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Mikel Celtic Harps

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Home Forums Harps and Accessories Mikel Celtic Harps

Viewing 9 posts - 31 through 39 (of 39 total)
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  • #192308
    Biagio
    Participant

    Hearpe, every harp maker designs their harp with a particular set of strings in mind. I would strongly suggest that you contact a professional string maker and have them either send you a new set if they have the model in their files or do an analysis for you.

    The reason those bass strings are steel and thinner than the wound nylon is that they are heavier which means higher tension. That is what you need as you go down from treble to bass and at some point nylon over nylon will just not be heavy enough.

    I’m sorry but we can’t answer these questions without specifics such as vibrating lengths, note frequencies and preferably the original string chart. That is work for the professional string maker.

    I’m sorry that is probably not very helpful but it’s the best answer I can give.

    Good luck with it and best wishes,
    Biagio

    #192316
    Biagio
    Participant

    On problems in general, I always recommend that new lever harpers buy “Trouble Shooting Your Lever Harp” by David Kolacny (available at Kolacny Music).

    There may be several reasons for string breakage other than age:

    -Strings of poor quality or improperly stored (unusual in a new well designed harp)
    -Bridge pins, tuning pegs, or eyelets have rough edges (smooth them with abrasive cord)
    -Acute angle from bridge pin to peg (reduce # of windings on the peg)
    -String improperly sized, tension higher than specs (consult the string chart)
    – Nylon windings should not go past the bridge pin. If they do, slack off the string and coat the last inch or so with “Crazy Glue” (CVA)

    If the correct strings are used and the harp is well made strings should last quite a long time. How long that is depends on tension, climate, and your ear (some professionals change every year especially gut).

    I am unclear as to why you would replace your wound Mikel strings with those from Dusty unless the vibrating lengths and specs (core material, bedding fibers, windings and sizes of all of these) are exactly the same. You cannot just go by the frequency. Dusty designs and makes their strings specifically for their harps. The only reason I can think of would be if Mikel reverse engineered a Dusty harp.

    Hope that helps – but to repeat please get David’s little book, it is really worth it.

    Biagio

    #192322
    hearpe
    Participant

    The strings appear to be of lesser quality- this latest one seemed to unravel near the top and then more as I was removing it. The last one broke near the top, but seemed to be away from contact with the lever. Some of them and/were visually “wavy” and /or feel not terribly straight or exact running my thumb and forefinger up the length of them.
    A couple of years back I bought an Oscar Schmidt 3/4 sized classical guitar and a couple of the wound of the strings were the same way. Of course it was much cheaper to replace those.

    The problem strings on the Mikel Celtic seem to be the nylon wound nylon core strings. There are still four others which haven’t been replaced.

    Mikel Celtic just gave me the name of string sellers here I the states when I first queried them- just as well because I’d rather have better nylon wound strings than these. With the gauges and overall height of the harp it seemed to pretty well match the Dusty Ravenna 34. When I ordered the first one, only the length was much in doubt, but it arrived quickly fit perfectly.

    #192330
    hearpe
    Participant

    The Dusty 34 harps has one more wound string up to 22 A. That string on the Mikel Celtic is monofilament, and it doesn’t sound bad. With the luck I’m having nylon wound, I may not worry over that. But they also have more steel wound- the whole bottom octave including two C’s. So there are two more than My Mikel. I may get those soon and keep the other nylon wound fatter strings as backup.

    #194116
    gordon-johnston
    Participant

    Regarding Mikel harps — I am a pedal harpist who was looking for a reasonably-priced lever harp for the few times that I need one. I ended up buying a Mikel harp, and I am extremely happy. The process of initially buying the harp was daunting because I had never heard of the company, and I had to deposit $$$ directly to their bank account, sight unseen! It was nerve-wracking, but I’m glad I did it. I used my Saffron-34 yesterday to play a St Patrick’s Day gig, and it was fun. The levers are terrific, they work just fine and are adjustable.

    Mikel Harps are strung with nylon purchased in the USA, so it makes sense to purchase replacement strings from an American supplier. Of course, the smartest move would be to purchase a spare string set when you purchase a harp — that’s pretty standard practice in the harp world, to own a spare set of strings. Strings break, that’s just the nature of the beast. The Mikel website contains string charts for every one of their harps so you can easily order the correct size replacement string from a supplier like Markwood Strings.

    IMPORTANT: if you order a Mikel harp, be sure to order a tuning key or two. Standard harp tuning keys don’t fit.

