Saturday 28 February 2015

The Wanderer has returned!

 
What's this lurking in the boot of our old Discovery??
One harp... wrapped up against the rain!

 
If my life plan comes together and I end up doing lots of harp gigs then I'll treat the harp to a 'new coat' and a proper protective base.   At the moment it has to make do with some covers that are probably the best part of 50 years old.
 
 
Under the covers it's looking very smart indeed.  A man in London has crafted a new sound board, replaced the old felts in the pedal mechanism and fitted a new set of strings.  The tone quality is fantastically even and the sound is amazing!
 
 
Here's a detail of the sound bound and the modern 'eyelet' system for the strings.  (In the past the holes were larger and then plugged with little black pegs.  This caused loads of unwanted buzzes if I started to play loudly).  I've split my time this afternoon between playing and sorting out all my music.  There's a real temptation just sit and play for hours - but that would result in blistered fingers that could compromise my playing for weeks.  As a result, I'm trying to pace myself. 
 
After such major surgery, the harp is going to need regular attention and tuning as frequently as possible for a few weeks (at least once a day).  It will let me know when it's happy because it will start to 'hold its tuning' for longer periods.
 
It's so exciting to have the instrument home again and another phase in my new life plan starting!
Jx

12 comments:

  1. I would love to travel across the pond to hear you play, or you could do an America gig!

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  2. I'm so pleased for you Jan. You're plan is coming together nicely.

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  3. Looks fabtastic and I'm sure it sounds even better.

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  4. Ooh Jan, it looks beautiful. Happy playing. x

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  5. Oh so beautiful!!# the harp is such an attractive instrument and your one is a beauty!!! X

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  6. OH, He is beautiful with his new grommets or whatever they are called. I suppose he will need tuning quite often--temperature and humidity changes and all that. I'm glad he is back home with Mum! :-)

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  7. That is magnificent, I could probably spend hours listening to you! Suzy x

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  8. Beautiful. I hope you've enjoyed your weekend with your harp back in your life again. That's another piece of your future plan sorted out.

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