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There was a discussion of that here a few years back.
Maybe that is a starting point for you.
Every question you are asking depends on the make/model of harp, the current type of soundboard, and the proposed replacement soundboard.
More information will be required.
I hadn’t caught the oddity of a 5G gut.
However, I just had a Howard Bryan lever harp come through the shop, and it was gut for both 5G and 5F, then changed to wires. I can’t remember the exact stringing, but it seems like it was concert gauge from about 3rd octave up, transitioning to lever gauge lower down.
Very nice harp, one owner, rarely played, neck is laminated with carbon fiber, very well built. Apparently they made a short run of them, and the owner was from Charlottesville, and her husband bought her one.
I don’t think she will fix it (needs complete stringing and regulation), as she was only fixing it to get a better price in a sale. I expect it could be bought as is. If I needed another harp, I would buy it….. But I digress..
@Gregg, I doubt the gauge would be enough heavier to work well. Even the standard gauge seems to drop off tension at 5A and 5B. The largest strings I know of are 2.50 mm gauge. I think normal is either 2.25 or 2.40 on that note–I’m iced in, and don’t have my charts at home.
I would think it more likely that you got a defective string. Zip bags are not an air tight seal at all, and a string would have to sit a long time in the damp to be that weak. I can’t imagine any dealer having damp storage, especially at this time of year.
Yes, you will get used to it. Some lever brands move strings a greater or lesser amount, and some brands move out of the plane of the other strings sideways (Lovelands to the right, Truitts to the left), while others move within the plane (including pedal harp discs), effectively altering string spacing.
A proper regulation should leave a minimal amount of movement with any brand of lever.
One nit-picking educational point to think about: All harps with 7 levers per octave, regardless of tuning in C or Eb can play in the same number of different key signatures — exactly eight. For those instruments tuned in C, the more “levers up” major keys are B major, F# major, and C# major. Especially the last two are less commonly used, but are completely valid. There’s lots of piano music in F# major (and Gb major), and a lot of pedal harp music in Gb major and Cb major.
It is nylon, with foam padding inside. Can’t dry clean the foam rubber. But it can be washed.
Unfortunately nylon has very poor UV resistance, and sunlight for 2 weeks may have weakened it substantially, I’m sorry to say. Perhaps not yet…..
Washing, scrubbing, hydrogen peroxide, deodorizers like pet smell removers are things I might try. Absolutely no chlorine bleach.
Dance shoes also. Lots of brands–Capezio probably being the best known (and most expensive). Organmasters are made by Capezio; you can get equivalent for half what Organmasters cost. Mine are Latin dance with 1″ heels. Don’t wear them around, especially not outside, ever. The thin suede soles will be worn out instantly.
You do realize you resurrected a 12 year old thread, right?
You don’t mention the type of harp, but above average humidity will slacken (and drop pitch) on both nylon and gut trebles, which leaves the wires more taut.
Does the house have humidity control? How much are they moving sharp? How long will you be away? Are you turning the air conditioning (or heat if you are in southern hemisphere!) entirely off?
If you want to slack off the whole harp half a semitone, it won’t hurt anything. It will just take some time to pull back up and settle in when you return.
@Balfour-Knight–of course you know that there are no new light-tension pedal harps, which is really too bad. Might find a restored 19th century, but it would surely be gilded and carved. No reason one couldn’t be built: start with say a Chicago or 85 (or Athena), put in new (much thinner) soundboard, put the column on a lathe and turn it a bit smaller to reduce weight, new neck, finish it all white. It would be expensive–but it could be light tension, pedal, and in white. Probably would still be 55-60 lbs, though; too much steel and brass in the action, rods, and pedals. And then you’d have to have custom bass wires wound for stringing.
Lily, another approach is, for builders who sell directly to the public, like Dusty Strings, contact them and see if they have sold any models in Finland. They might at least be able to contact the owners and ask if they would mind your seeing the harp.
Regarding models, Dusty has a new(er) model that might suit your needs: Serrana 34. Light tension, carbon fiber column (light weight), also closer spacing, but unless your fingers are large diameter (working man sized) or you need to play multiple different harps, close spacing won’t be an issue one way or the other.
Good point, Balfour. The existing ones “look” like they are tapered type, but……. While I understand Dusty Strings’ choice of cylindrical, threaded pins (they stay tight without reseating or training the harpist), I dislike them overall.
First, Every.Single.Time a string has to be replaced, the harpist (or technician) must pre-guess how many wraps of string will be on the pin, and depending on the thickness of the string, pre-set the pin the correct number of turns out so the end of the string winding ends up having the correct angle to the bridge pin. I can’t do it right every time, and harps I see in for regulation are usually way off, many times with the string having a backwards angle to the bridge pin.
Second, when they get loose (and they do, though the threads help them hold tight) you can’t fix it very well. They sell an oversized pin–but it is a lot larger. The only fix is to put cyanoacrylate in the holes to swell and stiffen and reinforce the wood fibers. I’m not convinced of long term life on that.