    I recorded my experience and my very positive feelings about this company in a blog I kept over the past year: https://mymikelharpexperience.wordpress.com/

    #194891
    hearpe
    Participant

    YIKES! is right!  I have been a bit squeamish and leery since seeing your blog and your unfortunate experiences with your Mikel.

    Yikes!

    And it weighed heavy as I went through with my plans and finally sold the Roosebeck 29 I’d bought just before I found my Mikel Celtic last summer.  If mine broke like that now I’d have only the Stoney End Eve of my avatar. (I’d probably replace it with another Roosebeck 29, and be losing money on both the resell and price increases.

    My own Mikel has weathered four seasons now- albeit in Florida- and despite the painting I was just completing when Gordon- Johnston posted his blog above- I related here: https://harpcolumn.com/forums/topic/a-decorative-work-in-progress/

    I’ve had no structural or lever problems so far. Only breaking strings- 4 total now, all when not playing

    But I’ve resurrected this thread not so much to talk about negative possibilities, but to relate more of my experiences with breaking strings on the Mikel and what I hope may be of some solution.

    I’ve just replaced the 26 D string for the second time with the Dusty Strings wrapped nylon of the same position.  Those strings seem to fit fairly well except that the nylon wrap comes past the pins, which someone said above is a no no.  I’ve tried to reinforce the winding then with glue, and I’ve still yet to put the metal C 27 and B 28 strings on- I’m hoping to get more of a solid idea of what the harp sounds like in my mind and maybe I’ll make a video of my crudely playing a same bit before and after to better compare the results.

    But tonight replacing the 22 D for the second time- and trying to lay in replacements to save on shipping from Dusty Strings too (it’s $11 a pop otherwise on these nylon wound strings)- It occurred to me that it seemed that the pins on the Mikel could be turned in a bit more to alleviate the string deflection side to side on pins that I presume are there more for string concerns front to back.

    So that’s what I did, and I think it perhaps a finishing oversight from the factory, who maybe don’t even realize that this might be a factor breaking strings.  I first suspected the tuning levers, and noticed that the pins DO have an unfortunately very narrow pin that presses the string.  On the metal strings further up, the pins have a small plastic sleeve over them that probably gives them some protection.  To that end I found a small piece of very small plastic tubing (WD 40 spray tubes are too small) and I’ve put some of that on most of the other wound string levers- I’ve yet to evaluate tuning with a tuner-I may have to move the levers some to compensate.  But looking at the strings that have broken they appear to perhaps be more near the pin- so I’m hoping my turning of the pins in – about 1 full turn on most will help the problem of broken strings.

     

    The string now has less deviation side to side free standing and slightly more going the other way with the levers- but definitely straighter overall.  SO that might be a detail other neophytes want to be more aware of, as well as just getting a good even wrap and the pin ends straight.  I don’t think we can assume that this has been correctly calculated at the factory.

    So anyway the Roosebeck 29 is gone- a nice harp of a good size- not a lap harp, but neither the wrestling match a large harp sometimes feels and with all monofilament strings that don’t break or unravel as easily.  I wish I had more time for it, but I really overspent on harps last summer, and with the Mikel taking over a month to arrive I figured then I’d wish I had returned the Roosebeck.

    cheerio and keep harping!

     

     

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    #211899
    loverharp
    Participant

    We bought a Mikel Saffron Lever Harp 34 Strings for our daughter and we absolutely love it! Her harp teacher and teacher’s mother are impressed with the harp and it’s sound quality. The harp is beautiful and we would buy from again. The harp maker has amazingly quick responses and is very helpful. Jen

    #211971
    hearpe
    Participant

    I see this thread up here again- so I’ll add what has happened since my last post of May 2016.

    My Mikel Saffron 34 is doing quite well. I finally set up the whole lower bass octave with the same gauge wound metal strings of a Dusty Ravenna, and the other wound strings have eventually been replaced with, or mirror closely the Ravenna as well. It’s a pretty good low cost harp at that point.

    I haven’t played it as much lately after getting another fully levered Saffron 27 harp for the incredibly low price of $300 delivered just after last Christmas and before less expensive harps in general took another spike higher in price. As I’m getting on the smaller harp just feels easier for me to play, but improving technique and some rallying of my health have me not feeling the 34 is quite the wrestling match it seemed to me for awhile.

