New Wire Strung

[Biagio]

Awhile back I allowed as how some nylon harp designs can be modified to wire by dropping the range (and possibly making a few simple tweaks). Well, I had the wood and the plans, so although had sworn to stop building could not resist doing one more (possibly to prove the point). This last one is a three octave brass strung (or bronze) from Music Makers pattern for their discontinued Sherpherd. Balfour and some others will recognize the profile.

https://harpcolumn.com/members/biagio/media/

It’s too bad IMHO that they discontinued it – not only was it a great little harp just as they designed, it’s also swell tweaked to a double, or wire, as here. If you’re interested in learning harp making basics beyond kit building (and have the tools) this is a cute little harp to start.

NOW I can sell the band saw:-)

Biagio

[Allison Stevick]

That looks great, Biagio!
Are you SURE you’re not going to make any more? (hehe)

[Gretchen Cover]

Your woodworking skills are admirable. The harp is beautiful. I love the wood grain and finish color which enhances the look. Great job! Next harp?

[Biagio]

Thank you Gretchen and Allison! Nope, this really IS the last, one really can have too much of a good thing. There’s even a restored Clark sitting around here that never gets played:( FYI the wood is sapele; Dusty Strings has an excess wood sale every month and I just could not resist!

Allison, how’s your own wire, are you still loving it?

Best to all,
Biagio

[Allison Stevick]

I look forward to hearing your new one once it settles in!

Yep, still love my wire harp. 🙂 As we get more used to each other, the voice just gets better and better. (Sooooo glad you pointed me to that ad!)

[balfour-knight]

Hello, dear friends!

Sorry I have been so busy that I completely missed this post! What a beautiful little harp, Biagio! Jerry Brown at Music Makers would be so proud of you for doing this!

Now, if you are serious about not making any more harps, these last remaining harps of yours should become collectors’ items. I was thinking of Steen harps, which sadly are no more.

Every time I swear off doing any more woodworking, something comes along that I either need to make for the house, or just simply WANT to build, ha, ha! So, good luck, Biagio!

With warmest wishes to you all,
Balfour

[Biagio]

That is kind of you to say, Balfour. But in truth an exaggeration – I have mostly made my own, consulted or done some custom harps. I’ve been lucky though – had the time and incentive to experiment, which most do not if they make instruments professionally. Some experiments work pretty well, others – well, it’s nice to have a cozy fire in winter.

Jerry and I had a nice conversation about sources for fluorocarbon strings, speaking of experimenters. Jerry is great about experimenting too! I’ve noticed however that most designers and harpists are pretty conservative, which makes a lot of sense considering the time and expense of even a small lever harp! Dusty I know makes several prototypes before anything makes it to full production.

I’m just thankful for the fun and happy to say goodbye to sawdust, abrasions, bleeding and all the rest of it:-)

Best to all,

Biagio

[wil-weten]

The little one looks great. When can we hear it sing?

[balfour-knight]

Biagio, I do not miss the sawdust in my nose and throat, the abrasions or the bleeding, either! My pipe organ was all made in red oak from a single tree. I absolutely grew to HATE the smell of red oak sawdust after the twenty years of building the organ. Of course, the pipes and manuals (the two keyboards) I hand-made are done in poplar, a welcome change from the oak. I have made several built-ins for Carol Lynn in our little house since the organ, and I enjoyed using pine and fir for a change, and liked the smell of the sawdust much better than oak, ha, ha!

Now, enjoy playing those beautiful hand-made harps! I love playing organ keys that I hand-crafted, and I didn’t sell my band-saw, either. (Most of the keyboard sawing had to be done with a very fine jigsaw! Never again!) I bet Laurie can make your harps sound gorgeous–get her to play the new one for us and post it–wow!

Best thoughts,
Balfour

[angie-kelly–2]

Did you restore the Clark yourself? I have one I got on ebay that needs some work. I even have a case for it (got the case separately on ebaymaybe a year or more before the harp to use as a hard shell case for my lap harp).

[Biagio]

Angie, yes I did the Clark restoration. Most competent harp makers have worked on a Clark at one time or another and the models are well known. So you should be able to find someone to look it over and recommend what needs to be done at what cost and what it’s value might be.

Related to that issue: it’s a popular design – best known from the Egan harps – and has been used by many, other than Melville Clark. Several modern ones are electro-acoustic which gets us to your MIDI question. A MIDI instrument has no sound by itself (or at least not much!). Since I posted one of Kortier’s you can go to his website where he discusses the differences.

Biagio

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