[Harp-L] widening out/opening up the backs of harps

[Peter Beck <kpfbeck@xxxxxxxxx>]

Hello Fellow Chewers of the Tin Sandwich,

I was trying to decide which harp to use on a particular song, and I was
switching back and forth with a Special 20, a Marine Band Deluxe, and a
Seydel 1847 Classic. And the thing that surprised me was how much clearer
the chords sounded on the Seydel. Turn it around and look and, huh, the
back is completely open. The coverplates on the Special 20 have these
rims/lips/ledges that are probably supposed to channel the sound. But the
MB Deluxe doesn't have them and neither does the Seydel. And the chords on
the Special 20 were a tad muffled.

One of the great things about this list is that I know there are a bunch of
you out there who have not only wondered about this, but also done things
like cut up and widened out the backs of a bunch of Special 20s to see what
happens.

So, please, what does happen? And if I decide I want to try it, what's a
good method for working with the coverplate metal?

Much obliged,
Peter Beck