Stoney End Even Song

[hearpe]

I also wanted to mention you can find charts of various wood densities online – if you can identify your sound box woods- and some of the data may vary slightly from one source to another-

but I think we can generally surmise that the more dense and harder a wood is – the brighter the sound and volume may be when used in a sound box, while a wood less dense- say comparing cherry or mahogany “sapelle” to walnut- which I think off hand the less dense, gives a warmer and not as volumous sound when the other dimensions and cubic inches and strings are other wise the same, and yet tends to “bleed” more volume through the wood itself when unpainted or unfinished.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 4 months ago by hearpe.

[Biagio]

This is a good point Hearpe, and indeed it is most noticeable where the sides are thin – say about 1/4″ as most well made harps are. One further observation: sound waves travel best along the grain lines, so for optimal transmission the sides should be quarter-sawn.

That could be a problem though since the force from the strings will pull the sides in and possibly rupture without bracing. I know of one very well respected harper who actually removes those braces and reports no ill effects.

I’d guess that most makers are conservative, tending to over build – as Dave Kolacny says “I don’t think it is possible to over build a harp neck.”

For such a seemingly simple instrument it is really fascinating. For my part I would say “I don’t think it is possible to build the perfect harp!”

One can find these physical properties and much more in the US Forestry Service’s document (pdf) published by the Forest Products Laboratory. Search “physical properties of wood pdf”

Blessings all,
Biagio

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