    The Roosebeck 29 I managed to sell locally on craigslist for a very small loss, as the price of those went up more than $100 shortly after I bought it.

    The 27 Saffron was set up exactly as the Saffron 34 in terms of string gauge and length too (I believe). The initial string breakage was horrible though- worse than the 34 was- and I’m not sure what the problem is, but the original Mikel wound nylon strings have not been a good experience. And so after seeing the Roosebeck 29 was set up with all monofilament- and for sheer playability- as opposed to “replace strings-ability” I decided to set up the smaller 27 with all monofilament I got at Dusty Strings and you can get them in any color up to 60 gauge. I think they sound and play just fine- there maybe just a little low tension on the very lowest C and the original wound D is still on- of course you cut them to the length you need. I may eventually beef up the lower two or three with wound strings again., but not yet in the works.

    My only small problem with my incredible 27 buy is that the harp is very heavy for it’s size. I/m not sure what the original weight was but a pound or two over 20 pounds. The legs that come with it don’t hold it up all that well in my crowded house with a cat in for the winter, so I abandoned those early on. The base of the harp is what weighs most I think- although the frame is large and strong- not likely to break like the 34 posted by Gordon- Johnston earlier. But the base has a heavy fiber wood 3/4 inch section under a full 1 1/2″ thick base inside the soundbox that the pillar is attached to in the front- so there were 2 1/4 of solid wood at the bottom until I simply removed the whole bottom 3/4 heavy base.

    The other models I see on the net of the same harp usually seem to have about a 3 inch diameter hole in the bottom of the harp- like my 34- yet my new 27 didn’t. When I took the base off- there was that similar whole in the 1 1/2 base inside the sandbox.- so I didn’t have to drill another one- The harp seemed a bit muted compared to the other one until that hole was exposed. Anyway- I drilled more holes, just to lower the weight of the harp and let the sound out, and I cut the lower 3/4″ base into basically just an outer frame- the leg fixtures are still around the outside, yet I’ve never yet reattached the base- I don’t personally feel the need unless I sell it.

    Anyway the weight is down now to just under 18 pounds- including some sanding inside and out of the round back- I wanted to totally refinish and haven’t been able to get through the paint down to bare wood after an annoyingly amount of sanding and used sandpaper! Wish this paint job was on the old 91 Festiva jalopy I have outside!The harp is sounding much more resonant and louder, especially if I raise -tilt- the drilled thick base up off the carpet. I’m wondering now- with such a long an expensive shipping endeavor with most of the harps, why they are making the bases quite that thick and weighty- I’d try to come up with something lighter,, but it is undoubtedly strong. A lesser base inside the sound box would allow for more volume- cubic inch -wise and probably more sound and resonance. The round backs seem probably weighty too and must be a production extravagance of sorts compared to a simple box or even fluted. The bracing at the soundboard and round back is really thick one inch wood.
    The wood necessary to achieve a sufficient weight when rounded is probably thicker than it otherwise needs to be for sonic considerations. (God, sometimes it’s hell to be a perfectionist!)

    Anyway- getting a lot of good play out of the Mikels- less than 2 for 1 cost really, when not filing anything down or replacing strings.
    Still hoping to get a Camac though- advertised at about 13 pounds

    #214957
    Elettaria
    Member

    I’m meeting my friend’s new girlfriend tomorrow, and apparently she’s really looking forward to talking harps with me. She recently acquired a 12 string rosewood harp, is smitten but not quite sure what to do with it, and I suspect may be looking for a cheap and cheerful harp at some point that’s a more useful size. So I’m wondering about the Mikel Harps being sold as Heritage Harps by the Early Music Shop, as that seems to be a strong contender in that department. Say the 22 or 29, depending on space, budget and so forth. The Student models have the (prettier, in my view) beaky shape at the top, plastic levers rather than metal ones, a square back, have the neck laminated with layers of ash where the more expensive harps have a layer of mahogany in the middle, weigh less, are half the price, and according to the EMS I briefly spoke to, are a bit less resonant. The 22 string goes down to the A below middle C, and the 29 string goes down to tenor C. Or if she’s interested but would rather have something more portable, there are the Callan 26 string harps in Ireland, which are our local(ish) equivalent to the Harpsicle, a bit nicer I think.

    What would other folks recommend for a cheap and cheerful harp in the UK? Harpsicles and cardboard harps get a huge mark-up from import costs, alas, and I know to stay away from Derwent harps.

    • This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by Elettaria.
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