Camac or Truitt Sharping Levers

[karen]

If you were having a custom made harp and could have either the Camac levers or the Truitt levers which would you choose and why?

Thanks for your thoughts and insights.

[kathy-chanik]

Karen, you’re going to get a lot of disagreement on this one.

[Jerusha Amado]

I would choose Camac levers.

[Karen Johns]

Truitts, hands-down. Installed these myself on both of my harps. Easy to throw, easy to regulate, and look like a beautiful gold necklace for the neck of your harp. Plus, they are made in the USA (this matters to me).

Karen

[brook-boddie]

I would choose Camac as well.

[barbara-brundage]

What Kathy said.

[sherry-lenox]

If you have any issues with vision (prism lenses, astigmatism, near sighted) you owe it to yourself to try both before you decide.

I agree with all pro and anti posts listed above and like both types, but when playing chromatic music, the Camacs were easier for me to see, so that obviously became a major factor.

[Pat Eisenberger]

I have Camacs, and I agree that the look is not as pretty as the Truitts. But I like the way they work.

Wish there was a hybrid Camac lever that was a touch smaller because mine are really crammed together in spots.

[jessica-wolff]

Question: if you are really short, with a fairly short reach, can you reach the Camacs more easily?

[Pat Eisenberger]

I should say that that depends on the size of your harp. If you have 30 strings, the reach should be fine. If you have 44, the reach to the last string could be a stretch.

[diana-lincoln]

Thormahlen Harps website has an interesting comparison of three different levers including the two you are considering. If you go to their website and click on levers you will read a harp builders thoughts and insights. What a wonderful quandary to have…enjoy your new harp!

[jessica-wolff]

Just looked at the Thormahlen site. They have the best and clearest pictures of the three kinds of levers.

[Karen Johns]

[sherry-lenox]

I’m sorry Karen, but your statement about seeing Truitts is just not accurate in respect to the visual issues I described.

With a focus/muscle balance problem, going from the strings to the music to the levers is not easier with additional individual string enhancements, and I’ve tried them all. Many older adults have vision issues that become more complicated with aging, and even smaller differences in visual-motor response are made greater as vision weakens.

The Truitt lever is smaller than the Camac, and no matter what I put on it, the split second connection between finger and lever is harder.

I have absolutely no bias against or for one or the other, but for older beginners, such as myself, vision caps other issues including string wear. If I can’t see the lever fast enough it doesn’t, and didn’t matter to me what color it was.

I don’t think there’s any more fair way to judge what works for each individual than to play all three types of levers. I also can’t think anyone would find some bias in this suggestion. I do think that for someone who has not played a certain lever, any of them, to think that they could rectify a vision based issue in an easy obvious way, may open the door to disappointment.

[Jerusha Amado]

Karen,

The harp that I played had Truitts fitted with red and blue jewels, but they did not help me.

[Author]

Posts