AcornHouse
Venerated Member
A post about an "amazing version" of Vincent played on a custom harp guitar got me curious so I looked it up on YouTube.
Personally I've always been intrigued by the look of harp guitars but rarely (if ever) have I been impressed with the sound. They always seem like too much gimmick and not enough musical benefit. The Guild of American Lutherie even devoted the current supplement issue to them.
Here's the specific performance that started this thread. I, again, remain unimpressed. Part of it may be the recording (and transmission medium), but the bass strings really don't contribute much and aren't really needed, to my ear.
The high strings do offer an interesting chorus, but the vast majority of the arrangement is just the regular 6 strings and can get by quite well by themselves, thank you.
What does everyone else think?
(While I have no desire to build a harp guitar, I probably wouldn't say no to a commission. But it would cost. Dearly.)
Personally I've always been intrigued by the look of harp guitars but rarely (if ever) have I been impressed with the sound. They always seem like too much gimmick and not enough musical benefit. The Guild of American Lutherie even devoted the current supplement issue to them.
Here's the specific performance that started this thread. I, again, remain unimpressed. Part of it may be the recording (and transmission medium), but the bass strings really don't contribute much and aren't really needed, to my ear.
The high strings do offer an interesting chorus, but the vast majority of the arrangement is just the regular 6 strings and can get by quite well by themselves, thank you.
What does everyone else think?
(While I have no desire to build a harp guitar, I probably wouldn't say no to a commission. But it would cost. Dearly.)
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