Advice on finding a harp

[mae-mcallister]

OOH.

Dang. I promised myself I wouldn’t move on any harp until I had tried them all in Edinburgh and was sure about what I wanted. Livia is still top of my list, pending something that sounds just as nice/better with less stupid levers. Walnut too…if it’s still there in 2 months (judging by how long some of these harps are up, there’s a good chance…) then it might have to be mine.

Thanks for letting me know…

[bart-kleineweber]

You said you liked the brightness of the nylon string harp that you tried, but didn’t like the nylon strings. Hmm. I’m told that nylon strings sound much brighter than gut so maybe you DO like nylon strings. Also, they are much cheaper than gut to replace.

[mae-mcallister]

Nope, gut definitely sounds miles and miles better! (Yes, distance can be a measure of awesomeness). I also can’t stand the tension – one of the nicest harps I tried is one of the Camac ones with the alliance strings – sound like gut but brighter, but unfortunately have the tension of nylon:(. I currently play a harp strung in pedal light gut(, so high tension). It’s not going to work:)
I just don’t like the dull, unremarkable, muffled, boring sound that some harps make, which some people really love (they call it “mellow”). Each to his own…

[mae-mcallister]

Firstly can I say thanks to all of your helpful comments and advice! You have all been incredibly invaluable companions on my harp journey, which is only just beginning really.

Secondly, I have to say that I am a fairly experienced musician. I have played many instruments, and been involved with many genres of music and groups of people. And I can truthfully say that harp players are by far and away the nicest, friendliest, most welcoming, least pretentious and all out phenomenal people I have ever had the fortune to meet. You are all incredible. I can’t wait to deserve to count myself among you. And I am still rubbing my eyes in amazement that everyone on this forum is just so damn nice. On the internet. Like, wow.

So, we drove from Cambridgeshire to Edinburgh for the annual harp festival. Luckily we have relatives in Durham (which is about two thirds of the way there) so we stayed there and drove up to Edinburgh on Sunday for the day for the harpmakers’ exhibition. Since we were only there for the day, that’s all we had time for (maybe next time I’ll get to do more…). I think I played every single floor lever harp in the entire building. We went round with a clipboard and score sheets and I scored every harp and wrote comments on my impressions. I thought I would share some of those thoughts here for newbies (like me last year) that are looking for advice on different harps, but I stress that these are entirely my own opinions and there is a different harp out there for everyone.

Pilgrim – Didn’t take to these, which is weird because a Clarsach was the first harp I ever rented. Their sound was tinny (if you liked it maybe you’d call it bright) and had an underpowered bass. Out of the three, the Ashdown was the worst and the Clarsach the best, with the Skylark not far behind.

Teifi – A classic example of what’s good for me is not good for you – are harps are awesome but just not my thing. The Eos, which many people seem worship, to me just sounds bland (that’s “mellow” for those who like it). I liked the Telor, which again was a bit tinny for my taste. The Robyn was ok, but again tinny and underpowered bass.

Camac – Didn’t like them. That’s it really, as they are great harps. I can’t even say why. Maybe it’s that their sound is boring – I like a remarkable/individual sound and they just didn’t have what I was listening for. The ones with the KF composite strings are really great – they sound like gut with the tension of nylon. I like the tension of gut though, so not for me.

Starfish – I liked these, a lot. Large ranges, awesome sound. The Mamore was seriously impressive and came within my top three harps. The bass was good, the sound bright, clear and individual and all round great.

Salvi – Well, the Livia is every bit as cool as I remembered it to be, great sound, great harp. Prefer it to the Egan/Donegal and didn’t like the Mia/Prima ones as they were too harsh for me. Shame about those damn levers…

Dusty Strings – OK, some seriously amazing harps here. First of all, the sound of the FH36 is MAGIC. Clear treble, beautiful bell-like mid-range and clear, deep, loud bass. Just wow. I preferred the Bubinga one to the Walnut one, it had a brighter, more magic sound. Didn’t take to the Crescendo and dislike the nylonyness of the Ravenna, but I have to take the time here to shout the praises of the very new Boulevard, which was seriously impressive and had the same magic about it as the FH, despite being in the Ravenna price range. When it comes out, I seriously recommend. And I have to say I’m a convert to the Loveland levers. Hurrah for second impressions.

Mark Norris – Nice. Has the tinny bass issue again, but awesome levers.

Infinity Legend – A carbon fibre harp. It weighs.. wait for it… 2kg (that’s abut 4lbs). Sound amazing for something that isn’t wood at all, but it feels like cardboard and looks cheapy. It’s not, its about £6000. I gave it 6/10 for sound (but you may have gathered that I’m rather picky), but 9/10 for volume, it projected well.

Killarny – again, nice. 7/10 for sound, 10/10 for volume. He’s a good maker. Their tin whistles aren’t bad either, but a bit steep for the market.

I did’t try the L&Hs, I’ve played them before and have the same bland sound issues for me as the Eos. Fiddled on a few other things, bu that’s the main gist.

TO THE PODIUM:

In 3rd place – the Starfish Mamore. 9/10 for sound and 8/10 for volume. It’s impressive and wonderful sounding. Great large range (goes down to 6th G) but ultimately negated as the lowest three notes especially underpowered and weedy. In the end, the bass end is just too disappointing.

