Buying a harp!! L&H or Salvi? Electroacoustic or not? Please give advice!

[anna-jalkeus]

Hi fellow harpists!
I’m just about to buy my first own harp in August… yeeeeaaaayy!! Funny though how something so exciting can turn out to be so exhausting..

Until now I have been playing an Aoyama Vega and Aoyama Delphi, which I think sounded quite okay and have been nice to play even though the sound isn’t as rich in them as in a L&H for example. At the college I’m attending we have a L&H style 23, which I absolutely adore!, and a Camac Big Blue. The Big Blue has its clear functions in its easiness to amplify, especially since I in periods of time play a lot in jazzy bands with drummers and such. Unfortunately, I completely dislike the acoustic sound of that harp.

When I first started to consider buying a harp I was totally sure that I should buy an electroacoustic. Now I’ve started to doubt that though since I fear that the kind of body-less sound I’ve experienced in the Big Blue has something to do with the functioning of the pick ups, as a compromise. I’m afraid that I wouldn’t get the full sound of the L&H/Salvi in a Style 2000/Rainbow. How are your experiences with these harps, and electroacoustics in general?

Another solution to the amplification thing that I’ve been considering is to buy pickups separately (http://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/instrumentbuilding/harps/amplification/pedalharppickup/tabid/909/Default.aspx). What do you think about that sound compared to the sound of an electroacoustic, if you’ve had any experience?

What are your experience of the sound in the L&H 85-series compared to, for example, the sound of the 23?
Any experiences with Salvi models?

Thanks! 🙂
Anna

[katie-buckley]

Hey!! I tend to agree with you on the electroacoustic route. I’ve yet to hear one that sounds truly great acoustically. However, I don’t have amplification in my acoustic harps. I ended up buying a DHC Blue light and that has been perfect for me. My pedal harps are often amplified for big pop shows with condenser mics and regular mics, but, I can’t say I’ve actually ever heard what it sounds like!
As for comparing 23’s to 85’s, etc, the best advice I can give you is go to a harp center. Whether its Lyon and Healy in Chicago, or Virginia Harp Center, somewhere, you can try out the harps next to each other. I actually have both an 85 and a 23 and, honestly, I can’t compare them. They both have their strengths. Salvi has a very special sound, which is quite different from Lyon and Healy. The one plus in going to a harp center is that they often have different brands which you can sit next to each other and play. So, if you can go somewhere to play possible harps to purchase, do it. It will be worth it!

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