I thought these were very cool…from new builder Johan Van Neck of Belgium, who “has no web site and builds just for the passion.” He adds “I prefer to build custom, and I build both archtop and flattop steel-string guitars. I’m always willing to share details and experiences with luthier colleagues; I feel this as a duty.”
Johan’s first-ever harp guitar has a full 11 subs, tuned chromatically from Eb down to F. It has a carved spruce top, with maple back and walnut sides.
The second – just completed – was commissioned by a left-handed player with very specific (and interesting!) ideas. It has a spruce top with maple back and sides.
This beast has 26 strings spread across 3 necks: guitar, high-strung mandolin, and harp arm with 3 banks of subs, each tuned in fourths.
Here’s the top under construction:
And the back and sides:
The mandolin neck has some crazy fingerboard/fret business for the high string, which is tuned to B (a full fifth higher than normal). The mando is tuned A(octaves), D (octaves), G and B.
The subs are arrayed thusly: lowest bank, low-high: DGCF. Next bank: A#D#G#C#; and by the neck F#BEA. So a whole chromatic scale is covered (just good luck finding them!).
I hope we get to meet and/or hear the owner of this unique creation one day!
You, too, Johann!
The Lefty Harp Guitar (w/ the Soprano Mandolin Neck) does sound cool & I would love to hear how it sounds.
The Soprano Mandolin Neck on the Lefty Harp Guitar has a nice ring to it
So this Mandolin neck on the Lefty Harp Guitar is a Soprano Mandolin Neck & it’s a Fifth higher than a Normal Mandolin so it’s D, A, E, B.
A Mandolin w/ a High B which was achieved by having a shorter scale length. I think to get a High B5 string (a wound version) on a Normal 13 in scale Mandolin, they would have to make a special string that uses a reinforced core & wrap wire design.
What a craftsman! Makes me dizzy trying to take it all in.
Michael