[Harp-L] Re: Seydel Super Low Harps

[Jim Broughton <jim.broughton@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hello everyone - been a long time lurker, but I'm finally crawling  
out of the shadows...

Anyway I was interested in this discussion and I had to chime in. I'm  
speaking from personal experience here. I have a Seydel Low G. When  
it was new it played perfectly and I (still) love both the quality of  
the harp and the lush low tone, but after putting it away for a week  
or so I noticed a strange phenomenon I'd never experienced with any  
other harp in all my years of playing - both reeds in the 1 hole  
sounding simultaneously. After a little while of gentle playing it  
corrected itself. Another time the harp had been put away for a  
couple of weeks whilst I was on holiday, when it next came out of the  
box  the 1 blow didn't sound at all - the gap had completely closed.  
A little gently adjustment and everything was fine, until next time  
the harp came out, when I had to adjust it all over again. I guess  
this puts unnecessary strain on the reed and I expect its life  
expectancy to be shorter than a standard register harp.

I'm sorry if it doesn't fit your theoretical expectations Ken, but it  
is a very real phenomenon, the weighted reeds and gravity work to  
close the gap if the harp is stored in the wrong plane for too long.

Jim

On 25 May 2007, at 20:12, harp-l-request@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Ken Hildebrand" <airmojoken@xxxxxxxxx>
> To: <wmharps@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Vern Smith" <jevern@xxxxxxx>;
> <harp-l@xxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, May 25, 2007 10:39 AM
> Subject: Re: [Harp-L] Range (Seydel Super Low Harps)
>
>
> > Here's the link to the Seydel website that has the
> > warnings (Important!):
> >
> > http://www.seydel1847.de/epages/Seydel.sf/en_GB/? 
> > ObjectID=11717&Locale=en_GB
>
>
> You are correct that they say that the reeds can sag.  I would like  
> to talk
> to whomever wrote that statement.
> Just because they say it doesn't mean that it is correct.  Metal  
> reeds just
> do not behave that way.
>
> Vern