robert-hanson

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  • in reply to: Blevins Avee 34 vs Grand Harpsicle #77343
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    The Grand Harpsicle is meant to be an electric harp but has the option to be played acoustically. The electronics are the highest quality MiSi preamp/L.R. Baggs pickup, the type used in large arena venues. It won’t pickup outboard noise or hand sounds. It comes with full levers and their new levers are every bit as good as Truitts. A testament to the Grand are those that play it: Grammy harpist Marta Cook, R&B artist Lyrica Holmes, super latin harpist Carlo Reyes etc. At the price of $1700 I have no idea how they can do it.
    The Avee was built in response to the Grand. But it has no pickup, comes with the old plastic handled Loveland levers and costs more. If you want comparable levers, (Tuitts) you have to add another $800.
    Neither have a great acoustic sound though their are some players who think it’s just fine.

    in reply to: a little harp #77320
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    That’s good info about the band inst. retailers. Thanks Angela. I can also add that the newer Harpsicles have a new lever that is comparable in quality to the Tuitt lever. Most small harp use the plastic Loveland lever. The newer models can come with a wrapped string option in the bass end, though their standard mono filament bass strings sound just fine when played with the proper technique.

    in reply to: What posesses some people?? #112821
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    I was doing a solo gig one time, vocal and guitar. As this woman was leaving she came over to me and said, ” It was really quite nice deary. But next time you should try to do more harmonies.” I said ,”Thank you. I’ll work on that”.

    in reply to: tuning… #77150
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Hi Sylvia.Your explanation is clearer. If someone had super ears and all the time in the world they could tune to the piano and the mathematics would prove it out that the harp would sound fine. However, a normal harpist trying to tune to a piano note for note by ear would have to many miner human variations and the harp would definitely end up sounding out of tune.
    Hi Carl. Haven’t seen or had dinner/lunch with you in a long time along with William and Pamela.There are a group of harpist in the Bay Area that like to fool around with different temperaments (Cheryl and others) but they are doing it on ancient style harps to get the sound of the historic period so they don’t have to worry about harp technicians. Of course I know you already know this but it might be interesting info for others.

    in reply to: tuning… #77146
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Madeline. Tuning in the different temperaments are fun to do and give a different “color” to the compositions. Korg has an electroniic tuner that can allow you to tune to several of these temperaments and there is also an APP for this. During J. Bach’s time in his travels depending on where he was their were three popular temperaments that different organs were tuned in different rejions. Bach just had to deal with the difference.YouTube has several entries explaining the different temperaments. One YouTube posting plays a Bach composition in the three temperaments used during his life time so you can hear the difference. Some think its a subtle difference while some scullers will argue that it is quite pronounced. Sylvia, your harp teacher is dead wrong and it is just a myth that shouldn’t be past on.

    in reply to: Showroom in LA #77125
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Jerusha. If you have any knowledge of California, Harps Etc. and Walnut Creek are not “nearby” Santa Clarita. It is a good five hour drive North at best from her location. California is a big State.

    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Long and Macguade Music in Vancouver carry harps and I believe have or know of harp teachers in the area.

    in reply to: question about high humidity #77031
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Barbara Brundage has the right answer.. Humidity won’t bother your harp. As she said it .”Don’t sweat it . It’s the huge swings from desert dryness to rainforest conditions and back again that (cause damage) to the instrument”. In the Midwest this sort of swing is at it’s worse due to the humidity of the climate and the extreme drying effect of heaters in the winter and air conditioners in the summer. Buy an electronic hydrometer at Radio Shack, Walmart etc. to keep a watch at what the humidity is and keep it fairly constant. In the Midwest it is best not to let it go below 35-30 persent. Some Midwest musicians like to keep their instruments at a higher humidity so when they do outside gigs the humidity won’t effect their tuning as much.

    in reply to: Crack in Shoulder #76986
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Be careful not to over react and have an unnecessary repair. Since a Troubadour neck is made of plywood , cut from a single piece of multilayer piano pin block material, it will not snap in two.

    in reply to: David Kortier electric harps #76951
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    The Kortier electric system is a good unit and can be used with MIDI. They are a little bulky and if they haven’t changed since the last time I saw them a while ago they are a bit ugly to look at.

    in reply to: Crack in Shoulder #76984
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Troubadours are built like tanks. You didn’t say how big was the crack. If it is a hair line crack it may have been there for a long time and will continue to be there with no harm except for cosmetics. Just keep an eye on it. Don’t worry about it unless it starts to grow.

    in reply to: Squeaky levers #76988
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Graphite is a good lubricant that is inert, dry and will not effect gut strings. Besides harps, it is used on violins, lutes, classical guitars etc. where the strings contact the nut and the bridge. Take a pencil, which is your source of graphite, and roll the point in the groove of the lever depositing a small amount of graphite dust at the point where the lever touches the string. Also rub the pencil point on the string at the point where it contacts the lever. Bees wax can also be used. That should solve your problem.

    in reply to: Lightweight amplifier? #112191
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    The Fishman didn’t pick up much? It’s only 220 TIMES MORE POWERFUL than your amps and is especially designed for acoustic operations if needed. You must have plugged into the wrong socket or had the volume turned down. The person showing you the Fishman apparently didn’t know what he/she was doing. At 250watts and only 25 lbs. it would have blasted you out of the room. A rock and roll guitarist with their coveted Marshall Stack of eight, twelve inch speakers uses only 100 watts.

    in reply to: Lightweight amplifier? #112188
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    Hi Sylvia. Many people have found hidden gems at Radio Shack. Several years ago they had a $50 mike that was reviewed in Guitar Magazine and American Luthier’s Guild as being comparable to many mikes in the $500 price range. The trouble with Radio Shack is that they’re always changing suppliers.
    A PA system can be bulky and heavy to lug around. You might want to look into a Fishman which has a Stick amp. It has a whopping 250 watts and weighs only 25 lbs and another 10lbs with the stand. On the other hand, if your Radio Shack amp works for you, why look any farther.

    in reply to: tell me about your lap harp #76328
    robert-hanson
    Participant

    I have a Morgan double lap harp which gives me three octaves on the left hand and three octaves on the right hand all in a very small package. You can play the same repertoire you play on a regular harp the only difference is that your hands play on two different plains. It only takes a few minutes to get use to it. You can play the bass in the same octave as the melody which gives your arrangement a totally different sound with the bass now sounding close harmony notes against the melody. Another special affect are tremolos. Also the double harp can be set up chromatically by setting all the levers below mid C on the right side and setting all the levers above mid C on the left side. You can play the Bumble Bee Boggy with all its chromatic runs which would be impossible to do on a pedal harp… It’s really fun to experiment with.

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 23 total)