Decision time

[HBrock25]

After renting a Hempson 34 for a year, I’m now considering buying a harp.
I was going to take a year out from it to concentrate on uni and then give the instrument the attention it deserves when I’m not worrying about essays and exams. I discovered though, that after a year’s renting, I get money off buying a harp if I do it within the next two months. The question I have now, is do I buy now and if so, which harp? Last year, I didn’t put in the effort to learn because I was away from my teacher at uni and got horribly out of practice when deadlines approached. I don’t know if this is just uni or whether I’m genuinely struggling to commit to the instrument. On the other hand, now I’ve had to take my Hempson back, I really miss it and I still aspire to be able to play properly. It would have been nice to have a year out to consider and to really be able to commit myself after uni but if I can save £300 or so by buying now, it has to be worth it.

Decision 2 is which harp to buy. My main two choices are a Hempson 34 again or a Ravenna 26.
The Hempson: has a wider range, I’ve had one before, looks a lot nicer and there are 1 or 2 available second hand

The Ravenna: is way more transportable, cheaper and has a gorgeous sound

So any thoughts?

[harpglo-jean]

I would advise going with the Hempson, because it has the most strings, and you’re already familiar with it, since you’ve been renting it…I own a Ravenna 26, and do love the tone and the portability, as you mentioned.

[deb-l]

I am the wrong person to help with ‘which harp’ decision LOL..

but, as someone who has struggled with the same decision, am I committed enough to buy a harp and always missing it when I return my rental, I finally came to the conclusion that I need to have a harp in my life and am so appreciative to have one again that I decided to make the commitment.

[Emma Preuss]

Both of these are really useful thankyou. Deb L.: It’s nice to hear from someone who’s a casual player.

So the lack of range really makes a lot of difference then? I’m still very much a beginner and thus far haven’t made that much use of the lower range.

[deb-l]

Emma, there is a lot of music out there for smaller harps without a lot of range.

[jessica-wolff]

What about a Ravenna 34?

[Tacye]

Do you get the discount off the 2nd hand Hempsons too?

The Ravenna is the better quality harp

[Emma Preuss]

The Ravenna 34 is out of my price range at the moment.

I have tried the Ravenna 24. It has a lovely sound but I can’t really judge if I’d miss the extra strings. I did enjoy playing it though. Then again, I love the Hempson. :S

As for what music, I like a bit of a variety. I don’t think I’m going to be playing a lot of complex classical pieces though. I would like to learn a few more modern pieces, covers etc though and it could be a problem for that :/

[jennifer-buehler]

This guy does

[lydia-sander]

Have you heard of Harps of Praise before?

[Emma Preuss]

I’m in the UK so that wouldn’t be very practical for me. I’m going to be getting one from Clive Morley harps. I can drive there and pick one up which is great because it means I can try the various harps out. The only problem is that I’m hideously rusty right now so I can’t really give any harp much of a run for its money.

Thanks for the link, I’ll have to investigate that 🙂

[deb-l]

it sounds like you really like the tone of the Ravenna.

[Author]

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