In 2nd place – the Salvi Livia. 10/10 for sound and volume. Just wonderful, shame about the stupid string-eating Salvi levers (2/5 for the levers…). I will always have a soft spot for this harp as it was my first love, both bright and deep, loud resonant bass and sparkling treble. More individual than the Egan, more confident than the Mamore, and truly an amazing instrument. In the end, misses out on the top spot because, well, it’s just not magic.

In 1st place – The Dusty Strings FH36S. Full marks for sound, volume and playing comfort, and those levers are growing on me. But nothing I can say will accurately describe the simply magical sound that it makes. Sparkly and deep and fresh and pure and so so so so awesome. Just magic.

So now I have a Bubinga FH36S sitting in my living room which I am itching to play only first I have to replace those three strings it snapped on our gradual journey back down south. I am so, so in love. Screw the money, it’s only money. Harps are happiness.

[Janis Cortese]

Quick reply seconding the comment about how pleasant people are here. I’m a (pretty good) pianist and a (lousy) violist, and I stay off of the piano and string forums. The most pleasant places I’ve seen so far are this place and fiddle forums. Very, very nice people.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for sharing your experience. Which maker made the “Boulevard” that you mentioned? It was in your paragraph about Dusty Strings, but I haven’t heard of that model before. Just curious if you could tell us more about it. By the way, I have had my walnut Dusty FH36A (old model) for over 20 years and it still sounds fantastic!

[Tacye]

The Boulevard is a Dusty Strings; the one at Edinburgh is a preview. It has pedal tension gut strings. I liked it too, which is interesting as my harp likes don’t otherwise match that well with Mae’s.

[mae-mcallister]

Sorry Tacye, I knew I was going to offend someone with my picky harp tastes 😀 I’m surprised I liked it – it’s very different from all the other ones I liked, so I think you’re way more consistent.

On with the adventure…

One way or another, I am going to shortly be parting with my Fountain, temporarily for now but forever eventually:( While the Dusty is magic in every way, the one big advantage over my Dusty is that it’s more portable. My Dusty only fits in the car with the passenger seat all the way forward (can be done but not fun for passenger), whereas we got the fountain in the car without even putting the seats down. However, no point keeping it as a travel harp because it’s still large enough to be a pain!

SO, travel harps. I’ll definitely need one since I won’t have the fountain to sling around any more and the Dusty is too big/precious to take e.g. all the way to humid mid-wales which we do quite often (that always costs in strings…). I’m happy to drag it down to the pub every now and then but I want a lazy/travel/practice harp alternative.

I reckon a double-strung is the way to go. I need a) as small as possible b) as loud as possible c) same tension and spacing as my dusty. Double-strung gets over that whole “where-the-hell-has-my-range-gone” thing and helps with the volume side of things. If it fits in an airplane, that’s a super-win.

So far the only thing I can find that looks suitable is the Stoney End double strung Brittany. I don’t remember seeing them at Edinburgh so I haven’t tried one. Do they even distribute in the UK? Does anyone here in the UK have one I might be able to try?

Any other double-strung available-in-UK lap harps people can recommend?

[Tacye]

For volume on a portable harp you will almost certainly end up getting a pickup.

Stoney End don’t come to Edinburgh, a couple of models (Lorraine, Eve and the tiddly one) are imported and show up in places like Hobgoblin Music or even Ken Stevens but not the double strung. I have an Eve (now brass strung) and it is a well made and not too quiet baby, and could get gut or carbon fibre strings if you find it too nylony, as I did. I can’t think of anyone who stocks double strung harps in the UK. Cross strung and triples, yes, but not double.

Not offended at all – why should we like the same things?

[mae-mcallister]

Tacye, I’m just teasing:) Out of interest, which floor lever harps are your personal favourites?

Pick-up not an option. As in, I have a couple of gooseneck mics that worked very well with my quiet fountain in gig scenarios, but amplification isn’t really appropriate in a session or rehearsal for an acoustic instrument. I had this trouble with my fountain in a session, that she was just too quiet to be heard among the fiddles and guitars, and I’d always end up playing only up by the treble end because it was the only thing that would cut through, or pull hard and develop bruises and blisters. My new harp is just fine in the respect. I just want something that despite it’s size could stand it’s own ground in a session if necessary (it’s quite hard to play when you can’t hear yourself…). Obviously any harp that size is going to be quieter but I wan’t something that isn’t super-weedy.

It’s good to know I can restring it, I probably will end up doing just that. I’d love a harp with KF strings, but the Camac ones I tried with them just had a manky tension on them.

I went into Ken Stevens once, all they has was one of The Harp Which Shall Not Be Named. I suppose I could find out if either they or Hobgoblin would order it in for me, but I’d quite like to actually try one first…

[Tacye]

Lever harps I like – more specifically, that I like to play for my own pleasure rather than listen to or maybe choose for a performance.

Pilgrim – I grew up with Pilgrims and they are comfortable friends. The Boulevard also felt comfortable to me. Even if it is black.
Briggs – antiques. Tim Hampson makes replicas which were at Edinburgh (the back room opposite Morleys).
Frank Sievert – not at Edinburgh this year. I have played his less than others I mention but some I liked alot.

Probably the harp I liked best at Edinburgh this year was the single action Mike Parfett had brought.

[kay-lister]

Hi Mae,

I just LOVED your review of all the harps! Enjoy your new baby and give us updates as it breaks in.

Happy harping!
Kay 🙂

[patricia-jaeger]

Rachel, perhaps someone has already told you the maker of the new Boulevard lever harp: it is the Dusty Strings Company, located in Seattle, WA.They have a web site with all the details you would need.

[Author]

Posts