# Harp Guitar



## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

While I still would like to get a resonator some day, and I'm still in the honeymoon phase with my archtop, I've long had a soft spot for harp guitars.

Has anybody here ever tried one? Owned one?

What was it like to play--as far as comfort, ease of playing, etc?
How easy/hard was it to tune & maintain?

I think a major point against for me would be changing strings--although since the harp strings are played differently than guitar strings, they may last longer.

While I doubt I'll actually ever get one, if I came across one for a good deal, I may just pick one up.

So, anybody have any info to share or stories to tell?

For those of you who aren't sure what a harp guitar is-
www.harpguitars.net
Harp guitars


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## GuyB (May 2, 2008)

I don't know much about harp guitars but have you seen the Glissentar by Godin ? You might be interested. Take a look here :

http://www.godinguitars.com/godinglissentarp.htm


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

Hey oh

Oddly I was just looking into these. 

I would like to try these out, but for me the cost is the big drawback. Many are one-off's apparently; not a lot of "regular production", and that is in part because that is the tradition (for lack of a better word) of Harp Guitar design, and in part because the making of them was stopped for a time and the information or skill wasn't passed on. Lots of the luthiers say "based on" and do litterally mean that either they used photos, a finished instrument, or someone broke up an original and used what they found to rebuild from. Not from some instructions given by ailing grandfathers. Lots of the people here http://www.harpguitars.net/luthiers/luthiers.htm are also out of making Harps (some have a photo or two but no further information than that) or are so far advanced booked that they are taking no new orders (though I have yet to read all of them, there are lots of builders listed). 

However, I too find it an amazing instrument:


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## xuthal (May 15, 2007)

Really cool instrument,Heres andy mckee playing one.

[youtube=]Cvar4ZsqsEo[/youtube]


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## Milkman (Feb 2, 2006)

xuthal said:


> Really cool instrument,Heres andy mckee playing one.
> 
> [youtube=]Cvar4ZsqsEo[/youtube]


Wow.

Nice clip. That guy is _so_ musical.


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## keeperofthegood (Apr 30, 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pawgzVGC9-4Andy is good, does play some good tapping guitar too (there are other tappers on YouTube I like as well ). Seeing these though are where I became interested in Harp Guitars:

​ [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pawgzVGC9-4]pawgzVGC9-4[/youtube]:wave:[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAf_5nn9zNI]UAf_5nn9zNI[/youtube]

Especially the ensemble on the left there. Really amazing group performance!​
​


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## xuthal (May 15, 2007)

That was probably the coolest thing ive seen in a while.All those harp guitars playing lofu :bow:


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## Stephen W. (Jun 7, 2006)

Harp guitars... where to begin?
It's a far larger family, (both in terms of instruments and players) then the average person would think. Gregg Miner's harpguitars.net does a good job to fill in much of the blanks. But more is being learned every day. New instruments and new players as well as older instruments and long time players are being uncovered daily. In fact I just learned of classical Contra style harp guitar and classically trained player in the N.W.T. 
Read his story here: 


To answer your questions, yes I own a new Noble with six sub bass strings. 









Frieda is pictured in the "Let's see your acoustics" thread. Click her name in my signature to see more. You can also hear Gregg play her by clicking on the NPR link

I find it uncomfortable to play for several reasons. One, I have to hold it on an angle to see the strings and keep it from hitting my chin. This means I have to twist my wrist around to fret the main strings. It's also top heavy, so balancing it puts added strain on arms and back muscles. I never even held one before buying Frieda and having her shipped up from California.
The string spacing is OK but I do get lost trying to remember my tunes. So far I've only used one tuning and I have three self composed tunes I play.
Maintenance is not much different then a normal guitar. Strings are strings and need changing when you no longer enjoy their tone. Sets are available at Harp Guitar Music. Or you can mix and match to make up your own from several of the major brands.

I doubt you'll ever find one up here at a "good deal" price. If you want to try your hand at palying one then pick up a Mexican built Lark In The Morning. Complete with hard shell case delivered it's like only about $2400. You can find them on ebay for less from time to time. However, read over Gregg's recommendations before putting any cash out for one. Best thing is to let Gregg know your interested and what your price range is. 

My advice is to pay the $10 to join Harp Guitars Net for a year. Frequent the forums. Ask all the questions you can and come out to some of our concerts or harp gatherings. If there had been a Canadian Guitar Festival this past summer and everyone who owned one had brought theirs we would have had a half dozen or more. John Doan, Don Alder, Antoine Dufour, Carter Lancaster and myself to name just a few.

Stories, I have plenty but I can't type that much... 
However, if you'd like to see (hear) more videos, check out Gregg's youtube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/GMiner
Anything by Stephen Bennett is great. I also like Tom Shinness, Stacy Hobbs and the unbelievable funny Andy Wahlberg.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Thanks everybody.
Keep any new stuff coming, if there is any.

Stephen--thanks for the links--I've bookmarked that Youtube channel. I checked out some of them, and I'll go back and check out more.

If I did ever get a harp guitar I'd probably play it more in a bluesy style-as that's a style of music I enjoy-some examples of that are on that page.

But, as I noted--I'll probably never get one.
Still, it's on my one day, maybe list--with a few other guitar & guitar type instruments. The problem with some of the things I'd like is finding the time to practice them to learn them--and not give up the guitar playing I already enjoy.
I'm sure I'd play most of those in an unorthodox fashion.

But thanks for the info, it supplements what I've found online--including the links I posted up at the top.


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