Dusty Strings Ravenna 34 or Pilgrim Clarsach

[alistair-howie]

How exciting, my first post on this forum!!

My 6 yo daughter is beginning lever harp lessons at school in a month’s time and I am trying to figure out what harp would be best to rent for her for a few months, until we confirm (hopefully) that she’s “into” the harp and move on to buying.

I’ve narrowed the choice down to a Ravenna 34 or the Pilgrim Clarsach with concert gauge stringing, tension and spacing. Both are comparable in terms of weight and price is around the same (the Pilgrim a bit more expensive). The main differences that I can then see are the Ravenna has nylon strings and a laminate soundboard, versus gut strings and a spruce soundboard on the Pilgrim. The unknown quantity to me though is the quality of the brass levers on the Pilgrim versus the Loveland levers on the Ravenna.

I suspect that both are wonderful instruments, but any thoughts as to their sutability for a 6 yo just starting out (and hopefully progressing) would be appreciated. Her teacher recommended gut strings because she considered them “easier” to play, saying some nylon ones can be slippery. I think the concert tension on the Pilgrim appeals should she ever move to the pedal harp, but I don’t know if it will slow her progress at the outset.

All advice gratefully received.

Many thanks.

[alistair-howie]

Or what about the Salvi Mia?? I find it amazing that Dusty Strings give you so much information about their products yet Salvi are the complete opposite. I’ve been surfing the Internet for a few hours now trying to find out about this harp!!

[andee-craig]

Honestly for a 6 year old I don’t think it matters too much. I gave lessons to a 7 year old on my small Dusty Strings (26 strings) and she did fine. No problem at all plucking the nylon strings. I’m a bit prejudiced towards Dusty Strings as both my small and big harp are DS, I find them very resonant. Pilgrim harps are nice, but in comparison (I’ve only ever seen and heard a couple up close) the sound isn’t as clear and resonant.

I wouldn’t stress too much about it–save that for when you actually decide to *buy* a harp!

[alistair-howie]

Thanks, Andee. I’m not stressing too much the rental decision, but I’m aware that barring a teaching disaster in her first term back at school, I’ll probably buy sooner rather than later so I’m not spending “dead” money on renting. The challenge is, presumably, at that age, the idea of playing several different harps and finding the one that “sings” to her probably doesn’t really apply since she’s so young and an absolute beginner. Hmmm ….

Well you’ve confirmed my thoughts on the quality of the Dustry Strings, which was going to be my first choice anyway, until her teacher threw me a curved ball saying “go for gut” if possible.

Can I ask, though, what are your thoughts on learning at that age on a concert gauge and tension harp i.e. the Pilgrim. Is that much harder for someone so young to learn to play? Is it an realy advantage starting out on that if moving to the pedal harp later on, or is that transition actually not so bad if you’ve been playing on a folk strung harp for several years?

And any thoughts on the Salvi Mia? It’s so frustrating not being able to find decent information online about it. Another reason to go for DS, I think!

Thanks again for your help.

[andee-craig]

I don’t play pedal harp so I may not be the best judge when it comes to issues like transitioning from lever harp to pedal harp, but I do know people who have adjusted to different string spacing easily.

I’m not super familiar with Salvi harps, I’ve seen and heard one and it’s got a big sound, but it *is* a 38 string harp with a huge soundboard.

I’ve tried playing on gut strings, but after 15 years of playing on nylon I found them to feel a bit ‘sticky’ and no easier to play than nylon.

Best of luck!

[jennifer-buehler]

Where are you located? That may make a difference in relation to what’s more available and how much it costs. And renting for a while isn’t a bad thing.

[alistair-howie]

Thanks again Andee.

Jennifer, I’m based in the UK. Any thoughts on the merits of these 3 harps and the ease of learning on a concert gauge and tension harp for a 6 yo? I’m interested in these 3 models because of their size and (light) weight.

[christie-wareham-norfolk]

I’ve got a Pilgrim Clarsach that I’ve had for over 10 years and it is a beautiful harp. Last night my 8 year old niece was visiting from the UK (we are now in Australia) and she played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on it and got really good resonance although of course her finger tips did hurt a bit after a while but that is to be expected with anyone until the fingers toughen up. It was her first time on a harp and she had no problems with the tension.

