Thomas Jessen American Style 24 String Kora Harp Start Price USD 1,199.00 Current Price USD 1,199.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Tuesday, September 02, 2008 End Time Friday, September 12, 2008 Location Minneapolis, Minnesota See more about 'Thomas Jessen American Style 24 String Kora Harp ' Description *If paying by paypal, we will only accept an echeck for this item.*This is a custom made one of a kind American Kora Harp inspired by the Kora Harps of West Africa, made in 2002 by Thomas P Jessen from Southern MN. The following text is mostly from Thomas, with a few additions by me here at Groth. The overall length is 38", and the body is 12.5" across. The 3 piece top, traditionally made of cow hide, is made of carved western Cedar. There is a small 2" long triangular shaped sliver about 1/8" wide at tailpiece area of the top that looks like it was pieced.  The back and sides, instead of a huge calabash gourd, are made of Cedar and highly figured curly Walnut. The neck is made from highly figured hard rock Maple. There is an intricately carved Maple brace glued and bolted on between the 2 rows of strings. This is to help stabilize the neck from the tremendous tension and pressure from the 24 strings...which consist of 4 sets of classical guitar strings. The tuners are 2 sets of 12-string guitar tuners. A few of the strings have dug 1/16~1/4" into the holes the strings go through to reach the tuners, so it would seem in the long run some kind of metal or bone guides would be wise. Thomas may have some input here, he's very innovative and available for improvements and maintaining his works. The handles (which I've been told look like Deer antlers...or a gun rack) are made of curly Walnut. There are 3 different ways to hold the harp...depending on how close you want your thumbs and fingers to be from the bridge. You can get 3 different tones out of it: A sharper, clearer tone when picking closer to the bridge and a more mellow, muffled tone the farther away you get from the bridge. The tall towering bridge is held in place by a wire cable attached to the tailpiece. (Otherwise it would just shoot off and slam down onto the soundboard) And the solution to the tremendous pressure exerted on the whole infra-structure (both from the top down and the pull coming up from the neck) was solved by installing 2 steel construction rods attached inside the neck and running right through the middle of the body to the tail block ...basically the entire length of the instrument.  (Which can be seen from the sound hole)  The future owner might consider having an electronic pick-up installed at some time. This will be a cool addition to that "NeoAfroRetroCelticHybrid" band you've been thinking of putting together! There's Got to be someone out there that will get this thing up on stage and bedazzle the audience with. We here at Groth have carried many of Thomas' instruments over the last dozen years and he is a fine maker of high quality instruments generally specializing in mandolins but also making a variety of acoustic instruments including harps, violins, banjos, and other less common folk instruments and some of his own invention. Check out http://www.cricketfiddle.com/See our other ebay sellers   makemusicnow  &  music_and_technology   for more great Musical Ebay Items!!! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~`Shipping WorldwideWe answer emails Tues, Wed, Fri, and Sat.       We always welcome local pickup and we do offer combined shipping discounts.Domestic shipment takes an additional 3-5 business days from time payment clears to process through our shipping department. International Shipments take an additional 6-10 business days from time payment clears to process through our shipping department. In bidding internationally, we are not responsible for any customs, duty, or other related fees and items will be claimed for sold value on any forms. All items that we sell are guaranteed to be as described with no omissions or you will receive a full refund including the shipping cost upon the return of the item(s), or some negotiated partial refund will be given, whichever the buyer prefers.We are Groth Music in Bloomington, MN, a full service music store with a huge selection in every department, with lots of unusual and hard to find items! Come visit us! Place a Bid!