Music & Techniques by Chris Vaisvil

DIY Electric Aeolian Harp – Measurements and Rain Drops

—

by

admin
in , , , , , , , , ,

IMG_1300

all of the electric aeolian harp MP3s in one zip
– right-click and “save as”
all of the electric aeolian harp PICTURES in one zip
– right-click and “save as”

About the DIY Electric Aeolian Harp – the vitals
1. Presently it is two 4’x4″x1″ pine boards screwed together
2. Scale length is 27″, or about that of a baritone guitar
3. Pickups are cheap humbuckers ($13 a pair) from Amazon
4. They are now floating on springs to allow height adjustment and are about 1/16″ from the strings.
5. They are placed ~11 1/2″ and ~14 3/4″ from the “nut”
6. The bridge now is an piece of 1″ aluminum corner stock
7. The nut is 7/16″ Brazil wood
8. The strings are G, D bass guitar & E, A, D, G electric guitar
9. The zither pins from Experimental Musical Instruments are now in a piece of hardwood (see close up pic)

http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/STE-015nrm-cmp-rain.mp3
Rain as heard by the DIY electric aeolian harp – takes a minute to really get going.
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-001-3-16-2014-2-28pm-bright-chord.mp3
2:28 pm Bright Chord
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-001-3-16-2014-7-16pm-stacked_fifths_chord_.mp3
7:16 pm Stacked Fifths
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-002-3-16-2014-9-47pm-motor-drone.mp3
9:47 pm Motor Drone
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-082-3-16-2014-12-37am-midnight-drone.mp3
12:37 Midnight Drone
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-332-3-16-2014-5-08am-five-am-drone.mp3
5:08 am Drone
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-021-3-15-2014-3-41pm-afternoon-single-note-drone.mp3
3:41 pm Afternoon Single Note Drone
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-038-3-15-2014-10-20pm-drone.mp3
10:20 pm Drone
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-050-3-15-2014-4-25pm-afternoon-single-note-drone2.mp3
4:25 pm Afternoon Drone Two
http://micro.soonlabel.com/harmonic_series/aeolian_harp/individual-3-2014/STE-003-3-16-2014-3-55pm-dark-chord.mp3
3:55 pm Dark Chord

Comments

5 responses to “DIY Electric Aeolian Harp – Measurements and Rain Drops”

  1. admin

    Hi Tim,

    The way the aeolian harp is sounded – by the passage of a fluid – naturally avoids the fundamental. From wikipedia “Besides being the only strung instrument played solely by the wind, the Aeolian harp is the only stringed instrument that plays solely harmonic frequencies.” How wind makes a string vibrate

    One question that I do not know is what part using wound strings plays into this. I have read that engineers use surface modifications of tubes / strings to decouple them from drag as I recall.

    I hope that answers your question a bit,

    Chris

  2. Tim Manning

    Hi Chris,

    I make Aeolian harps but tuned in the old style ie all the same note.
    I dont seem to get fundamental notes. Do you get them because of the amount of amplification?

    Tim

  3. Hank Tilbury

    Thanks, Chris, for your quick and informative response. I had somehow missed the earlier post.

    That’s quite ingenious, to have it all battery-powered and automated. And I never would have thought of using a phono preamp. Looks like this would be easy for me to do, especially since I already have a Zoom recorder myself.

    Regards, HT

  4. admin

    Hi Hank,

    Thank you for the kind words. I use an all battery recording rig. A picture of it is at the bottom of this blog post https://www.chrisvaisvil.com/3rd-bridge-diy-electric-aeolian-harp/

    Everything is available for purchase on Amazon – With the Pyle phono preamp I use the line in on the Zoom H2 – the zoom has an auto record function so I have it trip recording at ~36 db and shut down at the same level. Doing this conserves batteries and I can easily get overnight coverage on auto record. The Pyle hum eliminator is a must also. And I’ve moved to rechargeable batteries which has paid for itself.

  5. Hank Tilbury

    Hi, Chris–Thanks for the information, the photos and the beautiful recordings of this instrument. I’ve done a bit of Aeolian harp-ing with an electric guitar, but I’ve been wanting to build an instrument optimized for the purpose. What you’ve done is very inspiring.

    I have one question: what is the signal path from the pickups to your recording device? The recordings are remarkably clear and free of noise and ground hum. I’m curious about what you’re using for preamps, audio board, recorder and whatever else may be in the path.

    There is no hurry–any information at all is greatly appreciated.

    Sincerely, Hank Tilbury

Leave a Reply