Double-strung harp saga

[mae-mcallister]

I am having a harp adventure which I’d quite like to share with you all as it progresses:)

SO FAR: I am looking for a travel harp. My One True Harp, an FH36, is gorgeous and beautiful but also very big. It only just fits in our car (which is very small) if you push the passenger seat all the way forwards. I am very protective of it and while I am game to take it down the road to my local session I can hardly take it on holiday, especially to rural and string-snapping humid Wales where we go quite often. With the arrival of the holiday season and the departure of my small fountain harp looming on the horizon (sad but it’s time to say goodbye, also, it is only mildly less of a pain to transport as it’s also a floor harp) I have decided that I would like a double-strung lap harp, combining the features of being as small as possible while having enough strings for practice. And also being very cool.

THE PROBLEM: There is not one single harp maker outside the USA who makes double-strung lap harps. Even Dusty don’t import over their double-strung FH26. The UK is a double-strung desert. Seriously, what’s going on here?

THE MISSION: Extensive searching of this amazing forum reveals that probably the best harp for this purpose is the double-strung Brittany (2×22) by Stoney End. People say that they are sturdily built, work well as travel harps, fit into overhead plane lockers, can be fitted with not-nylon strings, are good etc. So now I am faced with the challenge of actually getting hold of one.

THE ISSUE: Stoney End are based in Minnesota. I do not know anyone even vaguely near Minnesota. The USA is big. Then, they’d have to fly it over here. Headache. Importing one over here is steadily becoming eye-wateringly expensive for such a small harp (especially if I change all the nylon strings to gut of KF). Maybe I just have to lump it?

THE PLAN: But wait, a light bulb! They sell them as harp kits. While I’d be too scared of messing it up to do myself, I have a friend who is a violin luthier. He is game to assemble it for me for a sum which is definitely going to be less than the cost of plus them assembling it for me, plus shipping a full size harp over here vs. the kit, plus the extra exorbitant amount of tax to import a finished harp vs. the kit. Plus maybe even the cost of shipping strings over here and then replacing them, if I am lucky enough that they will just leave them out for me.

Anyway, I sent them (another) email and we’ll just see what they say. This is as far as I have got!

Exciting times…

[e-nb]

Tim Hampson in Devon will make you any type of harp you like. At the Edinburgh Harp Festival he was showing me a small triple harp he had built and was in the process of stringing. Have you considered him?

[jennifer-buehler]

Stoney End Distributes in the UK through Hobgoblin Music. I’m not sure where the bricks and mortar store for Hobgoblin is though. Maybe you could order a double strung through Hobgoblin?

Are you also familiar with the Harplust list? It’s a pretty comprehensive list of builders. I would think that there is someone who would make a double strung.

http://www.weddingharper.com/harplust.html

[wil-weten]

You may import it from the Dutch dealer of Dusty harps: http://www.zingendesnaar.nl/En/harps/en_Fh26_double-strung.shtml

[mae-mcallister]

e-nb: Thanks! I have emailed him for a quote.

Jennifer: They don’t import the double strung, I have already checked:( I know where (some of) the shops are (and their distributor) but I don’t think it’s going to be any cheaper to get it from then than from Stoney End direct since they still have to ship it and pay tax and everything (if anything it’ll be more).
Thanks for the list, I will work my way through it, although I know for a fact that some of these makes in the UK don’t actually exist any more…

Will – thanks, but as well as being waaay off what I’d like to spend on a double, the FH26 is too big for me and for what I want (it was just a point I was making). I don’t think I can justify owning 2 FHs…

[emma-graham]

Have you considered trying Robin Ward. He makes double harps and is in the UK.

http://www.robin-ward.com/harps-for-sale.html

[mae-mcallister]

Hello all,

Continuation of the harp saga with two questions for you all and advice needed:

1. Still no reply from Stoney End after emailing them first 2.5 weeks ago. Is this normal for shops? Maybe they are all on holiday? It says on their website: “Whether you have questions, are interested in purchasing a Stoney End insturment (sic), or just want to say hello, please don’t hesitate to get in touch. We’d love to hear from you.” How long is it reasonable to wait? Should I try and phone them up (this is MAJOR faff, I don’t own a landline and am in the UK)? Or just be patient? Or drown them in emails:D? I am a customer, dammit! Email meeeeeeeeeeeeeee:)

2. I am currently in contact with Tim Hampson (who has been very lovely) and will get on with emailing Robin Ward (thanks Emma, had considered him but didn’t realise he makes doubles), but my luthier friend and I sat down with some of the instructions and building from a Stoney End harp kit looks very doable. We think the most tedious part is the lever installation (be very educational for me, I’m sure) but we were wondering if there is anyone out there who has actually built one of these kits and how long it took them in man-hours approximately?

