Ancient european harps fall into two main types:
wire strung Celtic Harps (see photo above)
and gut or nylon strung Gothic harps. (below)

Somewhere around the 7th or 8th century A.D. the first triangular frame harps appeared in Ireland and Scotland. The addition of the forepillar allowed harps to be larger with more strings and, later, wire strings. Celtic harps were short, wide-bodied and strung with brass or bronze. Brass strings are plucked gently with the fingernails, producing a bright, ringing, bell-like tone.  Perhaps the finest examples of true Celtic Harps are the Brian Boru harp of Trinity College, Dublin (pictured upper right), and the Queen Mary harp of Scotland. These are the oldest harps in existence and resemble each other so much they could have been made by the same craftsman. My own experiments in harp design finally led me to consider these harps to be the result of a thousand years of trial-and-error, Pythagorian mathematics (well known to the Druids of antiquity), intuition and inspiration. I only made one change; lengthening the soundbox and eliminating the foot block to increase the volume and resonance and make the harps easier to build. I believe the results to be a total success.       Folk harps are diatonic (they play in only one key at a time), not chromatic, and wire strings are incompatible with sharping levers (I've tried it, trust me), but the clear sound and long sustain makes retuning wire strings to another key comparatively easy.  Wire Harps are played with Fingernails!     The Celtic Harpers played their Wire Strung Harps with fingernails for over a Thousand years. You have to use nails on brass wire strings to get much sound without breaking them. Compared to Orchestra style which uses finger tips on extremely tight gut/nylon strings, You use one tenth as much muscle, get a brighter cleaner sound, and even play faster when you use your nails. Since it's such a light action, you'll never break a nail playing harp no matter how fragile your nails are. Never get calluses or carpal tunnel syndrome!      Most Harp Teachers only know how to play or teach Orchestra style Harp and would be horrified by the thought of playing with fingernails. But Paraguayan and other South American Harpers have been playing with their fingernails on gut strings for over Two Centuries and can play three times faster. For books on Paraguayan Harp Technique: Alfredo Rolando Ortiz

Ancient Celtic Harp Dreamsinger Celtic Harp

		The  "TRINITY"  Modeled on the Brian Boru Harp of Trinity College Dublin (as seen on one side of all Irish Coins). This is THE Harp of Ireland. It's almost identical to the Queen Mary Harp of Scotland. I made the sound box longer to make it easier to build and improve the sound. Has a really huge sound for it's size with very round bell like tones, not the least bit tinny or twangy.  The bright sound and long sustain of the strings makes it a little unsuited for classical, but for traditional British Isles Music this is THE Harp! 30 Strings  36 inches tall, only 12 pounds. 4 octaves (F 1 1/2 octaves below Middle C up to G)  no levers.  $899.95   Cherry, $699.95   Mahogany plywood  Unfinished :  Save $250.00
		The  "BARD" similar to the Trinity but smaller and easier to carry around. Not as big a sound but just as clear and round in tone. With one octave below Middle C up to a high G it's a perfect Beginner's harp for a Folk Musician.  Small and almost as portable as the Druid.  26 Strings  30 inches tall,  about 10 pounds 3 1/2 octaves  $749.95 cherry,  $599.95 mahogany Unfinished : save 225.00
		The  "DRUID" with only 3 notes below Middle C some musicians  will find the 3 octave range a little limiting, but this is the PERFECT Harp for Singers and Story Tellers who need a simple harp for accompaniment and maximum portability.  22 Strings  only 27 inches tall,  weighs only 8 pounds 3 octaves (G to G starting just below Middle C) $599.95 cherry,  $499.95 mahogany Unfinished: save $200

Note: I usually make two harps at a time, so often I will have some in stock, but more often orders can take 2 to 6 months to complete. Email me at muis@dreamsingerharps.com  for more information.
 

Taller, thinner and nylon-strung, these were the harps of Medieval and Renaissance Europe, and the ancestors of the modern pedal harp. I have designed these harps to have orchestra spacing and higher tension than most folk harps the same size.

Nylon or gut strings need to be 50% longer than wire to play the same note. So a nylon strung Harp needs to be 50% taller. Thus a 30-string wire harp is 3 feet tall, while a 30 / 34-string  nylon-strung Gothic Harp is 4 1/2 feet tall, with the exact same notes, has a crisp treble, and a rich bass. Because of the size and curvature of the gothic design I only make them out of mahogany or birch plywoods. (almost all Orchestra Harps are made of fine Plywoods) This makes them a good thousand dollars less than comparable harps with no sacrifice of sound. (not counting the Rosewood Harps imported from Pakistan which you do not want, trust me)

Sharping levers can be added, but are a definite expense ($8.00 extra per lever for Robinson Levers, $12.00 per lever for Loveland) and only half of them are ever used by most Folk Musicians.. I recommend a set of four per octave, if you tune the harp to Eb this allows you to play up to two flats and two sharps. That probably covers 99% of all the music you want to play.

String Spacing / String Number: If you don't play or plan to play an orchestra harp I can use Folk Spacing to put MORE strings on the same size harp frame. Folk spacing is closer together with Less tension so you don't get calluses as badly and the strings are easier to reach.

		The  "MINSTREL" same soundbox as the Trinity but a taller Neck/Pillar  since the Nylon strings need to be 50% longer to play the same notes.  The MINSTREL 26 has 26 Strings with Orchestra spacing which makes the strings farther apart and the low strings are tighter. A perfect beginner's Harp for Orchestra students or a practice Harp for Harpists who play pedal harp. Starts one octave below Middle C to High G making 3 1/2 octaves. THE MINSTREL 30 has 30 strings with Folk spacing which makes the strings closer together and not as tight staring withF 1 1/2 octaves below Middle C to High G giving a full 4 octaves. 40 inches tall,  weighs only 14 pounds. $799.95   Mahogany ply (no levers) $1,159.95  (with 30 Loveland levers) $899.95 Birch Ply  (no levers) $1,259.95  (with 30 Loveland Levers)  Unfinished :  save  over $300.00
		The "TROUBADOUR" (this a great harp for Renfaire performers) 30 Strings (Orchestra spacing) 4 octaves from Low F to high G 34 strings  (Folk) 4 1/2 octaves, 2 octaves below Middle C up to a high G Exact same box and frame, but more holes, less tension on the strings, can be played with nails (Paraguayan style) 56 inches tall,  18 to 20 pounds $1,199.95 mahogany 30 $1,249.95 mahogany 34  $1,299.95 Birch add  $360 for full Levers

Mahogany plywood harp. Note blank shield ready for inscription of player's name, maker's name or name of harp. The shield is part of ALL my harps.

Materials Cherrywood for the body of the wire harps; I love the warm reddish brown color and the way it gets darker, redder and deeper with age. Cherry gives excellent volume and a bright lively tone. I sometimes use walnut when it's available; it's not as loud, but the darker sound is cleaner. It costs more and takes longer. Mahogany plywood is something I had to overcome some prejudice before I started using, but the volume, resonance, and tone are excellent, and although it is a little on the soft side, the plywood layers add incredible strength and lightness. It saves me so many man hours that it costs a lot less for the best sound you could imagine.  The soundboards are made of a 1/4" birch/spruce plywood with paper thin birch veneer on either side of a solid core of spruce, result: sounds like spruce, strong like maple. Other harp makers use 1/8: 3 ply birch, thinking the thinness will give more vibration, but I found that the bass booms too much and the sound is not balanced. It's also too thin for the stress of the wire strings. The 1/4" sound boards are just as loud but a great improvement in sound.