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Cherry or Walnut
I’m looking at getting a larger harp. I have an idea of what I want but am stuck on the type of wood to get. I’m trying to decide between cherry and walnut.
Any thoughts?
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6 Replies
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Dusty Strings has a web page that talks about the sound quality of different woods; in my experience their descriptions is very accurate! https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/blog/when-does-wood-choice-harps-matter It does come down to personal preference at the end of the day. When I was harp shopping, I knew I wouldn’t be able to try one out because there isn’t really harp show rooms where I live. I first narrowed my decisions to brands that I can reasonably obtain in my area, and then from where I check out the sound samples of different models on YouTube to help me finalize my decision. The sound sample really is just a sample, and it’s difficult to say how good the recordings were made. I looked around for multiple of sound samples for the same harp in order to get a good enough idea of the sound.
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Great information! There’s nowhere for me to try out harps in my area so I’ll be relying on sound samples as well. I’ll check out the website about the wood!
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I know this is an old post, but just in case you’re still trying to decide… when my former teacher suggested I needed to step up from my first harp (which I did like a lot, it was a DS Ravenna 26), I tried at least a dozen 34-string instruments. In my experience, Walnut tended to have what I’d describe as a rich, darker sound. I chose cherry in the end, because I loved the bell-like quality of the tone and the fact that it’s one of the lighter woods weight-wise. I’m thrilled with the one I picked (a custom Pilgrim Skylark). The wood has darkened in colour over the few years I’ve had it, and it looks as beautiful as it sounds.
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Thanks! I did decide on cherry as I really love that wood!
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Ah! Good to know!
Only problem is I don’t live anywhere near the harp shop I want to get a harp from.
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I love the reference to the tree and branch. I think sometimes it is easy to think of the wood of the instruments as just that and forget the magic of the tree they came from. Trees are amazing! When you walk in an old growth forest–
So thanks for the reminder.
I have to say, when i bought my larger harp, it had the look of bubinga but after reading about the sound quality, i figured it was aged walnut. I emailed Triplett with its number and they let me know it was a walnut wood.
Having played a few different manufactures since buying my Tripplet, I agree that the make and style of the harp is a bigger factor. I think wood origin can be a “fine-tuner” once you’ve found the general sound you like though. I like the idea of the harp showing its parentage rather that being stained to look like a different tree. One may also just have an affinity for a tree and feel more bonded to an instrument made of that wood when it rests against them.
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