Lap Harps

[rginns]

Anybody recommend a decent lap harp and where I can find one from? ..

[davidandree]

i found mine at a second hand store - but they seem to be pretty abundant online / ebay etc...

i have a "music maker" i installed a piezo in - this model seems to be pretty common, but does not stay in tune longer than a single take. does anyone have better experiences with different models staying in tune?

[rginns]

I'm currently looking at one on eBay but most of them appear to be sold from the US and are reluctant to ship to the UK how can you determine whether the harp will bow using an ebow ?? What do I need to look out for?..

[Le Berger]

The father of a friend of mine is a maker of autoharps, and I know he does ship to the UK on occasion but for some insurance thing it's kind of a pain in the ass is what my friend told me. I have no clue if he makes lap harps though, I will inquire and let you know / repost with further info when i have it.

[Le Berger]

Oh well, I thought those were similar enough that she'd know... seems not.

Anyway, here's a link she sent me: http://craggymtnmusic.com/lap_harp.php

hope that helps


++++++

EDIT: she brought forth new input..

verbatim
"I talked to dad; he said Music Maker doesn't ship overseas because the shipping is basically more expensive than the instrument, so not worth it. And he didn't have any alternatives on private builders.
His suggestions:
1. have someone in the US or Canada buy one and then ship it privately. Shipping will be pricey; he just sent a 'harp to Switzerland and it was around $250 with insurance. If you didn't care about insuring it (rly it's a <$40 instrument, so probably can get away without insurance), you'd look at $50ish for shipping.
2. make one, if he has the ambition/resources and can find the more specific parts (like tuning pins...most companies that make these sell to factories or luthiers, not just in batches of 10-20 pins to someone looking to make one instrument). "

[Guy Birkin]

http://www.hobgoblin.com/local/GR6351_p_Cymbala-childs-small-zither-page.htm

Looks OK. I quite fancy one myself!

[rginns]

I'm still trying to find one of the Russian or Belarus models much like the one in the picture (above in earlier post) does anyone know what to look out for with these lap harps in order to determine whether they'll bow using the ebow? .. do the strings need to be close together or not? or is it just pot luck ...

[davidandree]

yes - an ebow will work on most strings that will respond to a magnetic field (will work with steel, nickel - but not materials like nylon)

[rginns]

Thanks .. I'm gonna keep looking and hope for the best. Loving your blog by the way some of your lap harp material is beautiful I today have bought the EHX 2880 so I'm really looking forward to getting that and a fully ebow friendly lap harp 

[Guy Birkin]

I'm still trying to find one of the Russian or Belarus models much like the one in the picture (above in earlier post)

As I understand it, the zither I linked to from Hobgoblin is essentially the same construction as the Russian ones - they both have 15 steel strings, so they should be fine for use with an EBow. Do you mean that you want that brand (Nepenenoyka) specifically?

[rginns]

Hi Guy,

No as long as it bows it really doesn't matter what brand it is ..

[a-m#2]

yes - an ebow will work on most strings that will respond to a magnetic field (will work with steel, nickel - but not materials like nylon)

Hello there, very 1st post out there btw! 

I own one of these:
http://www.pick-et-boch.com/catalogue-fr/fiche/N295-Cithare+Swaramandala+d%27Inde+-+Mod%C3%A8le+36+cordes.html

Actually the Ebow does work on the biggest, longest strings (take a look at the close-up pictures), that is to say only the 1st 6-7 strings will respond to the Ebow but the others won't.

[rupske]

Recently bought a nice 2nd hand 49-string zither in Vienna! So fun to play.

Can anyone give me advice on how I would best go about trying to amplify it electronically?

[dhaugen]

 a good quality contact mic. I think would work best. Also known as a piezo mic.

Low cost to purchase and very easy to build; if you are DIY minded.
http://home.earthlink.net/~erinys/contactmic.html

[rupske]

Thanks!
This looks like a really fun weekend project. Unfortunately, my soldering iron is 1000+ km removed from me, right now.

Do you have any suggestions for a place to order a nice contact mic?