Tuning Sharping Levers on a Lever Harp

 

Tuning A Sharping Lever

Sharping levers, of all kinds, can go out of tune. This is generally not due to the lever, per se, but to its placement. Sometimes sharping levers go out of tune because the screw attaching the lever to the harp loosens and the lever slips out of the correct position. Additionally, as a harp gets older and compresses under string tension the vibrating length of the string changes causing a sharpened string to voice incorrectly.

You know that on a tuned harp the shorter strings sound a higher pitch than the longer ones. The position of the sharping lever works the same way. A lever, when actuated, places a second bridge (the lever fret) on the string below the primary bridge. This lever fret effectively shortens the vibrating length of the string. The placement of the sharping fret is such that the pitch of the string changes up a perfect half step.

To tune an out of place sharping lever you will need:

1. Use your chromatic tuner to perfectly tune your harp with all the levers in the neutral (down) position. Go through, up and down, two or three times until every string is right all the way up the harp at the same time. [In other words, if you still have to tighten up one string on your third time through, check them all again until nothing needs to be changed.)

2. Cut a short piece of masking tape (1/2 to 1" long) and place it aside. This will be used later to mark the proper position of the lever.

3. Loosen the screw on the lever you plan to work on, using the screwdriver or allen wrench, but do not remove the screw from the harp.

4. Still with the lever in the neutral position, check the tune of the string corresponding to the lever you will be adjusting and be certain that the loosening of the screw did not cause the string to change away from a perfect pitch.

Diagram of lever base showing direction for flat and sharp adjustment. 5. Engage the lever so that it sharpens the string. Pluck the string again. It should read, on the chromatic tuner, a tuned sharp. If it is flat then you need to shorten the vibrating length of the string to raise the pitch. You do this by sliding the lever ever so slightly toward the soundboard until it reads a tuned sharp on your chromatic tuner. If the sharpened string reads sharp you need to lower the pitch by sliding the lever away from the soundboard making the vibrating length longer. (See Diagram 1)

6. When the lever is in the right position mark it by placing the masking tape below the lower edge of the lever. This is important because when you tighten the screw again you might move it out of position.

7. After you have tightened the screw, recheck the tuning of the string again in the neutral position and sharpened position.

If these first seven steps do not yield a correctly tuned sharp, then you may need:

Diagram shows both correct and incorrect alignment of the bridge pin. 8. The screw you have been loosening on your lever sits in an oblong slot. (See Diagram 1) If you have adjusted a lever all the way to the end of the slot and you still need to be able to move the lever further down, go directly to Step 11. If you still need to go further up, the first thing to do is to check the bridge pin. If a bridge pin is very close to a lever and the hole the pin rests in is deep, allowing the pin to slide too far back into the wood, then the tension between the actuated lever and the bridge of the harp may be so great that it is stretching the string too sharp. (See Diagram 2) If this is the case, with the tapped pliers, grab the bridge pin head and pull it out with a twisting motion just a hair's breath. [Triplett bridge pins must be pulled straight in and out, without a twisting motion, due to their ridged base.] Be careful not to touch the string with the pliers and damage it. Check the tuning again by plucking the string. You may have to make a few minor corrections up or down with the bridge pin. If you still need to move the lever further then the slot allows, go to Step 11. If the bridge pin slips easily and does not stay in position, go to Step 9.

9. If the bridge pin persists in slipping back in, completely remove it from the harp. Lay your harp on its side, bridge pins up. Put a drop or two of Super Glue into the now open hole. Be very careful not to get any glue on the finish of your harp. Use the toothpick to spread the glue around inside the hole. Allow the glue to set for at least three hours then replace the bridge pin.

10. If the pin still slips in too far or still appears to be so close to the lever that too much down pressure is being generated then you have probably reached the point where a professional harp repair person had best take a look at it. Chances are good that a new bridge pin hole will have to be drilled and the placement of that hole can be complex depending upon the hardware set-up of your particular harp.

Diagram indicates positioning for the new pilot hole.11. If all appears well or is now well with the bridge pin, then it may be necessary to move the placement of the lever itself. Since you have worked the lever all the way to the end of the screw slot, you know which way you will need to move the lever. With a sharp pencil, place a dot in the lever slot about two-thirds of the way up or down, depending upon which end of the slot the screw is in. (See Diagram 3) The dot you are making with the pencil will mark the spot where you will be drilling a pilot hole.

12. Remove the lever from the harp completely by backing the screw out.

13. Carefully measure 3/8" of an inch up from the end of the drill bit. Place a piece of masking tape around the bit so that the bottom 3/8", which you have just measured, shows below the tape.

14. Holding the drill so that it is exactly perpendicular to the wood, drill a hole on the place you have marked. Push the string aside so you will not touch it with the bit and damage it. Drill down until the masking tape on the drill bit touches the wood. Once this is done you can start breathing again because the rest is easy.

15. Place the lever on the harp and screw the previously removed screw through the lever slot and into the new hole. Now you should be able to get your elusive sharp by adjusting the lever as described earlier in steps 1 through 7.



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