I receive many messages each year from harpists with concerns about their harp’s soundboard. This article will help you learn how the soundboard is made and what to look for in terms of what could be a real problem and what just looks scary.
There are basically two kinds of soundboards. Many lever harps are made with a plywood soundboard. This involves multiple pieces of wood that are glued together with the grain of the wood running at 90 degree angles for strength. Pedal harps and some lever harps, like the Lyon & Healy Prelude, have several boards that are glued together at the edges with the grain running horizontally. The string strip is added in the middle. A veneer is added to the top of the soundboard with the grain running vertically, then the finished soundboard is glued to the frame of the harp on each edge.
The most common cracks or separations are on or beside the string strip. Sometimes cracks start forming between the holes for the strings. This looks scary, but it’s really mostly a cosmetic problem. The string strips are big, chunky pieces of wood, so a small crack at the top is not going to put the soundboard at risk. These cracks can be filled with epoxy and wood filler to make them look better.
Separations between the soundboard veneer and the edge of the string strip are also common. These are usually a result of low humidity or problems in the manufacturing process. They do not cause a problem to the boards beneath the veneer.
Sometimes the boards of the soundboard separate where they are glued together. This can cause a jagged crack to form across the soundboard veneer, known as “season checking”. This looks awful, but as long as the crack is between the boards it’s usually not a problem for the harp.
If you look at your soundboard with daylight reflecting on it, you might notices ripples on the outer edges of the board in the veneer, usually in the lower part of the board. Most common in Lyon & Healy harps, this usually means that the glue joint on the edge of the board has failed and the soundboard is pulling up and away from the frame. This is not an emergency, but you should not let this condition go on for many years. Once the board has moved away from the frame about 1/8 of an inch, the opening can be glued with epoxy in a special glue syringe. This is not an expensive repair and can save you from having to replace the soundboard before the harp needs other structural work.
The most concerning crack is one that develops around the low 4th octave, running vertically down the soundboard. You may first notice a white line developing here, which is the lacquer or other finish material being crushed by a developing crack. This means a crack has started that goes across the grain of one or more boards, which can lead to soundboard failure. There is not much that can be done once one or more of the boards have failed, the soundboard will probably have to be replaced.
A pedal harp’s soundboard is under tremendous strain from the strings, about 2,000 pounds of pressure. You can help your soundboard withstand this load by keeping the whole harp in tune, and always leave the pedals in the flat position once you are done using it. The tuning on the wires are most critical as they exert the most pressure on the strings. Don’t let the pitch on the wires creep up, and If you have to tune the 7th octave strings up to natural or sharp, tune them back down to flat as soon as you can.
Happy Harping!
Karen Rokos
Lyon & Healy / Salvi Certified Technician
