Decisions, Decisions (Lever Harp Edition)

[jilliannielsen]

My daughter (12yo) and I are learning the harp. I’m a bassoonist by trade, but I’ve always loved the harp. She’s been learning on a harpisicle, which has been good to gage her commitment to learning the instrument. We’re ready for her to play a lever harp, but I’m getting bogged down with all of the options. I want to make sure we get the best harp within our budget (5-6k).

We live in Ohio and there’s no way to try out different lever harps as there is no harp center near by. The closest one is the Virginia Harp Center. All this to say, we won’t be able to try many harps before making a choice. Our goals are to perform mostly classical music. My daughter and I will both learn on this harp. She hopes to move on to learn the pedal harp, but I will stick with the lever harp. So with all of this mind, we need a lever harp that can do the following:
– prepare my daughter for learning the pedal harp
-last many years for the possibility of more kids learning on this instrument
-have a big warm sound
-be considered a “professional” level instrument – not necessary, but would make me feel good about offering harp playing services.

For reference, I’ve considered the following instruments:
-Dusty Strings Boulevard with Camac levers
-Camac Classic Isolde
-Camac Excalibur
But open to suggestions for others with which you’ve had great experiences.

Thanks in advance!!!

[Blindharper]

hello,
Please note anything I share in the following lines is my own personal opinion nothing more.
If it has sharp corners stay away from it if it can jab you in uncomfortable places when placed against your shoulder as a woman avoided unless you are willing to make that sacrifice. This is why I stick with round back harps almost exclusively. Most of the ones from Dusty strings I have ever seen are at best save back unless they’ve come out with a new model in the last couple of years that isn’t they sound beautiful but are not always kind to female anatomy. Camac harps are better in that regard. My personal preference is for the Camac Xcalibur it is strong with fluorocarbon. I think that is sold. Classic is a great harp but I find that its string tension is just a little bit too high for my taste. So not always kind to female anatomy. Camac harps are better in that regard. My personal preference is for the Camac Xcalibur. It is strong with fluorocarbon. I think that is sold. Classic is a great harp but I find that it’s string tension is just a little bit too high for my taste. So when picking harps consider what sort of string tension you and your daughter are willing to work with as well as the height and body type of each of you? Also if you prefer a brighter sound I’d go with the Excalibur if you prefer a darker one The is old. Keep something in mind though just because it is rated for Celtic music doesn’t mean you can’t play classical music on it. It’s just a slightly different strength, detention and spacing. listen to harp clips if you can to decide on your preferred sound. Here is one from my Cammack Excalibur. this is now about 10 years old. https://youtu.be/PxhwJwUUIAs

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Jillian,

Based on what you’ve said, I would recommend a model with pedal-gauge strings. The three pedal-strung models I know of which are considered professional-level are the Lyon & Healy Prelude, the Salvi Ana in the optional pedal stringing, and the Camac Madamoiselle. The first two are strung identically to the same strings on pedal harps. The Madamoiselle, however, takes the wire strings three strings higher before switching over to gut strings so might cause a bit of disorientation when later switching to a pedal harp. My personal feeling is that the Prelude is the model that is meant to be as close to a pedal harp experience as possible.

I personally have a Lyon & Healy Prelude, L&H Troubadour, Salvi Gaia, and Dusty Boulevard with Camac levers, and I would recommend any of these models. There’s also the L&H Ogden. The Prelude is much larger and heavier but is much closer to a pedal harp experience. The Troubadour is still on the larger side but a little less heavy than the Prelude. The Gaia, Boulevard, and Ogden are more compact. There’s also the new Camac Lancelot, which is strung in pedal-gauge strings and is more compact. The bass wires on the Boulevard are lighter-gauge lever wires, however, rather than pedal-gauge wires.

I just looked up the prices of these, probably mostly not including a case:

Professional pedal-gauge lever harps (largest, most number of strings (40), heaviest, and shaped like pedal harps):

-Lyon & Healy Prelude ($6,500)
-Salvi Ana in optional pedal stringing ($7,200, though may be higher with pedal strings)
-Camac Madamoiselle (but gut strings start higher in range) ($6,500)

Student-level pedal-gauge lever harps (smaller, a few less strings, lighter, shaped like folk harps):

-L&H Troubadour VI (36 strings)($5,500)
-Salvi Gaia (38 strings)($4,500)
-L&H Ogden (34 strings)($4,500)
-Camac Lancelot (38 strings)($4,900)
-Dusty Strings Boulevard 34 with Camac levers (better than Lovelands)($4,195 including case)

Please let us know what you all decide, and feel free to ask further questions. I look forward to seeing others’ replies, as well!

