I have a Camac concert grand with a transport cover. It is just two-piece because the covers made for them have a column guard built into the transport cover. However, do you have to remove the column cover everytime? Why not just leave it on. Then you would have one less piece of equipment to move…..I don’t know if that’s feasible, but it seems it would work.

If you are planning on continuing on harp you must learn how to move it by yourself eventually. There are tiny little women who are able to do this. I know of 2 in particular who do this. (I am almost 6′ tall, but I keep myself in shape so that I can maneuver the instrument….it isn’t easy, is it?) Here’s the thing….your harp shouldn’t be twisting on the dolly. Are you strapping it on securely? Are you moving it without tipping the dolly from side to side? When I go up stairs, I simply get the dolly in my hand and gently roll up a step at a time….going down you have to take a lot of the weight as you ease it down a step. But it should never move on the dolly if you have it secured. I also ALWAYS have one hand on the neck of the harp just to make sure the harp isn’t going anywhere. I know a lady who never straps hers on the dolly, has been moving harps for 30 years and has never had an accident, but she knows how to move the dolly.

As for getting the dolly under the harp, I move the dolly as close to the back of the base as I can get it, lean the harp forward with my left hand and slide the platform of the dolly under the base. I can’t understand why you would need two people to do that. Is the base so long on that extended base dolly that you can’t somehow position yourself to move it while leaning the harp forward? If so, I would consider a different dolly perhaps.

You absolutely must be able to transport your harp alone. It’s your gig….it’s your responsibility. Sure there will be times when there are full flights of stairs where it might be nice to have someone pick up one end of the harp while you take the other, but some people even manage to dolly up flights of stairs regularly.

Briggsie

Yes, you have to be careful. I do wrap up the base once it’s in the car, but I regard the occasional scratch as preferable to the likelihood (high, in my case) of the harp skidding of the dolly altogether.

Ultimately, you can have a working harp or a pristine harp, no matter how careful you are. If you gig on it, it will pick up the occasional ding or scratch. That’s just life.

Many base covers do seem to be a design which could be improved upon- non slip materials for instance- the design I like best of the ones I have seen has a tighter fit, and fastens to the main cover for added security.

Lean the harp forward, scoot the dolly under as far as you can. Pull the harp the rest of the way. Does you harp have little wheels on the feet? Mine does.

I would never move my harp without the base cover. My base cover isn’t slick though.

Briggs

Maybe your harp is twisting on the stairs because the weight is being shifted. Try bringing the dolly wheels evenly up over the lip of the stairs. If the harp is tilting left, then a force on the right side is making it move that way.

When I have to wheel over a curb or stairs I make sure I approach with the harp perpendicular to it. If someone is helping me, they have to lift the harp without causing it to tilt. Don’t go too quickly, and be prepared should the harp start to shift.