Harp Guitars
 

Are there any Harp Guitar owners in here? They must be very rare. I never see any of them in guitar shops.

I know Muriel Anderson is an accomplished player and I like watching her videos on You Tube.

I haven't seen any harp guitars in retail production either, but I know quite a few builders who makes them. Most are quite pricey though.

I would love to own one. Maybe in a couple years.

Harp guitars were somewhat popular a century ago. The only ones I have seen were antiques on display. There are a few builders reviving them, but still pretty specialized. And pricey.

I believe there are some YouTube posts of Muriel Anderson playing one

I'd love to try one out, but don't want one badly enough to be commissioning a custom build. I'll stick to appreciating them on youtube.

Emerald Guitars in Ireland make a carbon fiber harp guitar that is pretty reasonable, certainly built to take the added pressure of all those strings.

Lark in the Morning used to have a copy of the Dyer style made in Paracho, MX for about $2k. So far as I know, the Tonedevil is the only manufactured one available at the moment. At $2450 with gig bag, it is relatively affordable. As noted, otherewise it is antiques and luthier-built.

Harp Guitars
 

The cheapest id seen was Lark In The Morning out of San Francisco at about $1500. Michael Hedges did some cool stuff with his. They look fantastic to me visually but they sound a little odd sonically to me, just my taste. Ymmv.

Emerald Guitars builds a carbon fiber harp guitar. I believe they start around $2000.

Check it out in this video featuring Martin Blanes (aka Paper Kitten on AGF).

I know I would never be able to master an instrument like this, but I sure would like to have a chance to play around on one.

Proud owner - Emerald Harp Guitar
 

I am a proud owner of the Emerald Harp guitar!

Alistair makes a great harp guitar and this is one of the more affordable ways to access this instrument. It is also a managable size as it utilizes the body of the Emerald X7 model.

The expert on harp guitar history is Gregg Miner.
Here is his website: http://www.harpguitars.net/

They have a gathering every year. If you can make it, you will learn all about harp guitars. Muriel Anderson and Stephen Bennett are regulars at the Gathering so you will get to meet them and hear some amazing musicians.

There are several inexpensive options these days. The Emerald looks nice! ToneDevil makes one that I have played, very nice, in the $2K range, if I recall. And there's the Holloway's, which seem to be pricier than they used to be, but are still relatively reasonable. The good stuff included harps by Kathy Wingert, Duane Noble, and a number of others, and can get pretty up there. I got to spend some time with one of Kathy's - I managed to record one You Tube video with it - and they're very cool, but I think I have my hands full with 6 strings.

I had the chance to play an original Dyer this past year, just after a good rehab. I have to say that it would sure take some getting used to. It had great tone and responsiveness, but was a little soft for me personally. It'd be nice to have one around long enough to figure out how best to use it....sort of like other odd-ducks like a seven-string or something.

Interestingly, Brunner makes harp guitars. With removables necks, of course.

http://www.brunner-guitars.com/?page_id=1328

Ken Bonfield
 

This page, http://kenbonfield.com/conversation/, includes a description of Ken Bonfield's, Al Carruth-built harp guitar.

I'd check out this guy's music, he's got some great stuff.

http://harpguitar.com/