Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi Elettaria, I know practically nothing of harp building. But Biagio does know a lot about harp building plus he has the necessary building experience.
I just happen to be interested in about anything that has to do with harps (and a lot more, but that’s a different topic).How funny, I didn’t know about the Star Trek Character. Now I like my nick even better! ‘Wil’ is a common Dutch name and also means ‘want or wants to’
In combination with ‘Weten’ it means: ‘wants to know’. I am notorious for wanting to know all kinds of things just for fun…As the thinness top of the Camac Hermine KF-strings didn’t bother you and in your case KF would be cheaper than nylon, I would be inclined to put KF-strings on the harp.
I like the sound of KF-strings.
As to the eyelets: beware that if you later decide to use some nylon wound strings, the eyelets must be big enough to let them through.
As to bridgepins. You may skip them if you are sure you don’t need levers, but I heard it’s easier to put strings on when you do have bridgepins. I have no experience in that matter though.
I guess you will be using zither pins? They weigh less than through pins.
Your top strings would already be very thin in nylon. In KF they would be even thinner. I wonder how that would feel to your fingers. Would it cut into your fingers, even if it’s a low tension string?
I haven’t got a clue about the tension of the nylon wound strings, but if some of the Dusty bass nylon wound strings could be used, you could order them from a Dusty Dealer in the UK or somewhere in Europe.
E.g.: http://www.morleyharps.co.uk/dusty-string-nylon-wound-strings-c102x2720266 from Morley Harps in the UK.Edit: it would surprise me if you couldn’t get all the nylon strings you want in Europe. Do you need them thinner than 0.25″ otherwise, see: http://www.morleyharps.co.uk/dusty-string-monofilament-strings-c102x2720140? with the thinnest nylon string being 0,25″
Or perhaps this stringing is more or less what you are looking for, also from Morley Harps in the UK: http://www.morleyharps.co.uk/county-kerry-24-c102x2721404
Maybe you won’t find monofilament red or blue strings that fit your string scheme, but it is possible to colour nylon strings (there are special recipes for that).
Edit2: And this link of Morley Harps of the lightly stringed Triplett Christina harp may have some suitable nylon wound strings as well:
http://www.morleyharps.co.uk/christina-25-c102x2721551I agree very much with Biagio. And I would certainly choose an interval of a fifth between the rows for the reason Biagio mentions.
Oops, I am very sorry, I did not look right (I looked a line too low in the list at a DS FH34 in sapele), so I edited my post above.
The Boulevard sells for 3,365.00 euro according to https://www.zingendesnaar.nl/prijslijst.htmlPrices may vary depending on where you live.
In the Netherlands at the moment the
* Dusty Boulevard (34 strings) costs: € 3,365.00
* L&H Ogden (34 strings) costs: € 2,990.00
Both have pedal gut strung tension.If I wanted a 34 string harp (I don’t: I want a lever harp with preferably 38-40 strings), I would be very much tempted to buy a L&H Ogden…
Have a look at: https://www.lyonhealy.com/harps/ogden/Edit: I did not look properly, so I edited my post
Hi Jennifer, I just found your thread of October this year at:
https://harpcolumn.com/forums/topic/trying-to-decide-which-lever-harp-to-purchase/I just wonder what made you think of a little double instead of the ‘main stream’ lever harps you were considering then.
I learnt concert harp technique on my concert tension lever harp. I’ve got no problem with medium tension harps, but on low tension harps the bass strings tend to go bungee jumping.
Beware that the full, warm sound of a pedal harp is quite different from that of a little harp with low tension.
When you do go the route of a lever harp, pay attention to the levers as well. Some operate considerably faster and with less sound distortion than others. I’m a big fan of camac levers. Salvi has new ‘start-and-play’-levers. They look impressive, but I have not been able to try them yet, but I do hope to do so somewhere this Spring.
What do you mean with ‘portability’ ? The ease with which it fits in the back of your car (or in fact ‘transportability)? Of the ease with which you can walk a mile or more with it, holding it in your hands?
Hi Gail, you write that you “inherited a gorgeous Lyon & Healy Style 15. I love it but realize it’s limitations due to a small crack in neck that might lead to its retirement.”
Did you have a reputable harp repairer have a look at it? If not, depending on the kind of crack and its place, having the small crack repaired may be very well worth while. Before you transport the pedal harp to a repairer, you may take pictures of it and ask their opinion.
Hi Biagio, I agree that a lot depends on “on what the kit is like and how clear the instructions.”
I saw the instructions for the Bell Harp Kit at: https://www.harpkit.com/mm5/pdf/Instructions/BellKit.pdf . And for me, this would be way above my admittedly very limited technical insights and skills, but it may be very doable for someone who likes Do-It-Yourself-projects.
I very much agree that a floor sized harp is a lot easier to play (and it usually has a more rich and full sound) than a lap harp. The point here is that the OP thought of buying a 19 string Pixie harp of probably less than 300 dollars. Most other harps cost a lot more. That’s why I thought of a Fireside kit harp with a cardboard soundbox. This would create the possibility of starting to learn the harp almost right away and taking one’s time to find out what kind of harp would be great in the long run.
The ordinary Fireside harp harpkit seems to be normally available:
http://www.backyardmusic.com/Harps/fireside-folk-harp-kit.html
It’s rather easy to build it. There are about 7 youtube clips starting here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLaHDd9M_bQ where you can see step by step how to proceed.I agree with Biagio that https://www.harpkit.com/belle-harps.html may be a great first harp!
Beware that harps without levers can only play in the key they are tuned to. So if there are any accidentals, you need to creatively circumvent them. When you have a levered harp, playing accidentals is much easier, but still you won’t be able to play fast chromatic notes after another.
When you really want to play very chromatic tunes, you may think of a chromatic harp, sometimes called X-harps, because their strings cross.
Stoney End builds harps and sells harp kits and harps-in-the-white. I’m afraid I have two left hands, otherwise I would have built myself a cross strung Esabelle lap harp… http://www.stoneyend.com/specialty-harps.php (see for prices: http://www.stoneyend.com/_downloads/stoney%20end%20harp%20price%20list%20April%202016.pdf The prices for kits are a lot lower than for finished harps, but beware, it takes a lot of technical insights and skills to build a harp from a kit.
I would only trust myself with building a Fireside cardboard harp kit…
As an alternative, the Harpsicle harps still may be a suitable alternative: http://harpsicle-harps.com/6-harps. I would not buy a harpsicle, as it will be impossible to later add levers on, but you can get a sharpsicle from 659 dollars.
If you live in the neighbourhood of a harp shop, you may find a cheap, but very playable and affordable second hand harp.
