I like straight. Not a question of appropriateness, though.

Hi – I agree with Catherine – go ahead and get something that you can plan on keeping –

John

Catherine is right, the difference isnt about bass and doesn’t require a different playing technique. It is a matter volume and projection.

I have to say, if you want to get the Athena or some other concert grand in a fewf years anyway you may as well get it now. If she can’t reach the low strings now it doesnt matter, she will grow into it.

But there is absolutely no benefit getting the Clio now once to switch to the Athena or other CG in a couple years. You will only end up spending more money in the long run with no practical benefit. She can just ignore the strings she can’t reach until she can.

I agree with bypassing the Clio. I have a pupil who moved up to pedals from levers in the spring. She tried and fell in love with a fabulous used Camac Athena but she couldn’t reach the low strings and had to have a 1 inch board under her feet so she could sit properly with her feet firmly on the ground. It didn’t affect pedalling. It was a bargain and I advised her parents to buy it. 6 months later and she can already reach everything and the foot board is gone. She is 11 and growing really fast. Don’t know how old your daughter is. On another note Sioned Williams who is principal harp with the BBC symphony Orchestra is tiny. She plays a Horngacher which is a very wide harp. She can’t reach very low with her R. hand and has been known to bring it round to the left side so both hands are on the same side of the harp! She knows a smaller harp would be easier but she just LOVES her horngachers!! Where there’s a will there’s a way.

I don’t know where you are geographically but as she is very small have you considered a pilgrim progress if it is available near you? They have a very good even tone and are the perfect size for little children learning pedal harp.
http://www.pilgrimharps.co.uk/progress.htm
The other thing to consider would be upgrading to a better lever harp which has an even tone that you are happier with. That might be easier to trade in when she is big enough to have a wider choice when making the decision on which pedal harp to go for. There is a smaller Salvi Daphne avaiable with 40 strings. http://www.harpconnection.com/storepages/Daphne-40.html
Also the Aoyama etude 42 is small and Aoyamas tend to be light.
http://www.morleyharps.co.uk/acatalog/Etude_42.html
All are worth comparing with the Clio. As others have said the extended versus straight soundboard wouldn’t affect her studies – just the way the harp projects. Hope you manage to find what you and your daughter are looking for. Best of luck to you both.