Frequently Ask Questions

If you need any help, please contact us

First thing first - do not panic! We know that when you view the string section in our shop things can be a little overwhelming especially if you are purchasing a string for the first time.

These are the questions we ask to find out what strings you need.

Do you have a lever or pedal harp?
Do you know the make / or and model of your harp?
How many strings does your harp have?
Can you tell what material the string is made from? Nylon, Gut or something else?

Each string on your harp is a different thickness so it is important to make sure you have the correct string to maintain an even tension on the harp,

When counting the strings on the harp we always start from the short strings at the top the harp near the knee block or closest to your right ear. It is important to remember that not all levers harps will have a complete 1st Octave. Some start from a ‘C’ (only 5 strings in the octave) and others from a ‘A’ (only 3 strings in the octave) And the octaves run from ‘E’ to ‘F’ and not ‘C’ to ‘C’ like on the piano. Within the string section of our shop you can find our string charts; one for Lever and the other for Pedal Harp. Both charts have been designed to help you work out the octaves on your harp and the packet numbers of the strings. You can print these off and stand facing your harp - looking straight on at the levers or disk and match the harp to the chart.

If you would like a bookmark string chart please add a note to your message or online order and we will pop one in the post.

Please do not forget that you can always email us a picture of your harp and we will match the strings for you.

Any help you need we are only a telephone call or email away.

Looking for a specific piece of music you can't find on our website? Contact us via our ‘Get in Touch’ page and we will do our best to find the score for you. Our stock of music change on a regular basis and sometimes things don't always make it to our online shop right away. So, if you are looking for something, just let us know.

You can order via our secure website - Click Here to Visit our Online Shop

Call the office: 01633 675588

Send an email: [email protected]

You can pay for your order online with a Debit or Credit card. All online payments are securely processed by WorldPay merchant services.
Customers who wish to pay by bank transfer or send a cheque can select the manual payment option at checkout. You will then be contacted to ask your preferred method of payment - card over the phone, payment link, BACS, cheque or payment on collection.
Due to the advantage of our good nature when trusting customers out of kindness we are unable to dispatch goods on account to personal individuals. Payment must be received in full before goods are dispatched.
For goods purchased by Schools, Universities and Orchestras we request that a purchase order number is forwarded via email together with the name of the tutor.

Sometimes it can be difficult for us to update our stock levels on our online store, especially if you are away on exhibition or if someone has purchased the same product just before you. Any item which is out of stock will be placed on automatic backorder and shipped as soon as possible on arrival. We work closely with many publishing companies and with this relationship locally sourced publications will be dispatched within 1-2 working days. Publishers from further afield within the UK approximately 5-10 working days. Publications from American publishing houses can take up to 15 days to arrive. If we feel that there would be an extended delay in dispatching your order, we will contact you.

In some cases, items may be subject to a price increase which is beyond our control. If this is the case, you will be contacted before your order is dispatched.

The online shop is open 24 hours a day and we continue to process and dispatch orders from wherever we are. Once we find a post office or post box, we are good to go! If we are away from the office the telephone calls are on divert. If we do not answer we kindly ask you to leave a message and we will get back to you as soon as it is safe to do so. To respect your privacy, we only return callers who have left messages and not just hung up. If we miss your call, we are either driving or offloading and setting up or in the middle of a busy time.

Your order will be shipped with Royal Mail.

At the checkout you will be asked to select your country of residence from a drop-down list, this will then list the shipping service available to you. All items are shipped securely via Click & Drop in a grey sack which is security tied before being taken to the local Post Office. First Class are sent via Click & Drop 24 and Second Class via Click & Drop 48. For security reasons we only offer Tracked and Signed service for European and International orders. This is so that we can track your package.

Our postage rates are based on Royal Mail's Pricing in Proportion rules and regulations -Letter, Large Letter, Small Parcel and Medium Parcel. A small administration charge is added to cover the cost of the packaging, the maintenance and security of the website and our online merchant maintinance.

How long will my order take to arrive?

Orders are processed during office hours - 10.00am - 5.00pm Monday to Friday. Orders received after these times will be processed and dispatched the next working day. Please note that we are currently closed during the weekend, all orders placed during this time will be processed and dispatched the next working day.

Once payment has been successfully received in full, your order will be dispatched via your chosen shipping method. Please note that the delivery times are estimated by Royal Mail, therefore we accept no responsibility for any delay which may be caused.

Please note that during a Pandemic situation such as Covid-19 of 2020 Royal Mail continue to offer a service but on reduced staff. First Class items are taking 1-4 working days to arrive and Second Class from a large letter size is taken up to 10 working days. Please note that this is beyond our control.

When placing your order, you will see a special instructions box. Please use this if you wish a special message to be placed on your package. The message could say something like ‘If out, please leave in the garden shed’ or ‘Please leave next door.’

If nobody is at home, Royal Mail will usually post a card through your letterbox saying that your package has been returned to the sorting office and is waiting your collection. They sometimes offer to redeliver your package; this may be subject to an additional cost by Royal Mail. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage to your order.

We aim to process and dispatch your order as soon as possible but sometimes a link in the chain can disrupt things. Royal Mail state that you should allow up to 90days before registering a complaint. If your order has not arrived within 14 to 20 days, please let us know and we try to help.