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

A couple more thoughts–

You could look for one of the models I listed as a preowned harp if the new price is too steep on, say, the L&H Prelude 40. There also may be rent-to-own programs and other financing options through L&H or one of the harp centers.

Also, the very best pre-pedal harps were perhaps the larger models made by John Pratt of Pratt Harps, as his soundboards were the extended type like on most pedal harps, but he no longer has an active website. He possibly still makes such harps through Summerhays Music, which does still list Pratt Custom Orders as an option on their Harp Showroom webpage and shows a picture of his 36-string Chamber harp. All of his models used pedal-gauge strings.

-Gregg

[Blindharper]

Hi,
One other thing since you mentioned wanting a professional great harp. In the Cammack lineup the Excalibur is as far as I can tell the currently available professional grade lever harp anywhere close to the same size as a pedal harp. I just checked the website for the Lancelot model and noticed that when you go through the listings that one is listed as a student grade model. Listen to the sound clip and see which one you prefer if considering Cammack. I’m less aware of how leon and Healy and salvy mark their professional grade versus student grade models but Cammack is pretty clear on which are considered professional grade within their lineup. That said all of their harps are good for different things dependent on what you need. I didn’t see it on the website, but another one that might be doable. If you can find it is the Camac Corrigan it was the predecessor to the Lancelot model.

[jilliannielsen]

Thanks, Gregg, for the lead on Pratt harps. I contacted Summerhays Music and they do make Pratt harps by custom order. I bet it will be out of our price range, but it’s nice to know they exists in case a used one becomes available.

A used Salvi Ana Deluxe was listed on Facebook marketplace today, but I’m second on the list to see it.

[Gregg Bailey]

I forgot to mention, like the Camac Madamoiselle, the Dusty Boulevard takes the wire strings three notes higher before switching over to gut, which could potentially cause slight initial disorientation when switching over to a pedal harp. It might not be much of an issue, though.

I think the harp centers often have second-hand Preludes and such on consignment.

I agree with Blindharper that the corners of the back of the Boulevard soundbox can be slightly more uncomfortable on my clavicle than a round back like a Prelude.

-Gregg

[Blindharper]

I also mentioned what I did about the sharp corners because if you are on the shorter side particularly around 5 feet or so that sharp corner has the possibility to hit you in a couple of other places. The three I’ve had trouble with in the past, where my clavicle my lower jaw and my ear. To clarify my first harp was a 32 string, dusty strings, crescendo, wonderful harp but completely square back so when I had the opportunity to try a save back I thought it might do better and in many ways it did except with The corners connecting The neck and column if you are on the more slender side of the board, the width of something like the dusty strings Boulevard or similar might be a consideration as well. The harp should fit you you don’t fit yourself to the harp or at least that was how I was taught. That hasn’t been entirely true in my case because I am a wheelchair user and have had to naturally make a few adaptations one of which is playing a slightly larger harp than I would if I didn’t use a wheelchair

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by Blindharper.

[balfour-knight]

Dear friends,

I agree with Gregg’s posts here. I think the Lyon & Healy Prelude would be your best choice, followed by the Salvi Ana.

My beautiful concert grand pedal harp is a Camac Atlantide Prestige, but I have never played a Camac lever harp that I wanted to buy. My lever harp is a Dusty Strings FH36S in figured cherry, and I love the differences between it and my pedal harp. Each one of the two is unique, and I have no problem going from one to the other. However, I believe that the easiest transition to a traditional pedal harp is from a L&H Prelude. The elegant harp “Look” of it suggests a small pedal harp, too.

