Kit - PARAHARP, 34 String Folk Harp with Wood, Coming Soon!

COMING SOON!

Introducing the ParaHarp 34P & 34PS folk harps.

(Picture shows Davy's ParaHarp 34P demonstration harp. Your choice of colors, finishes, can be different.)

Build your own 34 String Paraguayan-styled folk harp from these DIY kits including a sharping lever Neck option for the 34 String "PS" Harp.

Includes pre-cut wood components with instructions, hardware & strings

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Option A: Basic pre-cut shapes with punched or marked locations for holes, etc., with standard soundboard.

This very basic option will require you to piece together most components including drilling major, pre-marked components & put together the basic Luan-brand soundboard system from separate components. Will require you to also perform finish round over, non-routed edges, as you see fit or where required. 

Option B: Basic pre-cuts shapes except all components are pre-drilled & finish edge corner-rounded, & the soundboard system is pre-built for you, etc., with standard soundboard.

In this option, all components are also finish edge-routed (rounded over) with completely drilled holes. You will still be required to piece together all components. However, this Option includes a pre-built Luan-brand soundboard system.

(This Option B will add about one week to custom-process the components before shipment after purchase.)

Soundboard Deluxe Up-Grade Option: Include Paulownia wood for Soundboard System

Add premium Paulownia wood for your Soundboard. Will come in 7 to 8 sections with separate string ribs for you to put together & cut to shape, unless you use the Add-On Option below which provides a pre-built, deluxe Paulownia Soundboard System.

(This Up-grade Option will add about an extra 48 hours before shipment after purchase.)

Add-on Option: Add Premium Deluxe PRE-BUILT Soundboard

In this option, we upgrade the Soundboard System wood to Paulownia & pre-build the Soundboard to our specifications. You will be required to slightly fine sand it to fit, if necessary. This option is added to any of the previous options chosen.

(This Add-on Option will add about an extra week added to any other option before shipment after purchase.) 

How to Purchase:

Choose either Harp Kit Option A or B. Then, optionally, before entering your Shopping Cart, add either the Up-Grade Option or the Add-On Option to your Shopping Cart before leaving this product page to check out. All Options chosen will show up in the final Shopping Cart at time of purchase.

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What You Get & Tools Needed

These are complete harp kits, and are based upon John Kovac's classic, world famous 36 String Paraguayan-styled Folk Harp as found in his book, "Harpmaking Made Simple" including certain aspects found on his specialty harp, the Harpune.

Each of 3 harp kit options come with complete instructions, all wood components, strings, dedicated hardware & more. You'll need to supply your own hand tools, small wood saw, many clamps, glues, sand paper, surface finishes, protective top coatings, etc., to finish your own harp. Additionally, depending on the kit ordered, a minimum of a jig saw, orbital power sander &/or router, and a small drill press (at least a powered drill/driver) are needed.

(Your use of approved ear, eye, hand & breathing protection is always highly recommended!)

It is estimated an inexperienced beginner can build this kit in about 7 to 10 days. (Surface finishes, stringing & tuning can add additional time.)

Woods Supplied

1. Most wood superstructure components are premium, multi-ply, cabinet wood, very lightweight & strong. 

2. Optional & some basic components will consist of Paulownia & Maple. 

3. Standard Soundboard wood is Luan-brand multiply wood. 

4. Deluxe Paulownia Soundboard materials are offered as an Up-Grade or Add-on Option.

The Assembly Process

1. All Wood components are Pre-Cut for you.

2. Complicated Wood Components are exactly Pre-Shaped (Sides, Neck, & some Soundboard options). All other components are coarsely cut very close to approximate size, ready to fine-shape to fit by you.

3. Depending on the kit purchased, components are either pre-punched or pre-drilled where necessary, and at all critical & complicated locations.

4. You sand, glue, & screw together all components.

5. You finish sand all components (except for any pre-veneered pieces), and you might shape some to your individual liking (such as Soundboard Retainer Strips, etc.).

6. You get to surface finish all non-veneered components as you choose (paint, stain, lacquer, etc.). (Most wood components can be sanded & finished before assembly.) Pre-stains &/or paint primers are absolutely required before final surface finishes are applied.

