The SweetHarp 29 CS™
- Choose YOUR colors! One really fun thing is that you’re able to get two or three colors on the same harp. This means you can really customize your harp. Hundreds of possibilities! Here are a few of the combinations. Print out the blank one and fill it in with your own crayons!
- Because it is SO new and different, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the SweetHarp. Go here for some answers.
- Read about Diana Rowan’s test drive of the SweetHarp.
- Place your order with a $150 deposit.
- Order your Economy Case.
Here’s a first look at the new SweeetHarp neck redesign.
I am VERY happy with the way it worked out (this one is going to an Air Force captain, thus the dark blue Air Force colors) It ABSOLUTELY fixes the tendency of a neck to warp towards the strings! The thing is dead true.
(Shown in Dark Blue and Natural.)
And the tuners at the top make it incredibly easy to tune (She wanted the black and white. Normally they're amber and black)! I can pull it up to pitch in just a few minutes.
I've also made a number of "invisible" changes, one of which has opened up the very low end tone.
The change adds about nine ounces to the weight, but I'm working on that.
Also note the new legs which are the rosette instead of a big heart (one of my Russian clients warned me that they use hearts the way we use half moons on their outhouses).
We're running them through the shop as fast as we can to catch up on the backlog, and they're going together great.
The SweetHarp 29 (shown in Cerulean Blue & Rust Brown)
But I've seen that I want to do even more to preclude the harp warping at all (especially in hot, humid climates). I designed a brace to go on the far side of the curve, then I realized that if I were going to do that I might as well go all the way and make the harp center-strung. So I've designed a simple center-stringing somewhat like my Butterfly model (but less "heavy" looking). This has solved several minor nagging issues for me. Not only is the harp stronger and more stress-balanced than before, but I can use geared tuners on it all the way up. The tuners I have been using are of two types. The bass end was using a straight-through geared tuner like on banjos, and the treble end was using a non-geared tuner such as used on ukuleles. The banjo tuners are expensive and heavy, and the ukulele tuners, thought adequate (and perfectly appropriate for the smaller harps), just aren't as cool as the geared tuners.
By going to the center-stringing, I can use the same tuners as I use on the Butterfly harps. They look good, work great, and are even color-coded to tell you where your Fs and Cs are (knob colors may vary slightly from harp to harp). AND…You can see your tuners and tune on the fly very easily. No more craning your neck to the far side to see which tuner to grab!
This moves the SweetHarp even more into a class of its own - without increasing cost or weight. But it does change the look slightly. The curve is slightly narrower now in the treble (since I don't have to do the double row of tuners) and is actually more graceful. The tuners now have their knobs peeking above the curve instead of on the far side. That's pretty much the only visual difference. In all other ways the SweetHarp looks exactly the same! There is one more benefit: In their new position, the tuners are less likely to get banged in transit.
I had thought of making this an option and charging extra for it, but that would make production crazy-making, so I decided to just offer it at the same price.
(The ElfinHarps and FairyHarps will continue to use the banjo and ukulele tuners. Warping isn't a concern with the smaller harps.)
(shown in Cerulean Blue and Rust
Brown)
(shown in Cerulean Blue and Rust
Brown)
(shown in Cerulean Blue and Rust
Brown)
(shown in Teal Blue and Natural
soundboard)
(shown in Teal Blue and Natural
soundboard with Rust Brown legs)
(shown in Rust Brown and
Forest Green)
The
SweetHarp 29, Base
Price $499.00
29
Nylon and Carbon Strings Strings
C1 to
c3 (5th Octave C to 1st
Octave C)
Classic String Spacing
Medium Light String Tension
Weight: 9# (10# with floor stand)
Max Soundboard Width: 13"
Weight: 9 lbs (4 Kg)
(full dimensions here)
Strap Buttons
Standard
HarpSound
Ready
Sharping Lever
Ready
Options:
Starter Levers (Fs), $65.00
Standard Levers (Fs & Cs), $120.00
Classical Half Levers (Es, Bs, Fs & Cs), $270.00
Celtic Half Levers (Bs, Fs, Cs, & Gs), $270.00
Full Levers, $460.00
Lap Brace $29.00
Floor Legs, $49.00
Separate (third) Soundboard Color, $25.00
HarpSound Lite Custom Dual $89
HarpSound Lite Custom Single $49
Economy Case $199.95
Extra String Set
$69.00
Standard Features
The SweetHarp is made of
the highest-grade Birch plys. It comes with an adjustable,
non-damping lap brace that rests the harp comfortably
across your thighs. Machine tuners
allow for on-the-spot
tuning (no tuning wrench needed). It features
Celtic-style medium-tension stringing optimized for
Nylon and Fluorocarbon strings so no wound strings are
needed. It has Classical string
spacing. It
comes with "Welcome to Your Caswell
Harp" by
Chris Caswell.
About
Colors
Scroll down to check out the colors.
Two colors standard: Pick a color for
the soundbox and another (if you wish) for the
pillar/curve. You can have your harp all one color, or
two different colors. ( I normally do the lap brace and
the legs in the same color as the body unless otherwise
requested.)
Optional soundboard color: If you would
like a contrasting soundboard you can choose a color for
that as well (as in the natural shown above). To do this,
however, takes more time and effort. For that reason it
is a “third” color even if the rest of your harp is all
one color.
Lap Brace and Legs color: I normally dye
the legs and lap brace the same color as the body unless
you tell me you want it one of your other
colors.
NOTE:
As soon as I receive your deposit, I’ll work up a draft
invoice for you to check over and make sure everything is
as you wish. And if you can’t decide about colors at the
moment, or change your mind about levers in a couple of
weeks, or etc., that’s perfectly okay. It’s easy to
adjust your order (at least until I need to start making
it).
By the way, the shopping cart seems to be working fine
now (getting all the options to come up properly), but if
you have any problems you can just email me or simply
send a deposit from your PayPal to my PayPal -
harps@sonic.net. Just include a note about colors and
options.
The SweetHarp &
ElfinHarp Lap Brace
I've added non-slip fabric "grips" to the optional lap
brace after watching the harp slipping on a young
client's slick jeans. The brace secures with two
low-profile knobs so it can't twist. It can adjust up or
down 6" in 1 1/2" increments. It has a relief in the back
which allows it to stand away from the harp where the
back vibrates so the harp's tone isn't impaired.
Order your
SweetHarp with only a $150
deposit:
To
pay in full now, order here:
