Help Choosing First Harp Guitar
 

I am looking at two harp guitars currently available and may end up getting neither. The first has a 25.5 inch scale and the 6 sub bass range from 29 5/16” to 34 13/16”. The second guitar has a 24" scale and the 6 sub bass range from 26 ¾” to 31”. I am comfortable on a 25.5 inch scale and can play shorter scales without too much problem. What am I gaining or giving up by going with option 1 or option 2? What else should I consider?

Thank you in advance.

The scale length of the bass strings can be accommodated by the various gauges of strings that are available. In short, either would work. Gregg Miner at Harp Guitar Music is a great source for helping you with this.
Can you try the guitars in person?
If you are close to Connecticut go to the Harp Guitar Gathering on the second weekend in Oct. it’s hosted by Stephen Bennett in Milford CT. There will be plenty of harp guitars to try.

If things go well I may get to A/B them early October or late September. Still working out the details. What am I giving up or gaining going for a longer scale versus shorter scale? I figure these are similar to guitars enough that I can expect the smaller one to have less bottom and/or less projection with possibly brighter high notes, but I don't know if the differences will be noticeable and am guessing. Also I will be traveling, so it may come down to which one fits in the car better.

The bottom line is that I will come home with no more than one or zero harp guitars, so I will say no to at least one of them and want it to be the right choice for me.

If you are looking for one to travel with, the Emerald harp guitars are hard to beat. Just my opinion, try as many as possible and see what speaks to you.

I see from a past posting of yours that you have the X20 version. They look intriguing. Why did you choose it over the X7 harp guitar? What do you think about it compared to your other harp guitars?

The real answer is the one I bought was one of the ones they brought to The harp guitar gathering last year. I'm not a big fan of travel sized guitars and I hardly ever fly so the X7 would probably not have much appeal to me.

It compares very favorably with the wooden harp guitars that I have. They are all a little different, just like six string guitars. Carbon fiber has the advantage of being impervious to weather.

The entry level Timberline is a no brainer, less that $1k. If you like it and you want to upgrade sell it, or if you decide harp guitar is not for you, sell it.

If you already play fingerstyle you can pretty quickly make some fun sounds with the harp guitar.

Hi Randall,

Thank you for your help so far. I was wondering what the string size on the sub-bass strings of your X20. I have been going down rabbit holes after reading your comments and wondered what you have on your guitar and how easy they are to find. I read they are thick acoustic strings (about .54 to .84) on the X7 and figure they are the same here, but I am just checking to see.

It depends on the tuning that you use. I use "Bennett" tuning. My lowest note can be E or F. It is a 78. Gregg Miner is the source and authority on strings. He can tell you what you need and sell them at a very reasonable price.

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