A guide to buying a Harp - Harp Tuesday ep. 100

I make folk harps, and there is so much more to say. I have seen harps that look very nice but have very little sound. A solid wood soundboard is a very good thing. Spruce or yellow cedar. The types of wood used for the sound box all make a difference as to sound quality. Some hardwoods must be very thin to give good sound while a softer wood must be thicker and probably need a hardwood veneer to give durability against dints and scratching. Some people like higher tension strings and others like light tension strings. For an affordable harp Sharpsicles are good. Many harps off the net look good but have little sound. Try as many harps as you can before you buy. If you find a harp ring maybe you will find people who will be able to put you in touch with people who make harps in your area. If you have several makers in your area you will find a multitude of harps to try. My harp making is mostly a hobby. I still don't like the feet on most folk harps and have seen few that match the integrity of the instrument. I have never made two harps the same my addiction is the infinite set of variables involved. Try try try is my advice. Unfortunately if you don't live in or near a larger city your chances of finding a variety of builders is greatly diminished. I have given away many harps only to find the people gave up on playing after a short time, and now a wonderful instrument is now an unused un tuned decoration. I could have carved a sculpture In much less time and if I knew before hand the interest was only temporary I would have. Some makers show you on the net how they build their harps, most of these are good, but a couple made me chuckle. Robinson's harp shop. Markwood Heavenly Srings are good places to find plans and parts for those who would like to save money by building their own. These people have inspired many of the harp builders that are out there. Often local small time builders use better materials because they are not enslaved to a model that has to look like the catalog picture. The exotic woods with great Character are often one of a kind pieces that will never be found again. At any rate try all the harps you can before buying. Often local builders will give you rent to own options some can be haggled with and are open to reasonable offers.

ONGRATULATIONS, Josh! Wow - 100 episodes! I've turned many people on to your videos - so helpful, so insightful. Happy New Year!

Congratulations Josh on this your 100th video! Good stuff here and interesting comments. Things I pick out of what you said: contact a harp teacher BEFORE you buy; and "get more strings". These are two things I wish I'd done, but I am very happy you are my teacher!

Great guide Josh! One thing to remember is the size of your vehicle too! Plus, you need 34 strings minimum to take exams here. Thank you Josh for your inspiration.

Congratulations on your 100th Harp Tuesday, Josh! What a wonderful milestone!
The information you provided was very interesting, and I learned a great deal from what you had to say. I'll draw from your wisdom as I build my harp collection. :-)

Excellent overview -- thanks! One thing I'd mention as well regarding nylon vs. gut is that gut strings also tend to be more unstable in their tuning, reacting to someone opening a door to the outside or a heater or air conditioner going on by wandering out of tune. Nylon is much more stable although of course not entirely. For me, as much as I love the more chocolatey-sounding harps over the citrus-sounding ones, the instability of gut puts me off of it completely. That might also be another thing to consider for someone in addition to the feel and expense.

Wow, so informative. Thanks Josh!

Renting a harp is almost an impossibility for me, since I live 7 hours from the closest harp shop. I have been listening to videos of harps though, and have found the sound I like but I'm also concerned about making the wrong decision since i live in the middle of nowhere. I have to choose between 4 different cities to visit. yet i dont have the money to travel to all of them

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I am not in the market for a new harp now, but I continue to be very satisfied with my current harp. I have a Lyon and Healy Prelude number 236. (Do you have any idea when it may have been made? I'm thinking it may be fairly old.). I enjoying comparing all of your advice and opinions to my own experiences with my prelude and my small 22 string lap harp. I have been slowly changing many of the lower and mid range strings on the prelude to gut. It is very expensive but it is almost like a new instrument in terms of the quality of sound. Look forward to many of your posts!

Thank you Dear Josh, I enjoyed your guide very much :-)

Very good info, thanks, Josh :)

What about choosing the finish? Which finish is best for the stage vs weddings vs Church?

What do you think of a 29 string harp, that has octaves starting with A? (variant of Music makers Sonnet lap harp)? Thanks!

I am buying my first harp, a Dusty String Ravenna 34!

Thanks for making this video. I have a question. When you buy a leaver harp from the company that made it does it come with the strings..or do you buy them separately and string it yourself? There aren't any music stores in my area to go try it out. I don't know anyone who gives lessons I could ask. I really appreciate your expertise.

Hi, i just bought a harpsicle and it arrived broken.Are they good with returning an instrument if it broke during shipping?.I am just so upset about this and actually almost cried a bit because it was my first harp... :(

Great advice. You forgot to mention Paraguayan harps, though. :-)

Do you ever actually play any of your harps?