TECHNICAL HARP INFORMATION
We get many requests for information about - and for Deborah's assessments of - the various instruments she uses. The following are her notes and comments:
NOTES ON ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC INSTRUMENTS & other equipment notes:
"RETROFITTING" STANDARD ACOUSTIC HARPS:

I own five acoustic harps which have been modified to function as electro-acoustic instruments by retrofitting them with soundboard pickups (read on for an explanation of what this means). The harps are: Lyon & Healy Style 23 Natural, Lyon & Healy Style 19 Gold, Wurlitzer Starke Model Gold, Pilgrim's Progress Ebony (ooops - I sold that one, but it was retrofitted), and a small Rubarth "R-Harp" (a lap harp).

Each harp has one or two Fishman transducers or "pickups" mounted on the inside of the sounding board. The pickup is attached to a "pre-amp" and the pre-amp allows me to adjust the treble, bass & midrange and volume of the harp without having to walk over to the amp. The pre-amp is then plugged into the amplifier (which is, in turn, attached to speakers so a hall-full of people can hear the sound).
SIMPLE DEFINITION OF A "PICKUP" (a.k.a. "transducer").
A pickup is a special flat microphone that picks up the vibrations of the soundboard itself. To understand the difference between a standard mic and a "pickup" imagine this: the mic "picks up" the sound from the air. The pickup picks up sound directly off the surface of the wood. Pickups are often called "transducers," but technically both a mic and a pickup are transducers, because they pick up the sound, then "transduce" the sound into an electrical signal which gets sent to the amp. The amp turns the signal back into (louder) sound.
EXPENSE: the expense of adapting an acoustic harp with a "transducer" or pickup
The cost is anywhere from around $90 to $300, depending on how fancy you want to get.
THE TWO BIGGEST ADVANTAGES of modifying an acoustic harp with a transducer
The two biggest advantages are the low cost and the fact that the harp can still be used EITHER as an electric instrument or an acoustic one (the transducer doesn't affect the sound or the look of the harp and you can leave it on allt he time). Another advantage is that, if the electricity goes off (and it DOES, sometimes), you can still be heard (because you're playing an acoustic harp). Some people also prefer the sound of an amplified acoustic harp to that of a fully electric instrument. It's a matter of taste, preference and budget.
WHERE TO GET A HARP TRANSDUCER
You can order the transducer itself, or the complete "Fishman Amplification Kit" from the DHC Mail Order catalogue.
HOW DO I DECIDE TO GET JUST THE TRANSDUCER OR THE FULL KIT?
TRANSDUCER
The transducer itself will allow you to connect the harp directly to the amp, but will not give you any control over the quality of the sound. For amateur use, this can be sufficient for many years. You can always upgrade to the full kit later.
AMPLIFICATION KIT
The Kit (around $300) includes everything that I actually use myself, including the transducer, a pre-amp (which allows you to control the quality and volume of the sound), all cables, batteries and adaptors and my own directions for use. For professional use, I recommend the complete Kit. For preliminary experimenting or if you just want to boost the sound for a small reception the transducer alone is a good (and more economical) way to start.
TO ORDER the Transducer or Amplification Kit, visit our mail order catalogue.
 
WHAT IS THE "BONZAI HARP"?

What I call my "Bonzai Harp" is a "Rubarth Harp," a small lever-harp, or "lap harp" with 22 strings. I used this harp on tour with my band in 1995 and it sounded great. I bought this small lap-harp and turned it into a prototype strap-on harp. (More on that below.) This was also the harp I used to convince CAMAC harp builder Joel Garnier that I really did want him to build me a strap-on body-harp.

TRAVELABILITY: This harp really DOES fit into the overhead compartment of a plane, although I often have trouble convincing airline personnel of the fact.

COLOR: I painstakingly covered the harp with a very high-grade brand of contact paper called DC-Fix, which is available at high-end crafts or arts stores. The harp is shiny red with silver flecks and looks great onstage, very much like an electric bass or guitar. When I bought it, the harp was was natural mahogany. Now it looks like a stratocaster.