You are free to dress up, surface shape & decorate your harp however you see fit as long as its basic infrastructure, or necessary veneered surfaces don't change.

Standard Soundboard

The standard soundboard offered is Luan-brand multi-ply wood. It is a very thin but strong composite wood that has excellent tone wood qualities but is relatively inexpensive. It has a more mellow, though still rich sounding tone. It is offered in the basic kits as a starting point of economy. A deluxe, superior Soundboard System is also offered in either an Add-on Option, or an Up-grade Option.

Deluxe Paulownia Wood Soundboard

The Most Important Component of your Harp!

Additionally, we optionally provide & very highly recommend our quarter-sawn, tight-grained Paulownia wood components, including Maple string & support ribs for the Soundboard system. Paulownia is an abundant & sustainable, superior lightweight, but very strong, and flexible wood that is also a most excellent tone wood (rivalling Spruce or maybe even outperforming it). Using this deluxe-premium Soundboard will provide the very best sound everyone wants from their harps.

Depending on the kit purchased, we use hot animal hide glue to assemble our Custom Soundboards ensuring the best possible sound reproduction from them. (We don't use regular wood glues which largely restrict, dampen & insulate the sound of each wood panel in the Soundboard assembly, making for a not so pleasing sound, weak & thin.)

Animal hide glue has been used on historic, awesome sounding, world famous violins which have held up in playable condition for hundreds of years!

We also recommend you use hide glue at strategic points on your harp to give it maximum sound quality. See the instructions for where we recommend this glue be used. For other less critical areas of the harp, regular, yellow PVA wood glues may be used. 

Tuning & Time

We provide an electronic musical note tuner [eTuner] for when the time comes to tune your harp & keep it tuned throughout the years.

(We NEVER advocate using a piano to tune your harp, at least not initially until after it becomes stable, holding its tuning. Using an eTuner can be far faster, easier & more accurate.)

It will take at least a year for your harp to settle in & begin to find its best & unique voice. Though, by 30 to 90 days or so after it has begun to hold its tuning, the harp will begin to sound more mature; especially the more often it is played. Consistent, regular tuning & playing will become very important at this time. 

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Our complete Harp Kits come with the following, some components are dependent upon the kit purchased: 

STRINGS

• 2 Octaves of Dupont's Tynex Nylon over Nylon Wrapped bass strings
• About 3 Octaves of Dupont's Tynex Nylon Mono-filament treble strings.
• Range: almost 5 octaves from bass C up to treble A
  
• String Colors are Red Cs & Blue Fs (The South American Color System will NOT be provided.)

WOOD COMPONENTS

• 2 Side Panels, 2 Neck Halves with Spacers, 2 Pillar (Post) Halves, 1 Standard Soundboard System, 1 Top Plate, 1 Bottom Plate Assembly set, 1 Frontispiece, 1 Front Support Rib, 1 Rear Support Rib, 1 Back Panel, 2 Feet, various Cleats & Retainer Strips, etc., and 1 Bridge Pin Dowel Set.
  
• Depending on the additional Options purchased, 1 Deluxe-Premium, Custom Handmade & pre-assembled Paulownia wood Soundboard System, or its unassembled components.
• 1 ParaHarp Brand decorative Neck Rosette

HARDWARE

• 34 String Tuning Mechanisms, Chrome, White knobs
• 1 Dedicated Hardware Pack
• 1 Instruction PDF Document included as a digital download only. (You can see & download it here for free. Can be printed in full color.)
• August Update: the Instruction Set is being created at this time, not yet ready for download.
• 1 String Winder
• 1 Custom Tuning Wrench
• 1 Custom String Installation Hook
• 1 Tool Set (various dedicated screw bits, etc.)
• 1 Electronic Musical Note Tuner

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 Go to Harp Resources Page

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If you make a mistake on your harp, even if not caused by us, please, notify us right away and we will see how we can help you to complete your harp anyway. You never know how we might be able to help you, which is our goal; for you to be successful in your harp building & playing! We won't abandon you in your harp-building process after the purchase, either. Let's work together!