Heyser “Ermina” Harp

In excellent condition, this Heyser Harp (#022) was custom built in 1993 for a harpist/composter in Winston Salem, NC. It’s a 38-string lever harp with gut and wire strings.

Heyser makes first-class harps. They construct them in a controlled environment, and use only the finest parts and materials. They only use woods that are harder and stronger than maple for the necks and bodies. This one is made from a Purple Heart Wood. (It’s beautiful!). The spline is made with a Kevlar-carbon fiber weave composite to brace the neck. This stiffens and supports the neck without detracting from the sound. In fact, by strengthening the neck in this way, better clarity is consistently experienced up and down the string band. Also the neck will last a long, long time.

The string spacing is the same as a concert harp. If you are practicing on a Heyser Harp, you will transition effortlessly to a pedal harp. The similar sound and feel make Heyser Harps a favorite for classical philharmonic and jazz players.

For each individual Harp, Heyser fabricates a brass decoupler. This helps each string to ring independently, free of wolf tones and undesirable wave collisions. They also apply acoustic micro finishes to their instruments, starting with a coat of vinyl sealer, then color match the wood and fill the grain, then seal again and apply one fine coat of conversion varnish, then work it down to less than 1 mil. The finish will not peel, bubble or inhibit the sound.