THE HARNESS: I created the harness myself, after going to a marching-band store and getting the closest thing I could to a harp harness. We're in the middle of working to get the harnesses manufactured for sale, so contact the office at info@hipharp.com to let us know if you're interested info onavailability and cost.

RETROFITTING THE HARP with TRANSDUCER: I attached a Fishman Transducer on the soundboard of this harp just like I would a concert harp, but then I connected it to a wireless sender, which I mounted onto the side of the harp with velcro, so I could dance while playing. It doesn't have to be a wireless system, however -- you could mount the pickup on the harp and then connect the pickup to the sound system via a cable (like an electric guitarist does).

COST: The cost of the Rubarth lap-harp, with case, cover & a full set of levers is between $750 - $900 (depending on the present state of inflation). With fewer levers, the cost can go down substantially. It's got a great acoustic sound (very bell-like), a reasonable facsimile to concert spacing and the closest approximation to concert tension I found in a harp this size. To turn the harp into a wireless electro-acoustic Bonzai harp will probably cost at least another $800.

I personally think this is also a great first harp for kids (ages 3 - 10) and I bought one for my boyfriend's daughter, knowing that if she didn't end up playing it, I'd enjoy playing it myself.

FOR MORE INFORMATION on the Rubarth Harp GO TO:
Kolacny Music: 1-800-870-3167 www.kolacnymusic.com
Melody Music: 1-800-893-4277 or www.folkharp.com

NOTES ON FULLY ELECTRIC HARPS:
THE LYON & HEALY ELECTRIC GRAND:
I used the Lyon & Healy electric grand on tour with the Boston Pops, with the Pittsburgh Pops and for the recording of "Alter Ego," my newest CD. To hear the power and clarity of the electric harp, you can order a copy of "Alter Ego." (see our mail order catalogue).

STEREO: The Lyon & Healy has a pickup on every single string and stereo outputs (two separate sounds) which make this harp great for recording. The newer versions of the harp are also battery-free, or so I have been told. (The one I use needs a 9-volt battery, which can be a real drag when the voltage gets low unexpectedly during a recording session or a peformance.) This harp has a very clean signal, is great for use in studios, on the radio or on television. It's a very heavy harp, so it's a little harder than a regular concert grand to get around, but it's also wonderfully sturdy.

RECORDING: The soundboard is constructed rather like a "solid-body" guitar. That creates a great recording situation, because you can record with the Lyon & Healy even in a noisy room, by going direct from strings to tape. (Once I was recording with this harp in a room where someone was hammering - don't ask my why I was doing that, but I was - and when I listened back to the tape, you couldn't hear the hammering! That's one thing I absolutely love about this instrument. I mean, not like I expect to have hammering in my recording studio, but it's nice to know that it wouldn't ruin a good take!)

LIVE PERFORMANCE: Because it is "cleaner" sounding than an acoustic harp, the Lyon & Healy Electric is perfect for "contrasting" with an orchestra, so I love it for concerto-type work. The orchestras love it, too, because they don't have to hold back volume-wise. This harp can really crank and can play over even a brass section, if it needs to.

However, in order to do my flamenco/percussion sounds in performance, I had to add a Fishman Transducer to the soundboard, otherwise, even if I bang on the soundboard you can't hear it.

TRAVELABILITY: This is a very sturdy harp, but also a very heavy one.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: Lyon & Healy, 168 North Ogden Ave, Chicago, IL 60607 USA, 1-800-621-3881 X 107,sales@lyonhealy.com (e-mail), http://www.lyonhealy.com (website)
CAMAC ELECTRO-ACOUSTIC HARPS

I use the Camac Electro-Acoustic Grand on tour in Europe and at my Symphony Hall premiere with the Boston Pops.

This harp has a beautiful sound, both acoustically and electrically. It's also stunning physically because of the color. Like the Lyon & Healy Electric Grand, it has a pickup on every string, but it also has a separate output for soundboard percussion which allows me to mix my flamenco/percussion sounds separately. Like the Lyon & Healy, it has a very clean signal, is very rugged, wears well and plays well. It is somewhat physically easier to play (due to the ergonomics, whatever they are) than the Lyon & Healy. It is also easier to regulate, and to change strings on.