Good luck with all of this, and best wishes,
Balfour

[carl-swanson]

My work over almost 50 years has been repairing pedal harps. But in recent years I’ve been asked (many times) to do repairs on lever harps. What I have observed is that very few of the lever harp makers understand the stress on a harp, and the result is sometimes the most harebrained way of designing and assembling them. The good ones, consistently, are the Lyon & Healy lever harps, because they understand how a harp has to be made. I haven’t had any experience with Camac harps, but I’d bet they are also well made. Many other makes and models, particularly the ones that were made by one person and carries that person’s name, look and sound great when brand new. But they will last 6 to 9 years and then start having structural problems which are really not repairable. So my advice is to stick with a lever harp made by a pedal harp maker, because they understand the stress involved and will engineer the instrument correctly.

You said that you and your daughter are interested in playing classical music on the harp. I’ve been publishing harp editions, mostly for pedal harp, with Carl Fischer Music for the last 15 years. My newest edition, which will be released in May, is a collection of 10 classical pieces for lever harp. It will include music by Handel, Ravel, Bochsa, and Tournier. Hopefully I’ve attached the cover here!

• This reply was modified 4 months, 2 weeks ago by carl-swanson.

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[jilliannielsen]

Carl, thanks for your input. What you said makes a lot of sense.

Your latest arrangements sound like they will be lovely! I will keep an eye out for them in May.

[Gregg Bailey]

Just FYI, I received this email yesterday from Lyon & Healy:

Lock in Current Pricing Before April 17
We are extending our current pricing for a limited time

We want to share an important update regarding upcoming pricing changes.

Our new price list was originally scheduled to take effect on April 1. Due to the short notice of this change, we want to make sure everyone has a fair opportunity to plan and place their orders.

Because of this, we will be honoring current pricing through April 17.

This gives you additional time to secure your harp at the existing price before the new pricing goes into effect.

If you have been considering a new instrument, now is the time to move forward before the increase.

Invest in Your Instrument with Ease
Financing options available through the end of April

We also offer financing options to help make your purchase more accessible:

0% interest for 18 month

7.99% interest for up to 60 months

These financing options are available through the end of April.

[carl-swanson]

Let me give you just two examples of idiotic lever harp design that I have seen.

1) Whether the column butts up to the underside of the neck, or the neck butts into the side of the column, there needs to be a gigantic mortise and tenon joining the two. If the column butts up to the underside of the neck for example, the column needs to have a huge tenon (a long section of wood, like a tongue) which will be glued into a mortise (a huge receiving hole) in the underside of the neck. With this, the neck is held securely in place and will not twist. I was brought a lever harp made by a well known maker where the neck and the column were joined by 4 dowels!!! 4 dowels!! Are you kidding? The neck was twisting over and we could see the 4 dowels. Repairing that would have required disassembling the instrument, making two mortises, one in the neck and one in the column, and then making a huge spline that would join them together. It wasn’t worth making the repair, because the cost of that would have exceeded the value of the instrument.

2) Many of these lever harps do not have a kneeblock. On a pedal harp, that’s the big chunk of wood at the upper end of the neck right next to the harpist’s head. On a lever harp, that kneeblock is the principal structure that is holding the column and neck upright, and is therefore under enormous stress. Many of these lever harps don’t have any kneeblock! More often than not, the ones that do just glue the block on and shape it. The result is that the enormous pressure on the kneeblock causes it to split away from the neck itself. These builders don’t seem to understand that, in addition to the kneeblock, there needs to be 2 or 3 very long screws that go, from the back of the neck, completely through the neck itself and most of the way through the kneeblock, down near the bottom of the kneeblock. That gives critical reinforcement to the kneeblock and keeps it from splitting.

What amazes me is that these instruments last as long as they do, often 7, 8, or 9 years before serious problems show up. The harps, new, are pretty, well finished, and sound nice. But no one can see the structural issues that are going to be a huge problem down the road. By contrast, I have seen many L & H Troubadours that are 50 or 60 years old and they’re still in great shape!

[balfour-knight]

While reading through this thread again, I did want to say that the Camac levers on my Dusty Strings FH36S are one of this harp’s best features. A nice Camac lever harp would of course include these, which I feel are the best levers on the market.
Have a great day, all!
Balfour

[Jerusha Amado]

Although a Dusty Strings harp wouldn’t be a good choice for your needs, Carl’s warnings give me another reason to be thankful that I have my Dusty Strings 36S lever harp. It was built in 2005, was used as a gigging instrument for most of its life, and is still going strong with no issues.

• This reply was modified 3 months, 1 week ago by Jerusha Amado.

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