>1) Some dust has built up on the discs and disc arms - has anyone ever
> needed to clean them and what is the best way? I was thinking of
> taking a light dry paintbrush to them. Should I bother? Should I
> at all? There also appears to be some sticky grime on the discs as
> well, but it won't bother me unless it's somehow bad for the harp.
Harp technicians do recommend that you dust off that grime, because if
enough of it gums up in there over time it can be bad for your action.
(I will admit to owning a 1929 style 15 that I rarely dust and it's
working fine.) A paintbrush or tooth brush will work. Another neat
gadget I just discovered is a little hand-held mini-vac (available at
radio shack or compUSA which has a brush that also sucks up dust. It's
designed for computer keyboards, but should work great on an action.
The only thing you should not do is try to use any kind of brass
cleaner on the action--if you do the whole thing will turn green and
look very bad (my style 15 succomed to that fate before I bought it.)
>2) The action was already a bit dirty and grimy when I got the harp.
> It's probably a bit harder for the dust to get up inside the
> action, but should I consider getting the whole action cleaned?
You should definately check with a technician on that one, buy my guess
is not to bother unless the harp is somehow not functioning properly,
or you're dying for it to look shiny and new.
>3) Does anyone have any opinions on dust covers? My thought was just
> to call Lyon & Healy and buy their semi-grand cover - it seems like
> there could be some cheaper options, though. Does anyone know of
> any?
>
We've been meaning to do a cover review in the Harp Column for ages--we
may yet do one soon. My biggest pet-peeve with covers is that if they
aren't reinforced in the neck area, the mechanism and wire string ends
will chew the fabric up over time. Also, as the inside gets chewed up,
some covers may actually ADD lint to your action!
>4) It's time to buy a harp cart. Does anyone have a good sturdy
> old cart they could tell me where they got it from?
The old McKay carts used to be the simple two-wheel standard. They
aren't making them any more, but L&H does make a clone. It was one of
two winners of the harp cart review The Harp Column conducted in 1994.
(the other was the Harp Specialties Harp Transport System) I have one I
really like that I've been using for about two years and the tread is
still fine.
Good luck!
KIM
Kimberly Rowe
The Harp Column and VocalEase