said the distance for a half step was 1/18 of the sounding string length. A critical point is to make the calculation for the 1/2 step from flat to natural, using the flat string length, then calculate again from natural to sharp using the natural string length. I have a Schimmeyer harp, which has some interesting features, but he used the same distance for natural to sharp as for flat to natural, so a lot of the instrument is useless in sharps – way too sharp.
Hope I explained this in a way that makes sense?It appears to have hooks above the guide pins. This is an indication to me that it was never a playable instrument.
It depends on the harp part. I’ve often used a large lever harp for outdoor orchestra concerts and been able to cover, or at least fake, enough of the harp parts. I have a firm policy of not taking pedal harps outdoors in the unpredictable upstate New York weather (unless they’re covered)!
Yes, the action block screws are the ones closest to the bottom of the plates up by the column. Sometimes the blocks are in there very tight. I often have to pry them down with both thumbs. If it really won’t go back in, you can lightly sand the side of the block, taking off just a hair’s thickness.
Has the location of the click been identified? If it’s in the base, it could be some combination of the pedal bar, stud, and/or spring hitting together. It might not be as evident with the pedal box off and the pedal not being guided by the slot.I’ve been using D’Addario wires for restring jobs for some years, and have never encountered a bad string.
As far as old nylons and guts go, I offer them to the percussionists for uses like hanging triangles, or gut drum snares. I also offer them to luthiers for tail guts, tied frets, etc. etc.Have a technician look at this harp before you buy. It’s hard to tell from the pics, but it looks like there may be a line across the bottom of the soundboard where the baseboard has pushed down. Not fatal, but not a cheap fix, either.
How hard the harp parts are often depends on the conductor: breakneck tempi, too much rubato, poorly planned rehearsals, and/or general inconsistency.
Then there are the harp parts that are just unplayable as written because the composer didn’t understand how harps work, and didn’t consult with a harpist. With those, I feel free to rewrite as needed to make the part playable while still getting the musical effect across.
Having said all that, here are a few that stand out in my memory: Flying Dutchman Overture, Ancient Airs and Dances, Requiem for the Living, Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Sibelius Symphony #1…..