MONO: One of the features I like about the CAMAC is that it has the option of outputting in mono. What does that mean? It means you just send one signal out from the harp (not two, as in stereo). That makes it much easier to set-up in a concert situation. There's not as much "flexibility" when you run it in mono mode, but you can get up and running faster.

STEREO or SPLIT SIGNALS: Newer CAMACs have many possible mono-stereo capabilities. I now have a CAMAC acoustic-electric concert grand (Grand Blue) and it has four "outs" or "outputs," which allow me to "EQ" (equalize, or change the sound of) Treble, Mid-Range or Bass separately. There is a fourth output for the soundboard itself, which allows me to isolate the percussive sounds I do by hitting the soundboard, and to EQ them separately as well. It's still possible to treat this CAMAC as a mono instrument, which I often find easier in live concert situations.

LIVE PERFORMANCE: This harp is very warm for an electric harp. Like the Lyon & Healy, it's electric aspect allows it to soar over an orchestra. Because of its acoustic qualities, it is a little more able to "blend" acoustically than the Lyon & Healy, but it's not as "isolate-able" as the Lyon & Healy. You can literally hammer on the walls when recording with the L&H and it won't show up on the recording - a feature that's probably meaningless to anyone but me.

RECORDING: I have not recorded yet with the CAMAC Grand Blue. It is more sensitive acoustically than the Lyon & Healy so I imagine it would be best in a traditional recording situation (i.e. with a microphone) as WELL AS going directly into the soundboard via the strings. This might give very good results, especially on classical music . . . but I haven't tried it yet.

TRAVELABILITY of the CAMAC BLUE: This harp is sturdier than its beautiful color would suggest. It's also quite light, especially for its size.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT: www.camac-harps.com, Jakez Francois and Eric Piron - La Richerais - 44850 MOUZEIL - France - Tel: (+33) (0) 240 972 497 fax: (+33) (0) 240 977 931
THE CAMAC "BABY BLUE"


The Baby Blue is the first commercially produced solid-body electric body-harp in existence.

Like the Camac "Blue" and the Lyon-Healy Electric Grand, it has a pickup on every string. Unlike either either of the above, it is a 36-string lever harp which can be worn . . . even while dancing (as I do in most performances).

The "Baby Blue" has an exquisite sound played without effects, and is a great show-stopper when you add distortion, or other effects better known to screaming electric guitar players.

In order to make the "Baby Blue" into a wireless instrument, I mounted a wireless sender onto the side of the soundboard with velcro. The receiver is attached to my amplifier.

The "Baby Blue" is still in development. Check out their website for current models.

THE HARNESS: The harness is the same one I created for the "Bonzai Harp." See information above.

THE STAND: My friend Stephen Powell invented an ingenious adaptor for the "Baby Blue" to allow it to automatically attach to a heavy duty camera tripod.

THE CASE: the padded road case was built by Four Seasons Harp Covers in Colorado.

TRAVEL CASE: since my harp returned from tour in two pieces in 2003 (see below), I've started shipping it to concerts via DHL (surprisingly affordable as of this writing, but that may change). It fits perfectly in a Bike Box. I bought a semi-fancy, rugged plastic bike travel box, which has great foam padding inside, wheels and a handle. It's not the kind of thing you'd want to wheel around a whole lot, but the case is sturdy and so far the harp has been safe and sound.

TRAVELABILITY: The "Baby Blue" is not perfect for air travel. In order to take it to and from Europe in 1996, we put it in a bicycle box. We also had to tell them that it WAS a bicycle. I'm hoping that future versions might be a little smaller.

(Travelability Update 2003): I've been travelling with the Baby Blue now for upwards of 50 or 60 plane rides. I've been padding the harp with my own clothing when I fly and up until the last plane ride, it's come through fine each time. On the last plane trip, Northwest Baggage handlers opened my baggage (as they need to for security), but then decided they didn't need to repack the harp the way I'd packed it. The result was that, for the first, time, my harp returned in two pieces (one playable piece and one unplayable piece). My response? Get the harp repaired and then try to find someone who can build me a light-weight hard case. Oh, and probably avoid Northwest Airlines. All the other airlines to this point had been meticulous in repacking exactly the way I'd done it.

