At Dorman Musical Instruments each harp is built by John Dorman himself, paying particular care to the special details specified by his customers. Since these instruments are hand-built, a limited number are produced a year.
Intermediate and Student harps are built with square-backed, solid wood soundboxes. They are offered in Cherry, Maple and Walnut, and have sound quality exceeding expectation for harps in this price range. The Intermediate Line sound boards are constructed of solid Sitka Spruce with a protective Maple veneer. Soundboards for the Student harps are of Laminated Honduras Mahogany with Maple veneer .
Dorman Professional harps are usually Staved -backed, although there is still an occasional request for the round backed version.
The staved backs are five-sided with generous rounding of the corners, providing playing comfort as well as elegant aesthetic appeal. Only the highest quality tone woods are used in their manufacture.
Round backed models are laminated over a curved mold. ( Various options are offered for the outer veneer e.g. Mahogany, Walnut, Padauk or Cherry). By using a vacuum-forming process, a consistently high quality harp soundbox shell is produced.

The Professional Series soundboards are manufactured from solid Sitka Spruce with a thin, protective Maple veneer (particularly suited to the harsh N.American climate). Meticulous attention is given to each soundboard, and to its prescribed graduation of thickness, that results in the balanced, rich sound with bright, clear tones that distinguish Dorman harps.
Dorman harps can be heard on a number of recordings including the following CDs: "Cowboy Celtic" - David Wilkie and the McDades; "The Devil's Mill" - Kerri Lynn; "Celtic Aires" - Mary Anderson-Buchanan; "Harpe Danse" - Terry McDade; "Beyond theWell" - Scona Brae, amongst others. Dorman harps can frequently be seen and heard at performances across the American continent.