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I believe that anything above about 20 degrees F should be fine. Below that, the finish will crack, but cold won’t really hurt the harp. I don’t remember where I got that information – it was either from an informed poster here on a different thread or from a maintenance workshop. Anyway, It’s the heat that kills, because the glue melts at dangerously low temps.
~Sam
I imagine that if it’s first octave, you should have more than enough for two string replacements? If so, just clip the string after the white spot and use the rest! Also, I’ve found that the string holds just as well as a non-kinked string if the white part is in the portion of string wrapped around the peg.
~Sam
I just use my little canon camera and then sync audio made from my zoom h2 with windows movie maker. Quick, simple, good results.
~Sam
Hi Elisabeth,
I don’t think that should be a problem – but if the strings start sounding false or they begin to fray, I would change them. Last year I played Salzedo’s Whirlwind, which, if you dont know, is about 3 minutes’ worth of the loudest glissandos around! It took a year before my strings were frayed, and that was only about 5 of them! In that case, your strings are probably fine.
~Sam
Kathy,
I believe William’s point is that by using the octave harmonic (which is the most important overtone) you’ll be compensating slightly because you’ll be able to line up the overtones of the higher string with those of the lower string, if I’m right.
I could be wrong though – this is not my field of expertise.
~Sam
The Strobo Soft Peterson App can easily tune my entire harp. Everything is spot on, even if it wasn’t designed to tune an entire harp.
~Sam
Elena,
Do you use a tuning wire? Use of a wire should eliminate your tuner’s hearing problem.
If you are curius,
A regulation should fix all the problems. It probably needs a new disc, and it shouldnt be harmful (maybe to the string…) to continue playing with it. I really doubt that its a problem with the pedal mechanism, unless its a really old harp or its not old
Hi Mike,
Firstly, the “tie” is usually reffered to as an “anchor” and the “grommet” is just simply reffered to as an “eyelet.”
Well, my first response would have been that you have a false string, but the fact that you changed the string completely (to a nylon, especially – nylons don’t tend to go false, while guts do) indicates that the problem could lie elsewhere. If the muted sound only occurs when one or both of the discs is engaged, then the disc is likely the culprit. However, if the muted sound still occurs when the string is played open, the two places to examine are the eyelet (like you did) and the string nut, the metal piece that the string touches between the top disc and the peg. I suspect that the roughness around the eyelet is causing the odd sound, but its worth examining the nut as well. Its probably a good idea to visit a technician, if you can get one/afford one, especially because you’re new.
~Sam
Yes! I bought this app a while ago (and the associated adaptor cable because I have an iPod Touch) and it works great. The screen is clear, it has a noise reduction feature, and is overall a great bargain. I tried it against my teacher’s $400 Peterson and it was spot on. I highly recommend this product.
~Sam
I noticed that most of my breakings were happening as I engaged the disk – so the pegs would tighten the string and it would immediately break at the pegs. Actually the harp I bought in November was made in 2001, but like your harp it wasnt regularly played, (and that’s why the owner sold it) so when I came along and started banging out a few hours a day the harp had to adjust. Also, the strings didn’t start breaking until months after I got it… not really until this May.
~Sam
I have a similar problem – I bought my harp last November and that F has broken a few times, also that G. But I break strings all the time – I must have broken at least 15 since then… nylon at the top, gut in the middle. Its worthy to note that my strings have been breaking all over and I have broken a string of every type, including metal. Most seem to happen at the disc for me as well – it may be a regulation problem. Also, is your harp new? New harps tend to break strings for a while until they are broken in. Maybe you should experiment with the humidity in the room… you never know what could be affecting your harp!
~Sam
Hi Tim,
I’ve heard that Aoyama harps are nothing special (I can’t remember exactly but someone might have told me that you’ll get a better harp for your money with L&H or Salvi). You will also need to check if there is a harp tech near you that can regulate an Aoyama – I hear that they have a different type of action and not any harp tech can work on them… if something serious broke you might find yourself having to send your harp a great distance to get it fixed.
~Sam
