The guitar nobody has and everybody needs!

[SongwriterFan]

Wow!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5J9SZierl0

[Chipotle]

You know there's a whole subforum devoted to harp guitars (which is what that is), even though it doesn't get a lot of traffic. These sorts of guitars have actually been around for hundreds of years. (And shout out to the carbon fiber forum, since it's an Emerald!) A harp guitar would be super cool to have, although I don't think I could dedicate the time to learning how to actually take advantage of it.

Here's a Gibson "Style U" guitar from 1911. It just has the bass strings, as is common. The Emerald also has a treble course.

[jaymarsch]

Stephen Bennett is a remarkable harp guitar player. You might want to check out some YouTube videos. He plays a beautiful harp guitar made by Kathy Wingert.
I have played a number of harp guitars and the most challenging part is controlling the sub basses. Muting them when needed. Very humbling experience. :-)
Best,
Jayne

[Sage Runner]

The few that can really make them sing get my applause. But for the Majority They would just be a Wall hanger because 99.9 % of us would not be able to keep one tuned. Years ago I did have the opportunity to purchase a turn of the Century Knuteson Harp Guitar. It was in pretty clean shape for a instrument that sat in a closet for 45 years. Needed a little work. Looking back I should have bought it but I new it would just be a Wall hanger.

[ScottSD]

Amazing talent. Amazing Guitar. Steep Learning curve. Agonizing string changes. I think Ima stay with my six strings...

Scott

[EZYPIKINS]

Yeah, maybe, no. Not for me.

Have hard enough time with 6 strings.

[raysachs]

It’s all very impressive, but I find six strings more than challenging enough for me. So, no, I don’t think “everybody” needs one of those, at least not if I rank as a member of that august body known as “everybody”…

-Ray

[Benjo]

I'm tempted to start a joke thread with the title "the guitar everybody has but nobody needs"

[jazzereh]

I'm thinking that the OP must be joking. With over 25000 posts and he's not seen these before or thinks no one has one?

OTOH, there's no way I would ever try to play a harp guitar. Six strings is hard enough for me.

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by jazzereh

I'm thinking that the OP must be joking. With over 25,000 posts and he's not seen these before or thinks no one has one?...

Um, I've been playing for 60 years, never seen a carbon-fiber triple harp guitar either, and don't know anyone who has one...

[SpruceTop]

Emerald makes them and given the almost unlimited contouring ability of carbon fiber, the company can do all sorts of custom work if a player is willing to pay the price.

[Teleplucker]

Well since I am the guy in the video I will weigh in. First thanks for watching/listening. I had been playing guitar for about 40 years when I had my first exposure to HG. I took a class from Stephen Bennett at The Swannanoa gathering called "Fingerpicking the Beatles". I did not know who SB was but I knew I liked the Beatles, so it seemed like a good idea. As it turned out it was a fun class, sometime midweek SB brough his HG and played a tune on it. I had seen pictures of HGs but I had never heard one. Stephen is a virtuoso musician so of course it sounded great when he played it. As he explained a little about it I began to think of the possibilities. I came home from that guitar camp determined to find out more. I soon was very deep in the harp guitar rabbit hole.

In the following 12 years I have gone through several harp guitars that ranged from terrible to good to great. After you play the instrument for awhile and you start getting used to the way it looks you start thinking of it as what it really is. It's just a guitar with an extended sonic range.

For me I eventually found that the extended treble range was not really what spoke to me. The Emerald in that particular video was eventually sold to buy something else. I do recommend HG to anyone looking for something new. If you already play fingerstyle, it's simply a matter of teaching your thumb where the bass notes are. Eventually you build up the muscle memory to hopefully hit the right bass note. The wrong bass note can really sound bad .

Here's an original tune that I think really benefits from the extended range offered by the harp guitar. The guitar neck is tuned in DADGAD and the bass strings are (G D C B A G E) highest bass note to lowest bass note. There is no hard and fast rule for the tunning of the bass strings, that particular tunning is "Bennett tuning" with an extra low note because my HG has 7 bass strings.

I'll be happy to answer any questions from anyone interested in coming over to the world of the "full range" guitar, and I highly suggest you check out videos from Stephen Bennett, Andy Walberg and others.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Benjo

I'm tempted to start a joke thread with the title "the guitar everybody has but nobody needs"

Do it! LOL

I'd seen harp guitars before, but only with the extra bass strings, not with the "super trebles". I'm not sure what the super trebles cost you . . . I didn't see that on their website anywhere.

[SongwriterFan]

Originally Posted by Teleplucker

Well since I am the guy in the video I will weigh in. First thanks for watching/listening.

You're welcome, but I should be thanking YOU . . that was a great rendition of that song.

For me I eventually found that the extended treble range was not really what spoke to me.

Interesting. I thought it added a lot (at least to that song). And I'd never seen the extended treble range on a harp guitar before.

Just for size considerations, though, I might have to go with the ukulele version of this concept (complete with the extended trebles):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ea_g6Aa4JUQ

[fitness1]

And then there is Muriel....