I am creating a design/drawing for a client today in my shop, for a large Double Pentatonic harp. It will have 5 octaves, with 60 strings in total, set up with the longest string in the middle, and then with two identical string sets in one line going out from that middle string, like a mirror image of each other. These nylon and composite metal strings will be set into an oval neck frame, with the sounding box at the bottom of the harp. It will be about 68 inches tall. the tuning pegs will be in the top of the neck, along with bridge pins. There will be no levers, since the tuning is to be only played pentatonic.
I am not sure if this one will be built, as the clinet has nto yet decided which way he wants to go, with a more typical double harp, or with this approach! :-)
Monday, January 11, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New web site up and running !! New photos of harps under construction too !
OK, got my Totally new web sites up and running, a couple days ago, both www.laserharps.com, and wwwmountainglenharps.com
If you catch any typos, please let me know !! :-)
And here are a couple of shots of two harps on my workbench that are almost finished!
One is a 34 string Cherry wood harp that will be nylon strung, with Camac levers.
The other is a Carved Cherry wood 33 string nylon strung acoustic-electric-midi harp, that is also set up with 6 green lasers. This is a first of a kind hybrid string/laser harp that anyone has built. It has the capacity for each string to send out a midi signal coded to the string`s pitch, that can allow the harp to play any sounds to go with the strings, in harmony with those notes generated by the strings. There is a set of 7 triple slide switches , that act as 'midi pedals' to sharp or flat all the midi signals for all the C`s, D`s, ect, so that the midi signals are the same pitch as the strings are when their levers are flipped up.
The lasers will allow the triggering of any back ground musical or natural sounds, and /or projected video and still images, to go with the music being played. This harp is a custom creation for a Harpists who plays Nature oriented Celtic music. So for example she might be playing Celtic music while she is triggering back ground sounds of ocean waves, while one-to-three LCD projectors are showing video of a seas shore scene.
The multimedia controller that goes with the Lasers actually has 12 channels available , with 6 being used by lasers, and the other 6 being used in this harp by a multi-channel midi pedal. the Harpist will be able to use this pedal to capture and trigger loops of music she has just played, to accompany herself. The triggering can be via one of the lasers beams, that can have up to 60 sequences of sound or images programed on it. The Lasers will also react to their light being broken, to trigger sound or video, up to 70 times per second.
When this harp is finished, I will be posting videos of it being played, with haze to illuminate the lasers. There are two green Lasers that shoot up the soundboard, to sensors hidden under the carved leaves that you see in the picture. Those beams will reflect off the lacquer of the soundboard to give the harp soundboard a green glow, to go along with the gold of the Spruce soundboard. The harp has cared cherry wood leaves all over the carving, which when finished will have touches of mother-of-pearl based green paint to highlight their veins and edges. So the finished harp will be Rich Red Cherry wood with iridescent green highlights in places, with a gold Spruce sound board and with a green halo to the whole instrument, when the lasers are lit!! :-)
Monday, January 4, 2010
New Photos of my latest Laser Harp
I have been deep in the depths of HTML code, working on my web site , that is only three years behind !! But........ it should be up tonight. Right now we are having a problem with FireFox Not showing the background color, but if you use Internet Explore, you can see it right now at this address: www.mountainglenharps.com/index.htm
Meanwhile here are a couple of photos of this latest Laser Harp:
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