Home › Forums › Teaching the Harp › buying lever harp..
- This topic has 7 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 12 years, 8 months ago by
Briggsie B. Peawiggle.
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January 9, 2011 at 9:23 pm #82684
Hee Jin Yoon
ParticipantMy student going to buy lever harp.
There is one available used harp in
January 9, 2011 at 9:43 pm #82685patricia-jaeger
MemberAre you in the USA or another country? That would affect the seller’s price, since outside the U.S the person selling the harp would have had to pay shipping and handling, and perhaps also customs duty. Inside the U.S. it is my opinion the price is too high for a Troubadour harp with no modern levers. In the 1970’s those harps had push-up levers that moved the string out of alignment with its neighbor. Easier to make mistakes plucking an unwanted string
January 9, 2011 at 10:21 pm #82686ParticipantThank you, Patricia
I am in us and I don’t need to pay shipping.
I thought $1500 is too high.
How much do i have to pay for replacing all levers?
January 10, 2011 at 4:24 am #82687MemberThe harp probably has 33 strings. Levers ought to be replaced by a maker of lever harps, who
January 10, 2011 at 5:45 pm #82688jessica-wolff
ParticipantI have such a harp, with its original string-chewing levers, but recently regulated and restrung by a traveling harp technician. I agree that $1,500 is too much; harps of that era are going for $900 to $1,000 at best. One of our members, though, acquired one in iffy shape for $300 or $400, had it redone, new levers and all, and I believe she spent $1,500 for the job. That was a few years ago. Most people would say “not worth it”; but she ended up with a great harp. Quite a few harpists think that the Troubadour I has a better sound than Troubadours II-III-IV-V-VI. It’s also 3″ shorter and more portable than its successors.
Keep in mind that the technician cannot use the original holes but has to drill new ones when replacing the original levers. Keep in mind also that if the neck has warped badly or the soundboard has bellied up excessively, then it really may NOT be worth it. (Neither condition applied in my case.)
When I got my first sight of my Troubadour back in the late ’70s, I thought, “Good god! What an ugly harp!” But you know what? With the glut of Celtic-style or classical-style lever harps on the market, my harp, with its Gothic outline, is no longer ugly. In fact, it’s distinctive. Last night I had a belated New Year’s Eve (Bowle, a wine and champagne punch with raspberries and nectarines; shrimp remoulade; cheeses with smoked ham and black bread; and harp music) with some friends. They thought the harp was gorgeous, both the sound and the looks. Guitars and banjos stayed in their cases, because we were all having too much fun with the harp.
Loreena McKennitt plays one of these antiquated Troubadours (but with replaced levers). Take a look at her on YouTube playing “She Moved Through the Fair” at the Alhambra.
July 8, 2012 at 9:41 pm #82689HBrock25
ParticipantTo Jessica and all,
I paid $400 for my Troubador 1 in 1971 and thought, ” My God this is an ugly harp.”. I sold it in 1979 which I regretted until last year when I bought an Ebony Prelude 40.
Jillian
July 8, 2012 at 9:42 pm #82690Mary Jane Hatton
MemberI thought I was using a screen name.
Guess not.
Mary Jane
August 20, 2012 at 1:53 am #82691Briggsie B. Peawiggle
ParticipantI bought my Troubadour I from a friend for $300 and had the levers and oversized tuning pegs put on so that it would stay in tune, and strung with gut. I paid $1500 for that job. The harp is WONDERFUL. This particular one always did have a beautiful voice. It was just not cared for, had those clunky old levers on it, and needed some tlc. I love that harp and use it in church often when I want to do something special — and am getting a break from the organ. 🙂
Briggsie
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