Best pieces to play when trying out new harp?

[Sarah Lloyd]

Hi, I am going to try out the Camac Egerie and Salvi Daphne SE next week, hopefully with a view to purchasing one of them. My question is does anyone have any recommendations for the best pieces to play to really get the most out of trying out the harps to compare sounds? Would you just go for scales/technical warm up and then your favourite pieces? I don’t want to be there all day playing but would like to really give them a test drive to see how the two compare sound wise and which is the best fit for me. Also, do you think it would be considered weird to film yourself playing them? I would like to listen to the sound back and compare to my harp at home. Thanks in advance for the help.

[balfour-knight]

Hello Sarah,

How exciting! Yes, definitely record yourself, so you can compare that with your harp at home. Try out a variety of things, that you can play with ease, so you are not struggling with technique, etc. Be able to concentrate fully on the harps you are test driving.

Wishing you the best of luck,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[Sarah Lloyd]

Thank you

[andy-b]

What also really helps is listening to someone else play the harps you’re comparing. Stand back a few feet, and you may find the harps sound differently to you than they do when you’re playing them. Close your eyes or face away so you’re doing a “blind” test, so you’re not influenced by liking the appearance of one harp over the other.

Cheers,
Andy

[Philippa mcauliffe]

That rather depends what you know I am afraid. Tune carefully first or its not a decent comparison. You do have to listen blind to other people playing them preferably in a reasonably size room but remember that different harpists can make very different sounds on the same harps. For me that would be top to bottom arpeggios and scales looking for any unevenness, something crisp and baroque like the opening of the Handel, something twiddly like the Mozart, something Romantic with a long melodic line, something lush and chordy like Faure opening, something modern. A few big orchestral excerpts if you know any. Just snippets. Borrow a Zoom H4 or equivalent if possible rather than your phone to record.

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I would never consider a Camac harp as they are musically inadequate for certain requirements, such as responding to a sudden accent or change in dynamics. They ring a lot, but you have less control of it, and there is a plastic quality to it, as the columns are not wood, but carbon fiber (synthetic material).
Therefore, you would have to play music with a lot of sudden contrasts. But the main thing is to play a scale and see if the tone is even from top to bottom, that it resonates freely, and there are lots of overtones; the other factor is, how responsive is it to your touch? Does it speak clearly, or in a fuzzy way? I think it should be very responsive, very even, very reverberant but not overly so, and very clear. Some harps now seem to have too much bass and the bass strings won’t stop ringing beyond normal, which becomes a noticable problem, requiring frequent muffling. I think the LH Style 100 is your best option. It can last a lifetime, if needed.

[balfour-knight]

Sarah, have no fear of trying out the Camac harps, despite what Saul just posted. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but many of us professionals really love Camac harps. My pedal harp is a most wonderful Atlantide Prestige, made in 2016, and to me it is my dream harp. Before this harp, I was indeed a L&H fan, but they have severely disappointed me, with a decline in the quality of their harps and failure to supply customer service and satisfaction.

Good luck in your search!
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[balfour-knight]

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[balfour-knight]

Sarah, please update us after you try out the harps. We hope you fall in love with one of them and take it home with you!

Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol Lynn

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