Thanks!

[emma-graham]

Doing a quick google for stoney end reveals quite a few retailers in the Uk who sell them. I don’t know if any would be prepared to import the kit you are after though.
Or there is this on ebay!
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/44-String-Double-Strung-Brittany-Maple-Lap-Harp-C-F-Levers-Padded-Case-7652/131214037389?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D22860%26meid%3D7667305084939655049%26pid%3D100033%26prg%3D9840%26rk%3D3%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D221465272970
I know you have decided on what you really want but I just wondered if you had considered these as an option? http://youtu.be/nGB_RllE0iA
A couple of weeks ago I had a quick go on one in my local harp shop (which incidentally sells the stoney Wee Bonnie so might be worth contacting about the kit?) I was REALLY surprised. They were incredibly light and have a very nice sound given how cheap they are. They come in kit form and I think you can take them apart once finished which might suit your transportation needs. Might be worth a look.

Link to my local shop is here. It is in Devon, as is Tim Hampson so if you were visiting him at all you could drop in on the way!
http://www.devonharpcentre.co.uk/harps-for-sale-and-hire/product-h17-Intermediate-29-string-harp-unlevered.html

[mae-mcallister]

Yes, as I have said, Hobgoblin sell some stoney end models which they import via the distributer gremlin music, who don’t import the kits or the doubles or in fact any but three of the models or so. I’m sure I could go to one of my nearest Hobgoblin stores 3+ hours journey away and get them to order it for me instead of just doing it myself, with no difference except that a) they would charge me more and b) since I’d be going through them I probably wouldn’t get what I wanted anyway and c) it’s far more inconvenient. Ebay is a nice idea but again it boils down to the fact that I’d buy it at a similar price and I’d have to ship it here which will cost the same and that is never going to go away, regardless who I buy it from or who I do it through so I might as well deal directly with them. I guess the one advantage of going through Hobgoblin is that they may actually get an answer from Stoney End, but that means I’d have to either travel a ridiculous amount of time to get to an actual Hobgoblin shop or email them, with the same amount of likelyhood that they’ll respond as Stoney End! I have a friend who works in a Hobgoblin shop that might help, but again, it’s only going to be more expensive to order it from a shop than direct and with the same amount of waiting time and with more likelyhood that they’ll screw up the order.

I have been to the Devon harp shop. It’s nice.

I have also been in contact with both Robin Ward and Tim Hampson. I am waiting for a quote from Tim, but Robin sent me a very nice email in which he gave me a quote and pointed out what I suspected anyway – it’s more worth my while/money just to import one.

Getting annoyed with Stoney End. Maybe I should bite the bullet and just phone them. If this is how they treat customers it doesn’t fill me with confidence. What I suspect is that they had a tech-savy someone who set up the facebook and twitter and when they left they got deserted. Not sure what to do to make them email me back, I don’t have a landline and I live on the other side of the world and I have a ton of questions. This is NOT helpful. Can’t they just email me back?????

[Allison Stevick]

I know this doesn’t help the fact that they’re not responding, but can you use Skype to call them? I had some friends in the UK who used it to call landlines in the USA when they couldn’t video chat, and they said it was a reasonable cost.

[mae-mcallister]

Genius! – Stoney End have a toll-free number which I have literally just discovered is FREE on skype. Wish me luck:)

[mae-mcallister]

Well, the ball is rolling. Thanks Allison! Guess that was obvious but still:) Apparently they didn’t receive my first emails but they’ve turned out to be perfectly lovely and amazing people so all’s well etc.

Can’t wait to start building, I’ll keep y’all updated with lots of lovely pictures…

[mae-mcallister]

After an eye-watering amount of VAT and customs duty and so on and so forth, the harp kit is finally in the same country (maybe even county) as me and shall be arriving tomorrow.

Pictures and building diary to follow. Watch this space!

[Allison Stevick]

Oh hooray! Happy harp day! Can’t wait to see the pics!

[Katia]

Ooh, I’ll be following along as well, since I’m fascinated by harp kits! Good luck!

[Author]

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