Before contacting us please check the following:

If someone else within your household has accepted the delivery
That Royal Mail have not left it in a silly place - like a Recycle Bin - behind or inside!
Has the package been left with a neighbour?
Check with your local post office / sorting office
Does your dog look guilty!

If you have not recieved an email with your online order confirmation please check your junk folder or spam folder. Please allow up to 30 minutes for the emails to arrive. If they don't arrive within this time please contact us to check that we have recieved your order.

Harp Servicing & Maintenance

Just complete our service request form or call the office and a member of staff will be happy to help. We have numerous craftsmen on our database so will be happy to point you in the right direction. Our technician is a registered member of the Salvi, Lyon & Healy Guild of Technicians. He visits us throughout the year for harp servicing and technical workshops.

Yes, our technician is a fully trained member of the Guild of Technicians for Salvi, Lyon & Healy Harps. He is based in the UK and visits us four times a year. If you would like your harp serviced please complete our online service request form or contact us via email or phone.

We also have visits from our Teifi Harps Technician once a year. Depending on your harp make and model we can also put you in touch with other technicians around the country.

Below is a statment issued by Salvi Harps in Italy

PREVENTION TIPS COVID-19

Over the past few weeks, due to the health emergency for COVID-19, we have received many questions from harpists and harp teachers on the most useful methods for sanitizing a Salvi harp. The transmission of COVID-19 is mainly due to direct contact with an infected person or through droplets emitted by coughing or sneezing. However, it cannot be entirely ruled out that contagion may also occur through contact with an object on which the virus has settled. The cleansing and sanitizing of the harp are therefore recommended especially in the event that a given instrument is shared with other harpists – as in the case of a harp class – or entered into contact with other people, other than those who normally play that instrument, and those people could be carriers of the virus.

THE GOLDEN RULE

As specialist studies have shown and the World Health Organization confirms and recommends, the main rule of prevention of contagion from any type of virus is hand hygiene. Before and after coming into contact with the harp, hands must be washed thoroughly with soap and water, scrubbing scrupulously for at least 40 seconds, or sanitized with a common disinfectant gel with a minimum alcohol base of 60%.
Also avoid touching your mouth, eyes and nose before and after playing the harp.

THE BODY OF THE HARP

Most of the products that sanitize from COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases could damage the finish of a Salvi harp. We therefore advise against the use of alcohol, bleach, ammonia, or other sanitizing products.
We recommend carrying out a normal cleaning of the instrument, using a soft cotton or microfiber cloth, dry or slightly moistened with soapy water. If you use a damp cloth, quickly dry the instrument after cleaning. The cleaning thus performed can remove a virus in whole or in part from the surface of the harp but does not kill it. We therefore recommend that you do not use the same cloth for cleaning other objects as it may carry the virus on them. Discard the used cloth immediately after cleansing the harp or sanitize it immediately after immersion in denatured alcohol at 90 °. For the cleaning of the harp, however, we refer to what is specified in the USER AND MAINTENANCE GUIDE.

THE STRINGS

SALVI HARPS MOUNT BOW BRAND STRINGS

We consulted Bow Brand International Ltd regarding string sanitation methods to prevent CO-VID-19 infection and other viral respiratory diseases. At this proposition Bow Brand stated:

“It seems that hand sanitizer has no harmful impact on our strings. The disinfectant gel we tested contains 68% alcohol. Even with copious amounts of gel, the strings did not react. In addition, with a gel-impregnated cloth, the strings dried very quickly due to the alcoholic strength.”

For this reason, whenever you deem it necessary, clean the strings with a gel hand sanitizer found commonly on the market. We always recommend doing this if the harp has been played previously by someone else. Use a soft or microfiber cloth to apply the gel. It is not necessary to rub repeatedly or vigorously: the mere contact with the gel kills viruses and bacteria and a too energetic or prolonged friction could however affect the finish of the gut strings.

QUARANTINE

The survival time of the virus on surfaces is subject to discussion and uncertainty, but according to the World Health Organization website, studies suggest that it can range from 4 to 72 hours depending on the surfaces. As an additional precautionary measure, if possible, you can consider “quarantining” the harp for 72 hours from the moment your instrument may have had contact with the virus.

FOR HARP TEACHERS

The problem is more complex in music schools where the influx of students and the frequent sharing of musical instruments between students and teachers increases the risk of virus transmission. It should also be emphasized that the potential transmission vehicle is not only the harp itself, but the accessories that surround it: trolleys for transporting the harp, transport covers, dust covers, tuning keys, stools, lecterns and sheet music. As much as possible, it is necessary to avoid that multiple people come into contact with the same objects (for example do not share the same key to tune, recommend each student bring their own from home) and take care to sanitize – or quarantine for as long as possible – not only the harp but also all accessories if there is a risk that they may have been infected. Naturally, compliance with the anti-infection protocols adopted by the various schools and the now well-known general prevention rules also apply. We certainly recommend respecting the minimum distances between students and teachers – not less than one meter and possibly more – wearing and having a mask worn during lessons, washing your hands thoroughly for at least 40 seconds or sanitizing them with a disinfectant gel before and after playing.

For other general information regarding prevention from COVID-19, we recommend consulting the information provided by qualified institutional bodies such as the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organization.