Building the harp for Dusty, is, however MUCH simpler. No drilling a precise tapered hole. No hand reaming and fitting every pin. Just drive them in to drilled holes through to the depth you need, less a few turns for the stringing. And they do stay tighter longer without attention by the harpist–until they don’t.
But they still build an excellent, very solid harp, and a really good price for the quality.
For taper pin dimensions, consult about any edition of Machinery’s Handbook, or icscuttingtools.com used to have multiple charts on their website, complete with lengths and diameters of both ends. There are also charts showing drill depth for creating holes prepared for reaming.
Be prepared to spend $$$ for a taper pin reamer. You want a LEFT hand twist reamer so it won’t draw itself tighter into the hole. You may be able to make do with a straight reamer, but with that joint, and dealing with wood grain, I think it will give you an oblong hole. Mine came from Atlas Cutting tool. There are other sources.
I get new pins from Dan Speer at Argent Fox. Most any size and head type you want.
Tuning pins have to be seated the correct amount because the angle the string makes leaving the pin and passing over the bridge pin is important to sound, tuning ability, and string life. A spiral taper reamer, with a T-handle tap wrench makes the accuracy needed possible.
Keep in mind there are a number of “standard” harp tuning pin square heads: concert, Dusty Strings, Triplett, zither are all different. You need to find an undamaged one to measure what you have. I would lean toward going back with concert head, regardless.
To measure, use a micrometer or a really good dial caliper. There is no other option. Both “Machinery’s Handbook” and good used micrometers are commonly available on Ebay.
To be sure you are aware, a string set will likely cost $200-400, and pins maybe $5-6 each. Tooling to do the job is likely another $150-200 used on Ebay–but I have no idea what you have already.
I agree with Balfour, take the strings off, and it will probably fall apart. The pillar may be fastened through the base, or from inside the soundboard, or it may just be pinned in place.
I agree with you that it looks like just a half-lap joint. At the age, the glue is certainly hot hide glue. With Florida humidity, and sideways tension on the neck always pulling that joint open, it is not surprising it failed.
After you get it apart, clean the neck/pillar glue joint of old glue. Be sure to keep it flat. On a historic instrument, I’d probably go back with hide glue–but you can use one of the room temperature versions. Tite-bond makes one, among others. You can also use epoxy, polyurethane, or aliphatic resin. As I mentioned before, aliphatic resin “creeps” under load, so I generally avoid it for joints in tension. None of the newer glues are reversible, however, but they have better humidity resistance.
Looks like a simple job of getting the joint flat and fitted, then back together without the crack slowing. More complicated if either piece has warped, but I can’t tell that from a photo. Both faces will need to be dead flat, though. And the column and/or neck may be a couple of degrees off of vertical in the direction opposing string tension so that when the strings are tensioned, the neck will be vertical.
You definitely need new tuning pins. Those are badly corroded and chewed up–possibly by tuning with the wrong tool. There are a number of different head sizes, lengths, pin sizes, and styles available. Those look like a standard tapered pin, so when you take the string off, tapping on the string end should pop them right out.
Tuning pins now are ANSI standard taper pin dimensions. I’m not sure if the standard was the same for the original pins. A micrometer and a chart from online will tell you. Modern pins Nos 2-5 are what you will compare to.
The bridge pins can probably be cleaned and buffed. No one much likes blade tuners. They wear the strings, and are rarely close to accurate. But replacing is an involved job–and it is no longer an original Clark afterward.
The original strings are gut, with wire-wound basses. A harp string maker will be able to match a set for you. If you stay with gut, you will need to do some careful gauge checking to see what is on there now, and try to find a chart of what should be on there. It is certainly lighter than pedal gauge, and may be lighter than what is now called lever gauge gut. I can’t help you with the pinned strings, but there is probably information to be found online.
I’m sorry, but with the very small pixel count and size of the photos, I can’t tell you anything else. I’d need to be able to see how the entire neck/column joint is constructed, and how straight the neck and column each are, and zoom in to the closeup of the damage.
Photos of the separation would help. Some can be repaired; some can not.
But be aware that harps are often _not_ like other luthiery. The string stresses are MUCH higher; likely over 1000 lbs on that model. And the neck is not only pulled down, but sideways by the strings, and that is the source of most misdesign and joint failure I’ve seen.
I don’t use aliphatic resin glue for _any_ joint under tension. It creeps over time. Some places on a harp it can be used, when backed up with other means.
But I like to depend on glue as little as possible, and instead make the joint so it will hold itself together under the string tension. If your joint is a pillar to neck joint, the string tension should hold it with little or no glue required, as long as the joint is properly made–and many, many harps still built are _not_ made with good joinery.
A photo(s) will help in advising. There are several other harp builders with many years of experience on this board who may give advice also.
Working with existing instr
