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Salvi Daphne 40
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Home › Forums › Harps and Accessories › Salvi Daphne 40

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 36 total)
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  • November 20, 2007 at 3:14 pm #68877
    unknown-user
    Participant

    I wondered if anyone has had experience with the Salvi Daphne 40 in a small orchestra?

    November 20, 2007 at 4:15 pm #68878
    brook-boddie
    Participant

    Rachel,

    The Daphne 40 is the smallest pedal harp made.

    November 20, 2007 at 5:37 pm #68879
    mark-andersen
    Participant

    Hi Rachel,

    One of my teaching harps is a Salvi Daphne 40 and while it is a lovely harp, especially for beginners, I do not think it could hold up to orchestra playing with regard to volume and tone. You can indeed get a little more volume from the Daphne by using a slightly smaller diameter string (usually found on lever harps with gut) but it still would require an electrical pickup and amplification to hold its own against an orchestra or band. If you absolutely MUST have a smaller size harp I’d highly recommend a Lyon and Healy 85P. It is not that much larger than the Daphne but it projects far better. I also have an 85P and when I need to take out a smaller harp for a playing job, I would always choose the 85P over the Daphne 40. The best of all would be a Lyon and Healy 85EX with the extended sound board. Of course then you’re getting into a larger size harp but still not a concert grand.

    All the best,

    Mark

    November 20, 2007 at 5:54 pm #68880
    brook-boddie
    Participant

    Rachel,

    Also, L&H currently has their 85GP model on sale through the end of the year.

    November 21, 2007 at 11:16 pm #68881
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Yes, I’d have to agree that the L&H little harps generally project better than the Daphne 40’s.

    For a school band, I’d say I’d want the 44 or 46 string models – for the range but also the volume in both brands.

    Brook was mentioning the L&H

    November 21, 2007 at 11:55 pm #68882
    unknown-user
    Participant

    I’ve used the Daphne 46 for orchestral playing and I rarely had a problem getting enough sound… but I think the tone form the Daphne I had was unusally big. For its size it is a nice harp.

    November 22, 2007 at 12:38 am #68883
    Jessica Frost
    Participant

    My first pedal harp was a Salvi Daphne 40 which I used through middle school and two years of high school.

    November 22, 2007 at 1:53 am #68884
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Thanks for your reply.

    November 22, 2007 at 11:22 pm #68885
    sherry-lenox
    Participant

    Some days ago there was a discussion about the L&H 85XP,

    November 23, 2007 at 7:37 pm #68886
    unknown-user
    Participant

    Yes, I agree with that, they all vary – especially in projection. I have had two students with little Daphnes and they were both nice sounding little harps but one was a little tight and contained. Although, it did get better with age.

    I’m sure a 46 would be more than adequate. When I used to play in school ensembles and community orchestras (more years ago than I care to admit to) it was on an old Grecian Erard! And it had no projection at all (neither did I for that matter!!). And a modern Daphne 40 is so much of a step up from that! It’s also a good size for young people still growing. So, it would not be a bad choice – but a larger one, chosen

    November 23, 2007 at 7:39 pm #68887
    unknown-user
    Participant

    …if the school could stretch their budget for a slightly bigger one of course!

    November 23, 2007 at 7:54 pm #68888
    sherry-lenox
    Participant

    A-Humph. Just one moment please. I am a wizened little old lady, shrinking from cellular deterioration, and if I hope to play a pedal harp, it would most certainly be a 40 string one. My teacher has a small harp, and I believe it may be a Salvi. To my unpracticed eye, it appears to be almost exactly the same as her Prelude.

    She plays it in a local, very, very good amateur symphony, and has no trouble being heard.

    Seriously, I wonder if the smaller Salvi is mechanically complete, or is that not possible in a 40 string harp?

    November 23, 2007 at 10:50 pm #68889
    unknown-user
    Participant

    There is nothing wrong with 40 string harps. And they would do fine for alot of types of work and amateur orchestras. But,

    November 23, 2007 at 11:58 pm #68890
    barbara-brundage
    Participant

    HI, Ro. It’s not really a question of simpler or not good–merely that these little harps are disc-challenged. The bottom 4 or 5 strings (can’t remember offhand) and the top two have no mechanism. This is the same for the daphnes and the 85 series. Last time I saw them, the all the smaller 85 series harps (below the 85-E size) have the same mechanism, so the 44 string just has 4 more disc-free strings. The 85-E has a regular semi-grand mechanism.

    To my mind, this is the biggest flaw in these smaller harps. I believe the smaller Venus harps have a full set of discs, or at least more discs than the L&H and Salvi small harps.

    November 24, 2007 at 12:04 am #68891
    barbara-brundage
    Participant

    The 85-E is now called the 85-SG, I guess. Anyway, that’s what that extra thousand bucks buys, for those wondering about the diff between the two models on sale. They’re the same physical dimensions, pretty much, but the extra money buys the F and G at the top of the harp and whole lot more discs.

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