[teifiharps]

Hi Nancy, do you have a pickup fitted to your harp?

[teifiharps]

Hi Eryn, before I make some suggestions could you clarify:

1. Do you already have a pickup?

2. Are you looking for a pre-amp such as this or an acoustic harp amplifier such this?

If you do have a pickup the second important link in the chain really is the amplifier (which has a pre-amp built in). Stereo pre-amps are pretty rare.

Let me know and I’ll try and help you further!

Regards

Owen

• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by teifiharps.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by teifiharps.

[teifiharps]

Hi everyone, thanks for taking interest in our semitones!

Yes it’s ‘Tie-vee’ after the river Teifi that flows through Llandysul in West Wales where our workshop is (you can find out a bit more about us here) . The semitones are proving a bit of a hit, we’re quite pleased with them. Harpists are also finding they’re really great for jazz/blues and doing ‘hammerons’ (not sure how to describe it but I’m sure you know what I mean!)

You may be interested to know that we have a new lighter Eos harp coming out very soon (it’s around 3kgs lighter). The Telor has also been lightened.

Balfour -there is a shop in Vermont who act as our distributor and have our harps in their showroom from time to time. If you’re ever up that way you could give them a heads up. The website is http://www.vermontviolins.com

Best regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Hi Alyson,

Sounds like your harp is a concert harp, is that right? Long journeys in direct sunlight are difficult but your covers should hopefully keep off the worst of it off. Remember humidity (too much or too little) is key in keeping harps happy as well as temperature. Also make sure you don’t place it so there is no weight bearing on the mechanism.

regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Hi Tracey, what do you intend to use the recordings for?

[teifiharps]

Hi Alan,

Soundboards will curve away from the player naturally over time due to the tension exerted by the strings and will need to be replaced usually every 40 years or so. A bulging soundboard is not a ‘design feature’ it is in fact, wear and tear. This is why harps need regulation – the speaking length of the string from the bridge pin to eyelet in the soundboard is constantly changing.

There are design choices that can be made in terms of the thickness of the soundboard, which affects tone but this is due to how hard you have to work to get a sound, not due to the arc of the board.

Regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Apologies Balfour – I had missed that detail.

I agree that this is a sensible approach. Bear in mind that it might not be such a good idea to do it to every single string if you are doing a complete re-string as it might overload the instrument (particularly on older harps which were not built to deal with modern concert pitch).

Regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Being here in the UK I can’t vouch for the Walmart glue or the Elmers but you should be able to cut the felts off next time it needs doing. People used to cross stitch them years ago!

I should have also said, changing the pedal felts will inevitably change the distance traveled to the mechanism. In theory you would think that re-felting with same thickness felt would take  you back to the previous regulation settings but the reality is there there is a lot of mechanism which needs fine adjustment. This is why a re-felt and a regulation normally go together – you can re-felt but there is not guarantee the regulation will be accurate.

[teifiharps]

Hi Aria,
Changing pedal felts certainly isn’t too hard. Do you have a glue gun?

[teifiharps]

Hi Sidney,
That is fine in theory but make sure you have enough adjustment for the change in intonation that may come with fitting new semitones.

regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Hi all, pre-stretching the string usually helps alleviate string slippage (be careful not to pull too hard!). This is effectively the same as tuning higher than the designated pitch but gives the advantage of you then being able to tune up to pitch rather than down from a higher pitch (we would not recommend this as it gives tuning pin less of a chance to grip)

Regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Following on from Carl’s observations regarding the length of the slots for vertical adjustments of our new semi tones. The slots are 8mm long and since the screw 3mm in diameter there ought to be 5 mm to adjust with. I normally fit them with the maximum adjustment possible in the vertical position(towards the bridge pin) since the speaking length of the string gets shorter as the sound board rises over time, and that’s usually the direction needed.  If it proves to be a problem we could extend the slots providing access to the screws is not frustrating.I think these feedback forums are a great way to listen and learn from makers and players alike.

Regards

Allan

[teifiharps]

Just a quick note about harps on house boats. Most narrowboats (in the UK at least) have steel hulls and frames and therefore get very cold and damp during the winter. Not ideal for a harp (or any musical instrument for that matter).

I had a friend last winter who was living in a houseboat and had a lap harp on which the tuning pins got stuck, due to the wood taking on moisture and expanding. If you are planning on taking the harp on and off the boat, you might find that this sort of movement between temperature extremes creates movement in the joints and ultimately leads to damage. Harps need stable and constant temperature and humidity.

Regards

Owen

[teifiharps]

Hi Carl, where abouts are you based?

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