COST: Check the Camac website or the Virginia Harp Center for current prices.. This will give you a "wired" version (your wire to the amplifier will stick out the bottom of the harp.) Unless you want to dance around while you play (which I do), it's fine to have the wire sticking out, and it actually looks very cool. If you DO want to go wireless, modifying the Baby Blue with sender and receiver will probably cost you another $600-$2500.

FOR MORE INFORMATION, GO TO: www.camac-harps.com - La Richerais - 44850 MOUZEIL - France - Tel: (+33) (0) 240 972 497 fax: (+33) (0) 240 977 931
THE LYON & HEALY "SILHOUETTE"
As of this writing, I've only had a Silhouette for a few days, so I only have time to tell you that it looks cool and I'm very excited about playing it!
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE "BABY BLUE" AND THE "SILHOUETTE"?

I'm thrilled to report that they're simply different. Why am I thrilled? When I first dreamed of strapping on a harp and playing more like an electric guitarist, there was NOTHING available on the market. The only person doing that kind of thing was Rudiger Opperman, in Switzerland -- and he was building his own harps and electronics in his workshop.

It took me a long time to convince any of the larger builders that such a harp was worthwhile to build. I finally had to cluge together a prototype and show it to Joel Garnier before he could really understand what I was talking about and could see how excitged audiences were about the instrument. Less than a year later, he presented me with the prototype for the Baby Blues.

Lucky for us, both CAMAC and Lyon & Healy are run by harp players, men (yes, they're both men) who are passionate about the harp, and not just selling harps as a business investment.

Here we are ten years down the road and both CAMAC and Lyon & Healy are selling wearable harps, both gorgeous instruments and each with a different sound and feel. Why is that so great? Because we have a CHOICE and it's a real choice. These two harps aren't just clones of each other, they each have a distinctive sound and feel and look. Which do I like better? You might as well ask me which of our kids I like the best. The answer is I love them equally, and in part BECAUSE they're different.
RANDOM TROUBLE-SHOOTING and OTHER NOTES:
PRE-AMP TO THE RESCUE:
Just came back from the Midwest where I was using an acoustic harp for a solo concert in a 700-seat hall. I fitted the harp with a pickup, but the sound was tinny and edgy and EQ wasn't helping. Also, the bass sounded wimpy and thin. On a whim, I added a Fishman preamp before I gave the signal to the sound engineer. The change in the sound was amazing. It was warm, full, the bass sounded great. And this wasn't even one of the newer "Pro-EQ's" - this was an old one I had in my gear bag. I was very impressed and very happy. (10/15/03)
WIRELESS MIC MINI-WINDSCREENS AT THE PHARMACY:
Somewhere between WSU and Grand Rapids I lost the miniscule windscreen that fits on my Countryman mic. The mic is great (it tapes to my face and is very unobtrusive). Finding another windscreen in downtown Grand Rapids was unlikely, so I sent my Harptech-for-the-day, Heidi and her boyfriend Todd out to see what they could jerry-rigg. At a local drugstore, they found some cheap Q-tips with foam ends. We pulled the ends off the Q-tips, put the ends on the mic and voila! Instant mini-windscreen. They cost less than a buck and sounded good, too! (10/15/03)
SHIPPING THE HARP:

As of this writing (10/15/03) our favorite carrier is Airborne, believe it or not! (Oops, they changed their name to DHL since I wrote this). When we send the harp Airborne Ground, the cost is far better than any of the other carriers. Of course, we have the greatest Airborne delivery guys in the US in our neighborhood - they actually took a quick harp lesson one day after delivering the harp, they listen to harp CDs and come to concerts, so they're experts!

With Airborne we do need to make a few concessions: they can's guarantee delivery date, they won't carry the instrument under certain conditions (like if the weather is too cold), and you need to keep on top of the delivery-end of things (once they simply left a harp on someone's doorstop - fortunately it wasn't raining). But we're working that out in general, we're pretty happy with the service for now. We ship the concert harp in a standard harp case (yep, one of those huge wooden trunks), but we've added wheels to make it a bit easier to handle once it arrives.