[shelby-m]

Hi there! I have been playing harp almost 3 years. I actually started out on a Ravenna 34 (which I still have) and just got a Salvi Daphne 47SE (pedal harp) in May. I will start by describing my Ravenna.

I LOVE that harp. Dusty Strings makes very high quality harps and the price is very affordable. The nylon strings do feel different than gut, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they are bad… I really like the bright, clear sound of my Ravenna. It is also easy to get a big sound out of it without working very hard. I’ve been to several harp workshops and the other guests (who owned harps more expensive than mine) were blown away by the sound of my Ravenna. (I also bought that harp brand new, so it is still “green”. If it sounds so good now, I can’t wait to hear how it improves over the years.) I’ve talked to lots of people who play lever harp and they all have nothing but good things to say about their experiences wih Dusty Strings harps. The sound is lovely and crisp, the strings almost never break, and it’s an overall well-made instrument.

Now for the transition from playing a Ravenna to a Salvi pedal harp: I didn’t really notice a difference in string spacing. My Salvi has higher tension because it is strung with gut, but I can easily get a big sound out of the Salvi as well. Obviously the pedal harp is louder because there is more wood resonating and longer strings vibrating, but I feel the sound quality is nearly equal. I still play my Ravenna, and it is not hard to go back & forth between the two. I have noticed that the gut strings will make my fingers a bit tender sooner than the nylon strings do, but I’ve only had my pedal harp for the summer, so I could still be getting used to gut.

I hope this helps you. As someone else mentioned, your daughter’s ear won’t be developed enough to try a bunch of harps and see which one sings to her yet. But I think the Ravenna is a great instrument for any skill level of player.

[alistair-howie]

Christie and Shelby, thanks very much for taking the time to reply, it’s much appreciated.

As I suspected, the DS and the Pilgrim both seem to be wonderful harps which will serve my daughter well as her abilities hopefully grow over time. I still haven’t found any worthwhile information or opinions on the Salvi Mia, so I’m going to drop that from consideration now. If Salvi can’t be bothered to provide information, then I can’t be bothered to research it further!

Re nylon versus gut, I’ve heard completely conflicting information about the strings ability to hold their tune. Which holds tune better – gut or nylon?

[Tacye]

My personal feeling is that you should give priority to her teacher’s preference. It sounds like she is used to teaching on gut and has a preference for this which seems a very strong argument for giving it a try, and you will perhaps get the best of her as a teacher on gut.

I have taught a 6 year old on a PIlgrim Clarsach and she managed fine and there are some youtube videos of Ben Creighton Griffiths playing one at a young age. I would however throw out another thought – the Pilgrim Skylark. This has gut strings at a lighter tension (and lower price). The Pilgrim and DS are both fine harps – the nylon sound is brighter, easier to play loudly but I feel there are advantages to learning to coax the best sound out of gut from early on.

Remember when you are thinking of buying that instruments bought through schools can be got VAT free.

[jennifer-buehler]

Tacye, I didn’t know that! I’m US based so haven’t had to deal with VAT and What not but thought it might be an issue!

Choosing a harp is a very personal issue. I’ve played a DS Ravenna and liked it and have heard good things about Pilgrim. What type of music does your daughter want to play? If she likes Celtic/folk, she may prefer the bright sound and nylon strings of the Ravenna. If she’s more interested in classical or in moving to pedal harp eventually, she may prefer the feel of the Pilgrim.

And to further muddy the waters, the right harp now might not be the right harp later on. (See posts by Deb L or Brooke Boddie for instance). That doesn’t mean you’re sunk if you buy a harp now that’s not what you want later on.

I’m personally a nylon person. I play a lot out of doors in really variable weather though.

Jennifer

[haromagik]

I agree with much of what Shelby is saying. Two months ago I acquired a Camac Clio (pedal harp) after 20+ years of strictly Celtic harp playing. I have several Celtic harps, but my favorite is a Dusty Strings FH36B (they don’t make this one any more, but the closest model is the FH36H), and it has a bright, magical, expressive sound. As I am exploring the transition to pedal harp there are still some things I prefer on the Dusty Strings. I have found the transition to gut high-tension strings to be an interesting challenge, which I have really enjoyed. It has caused me to re-examine my technique in order to produce the best sound from the Clio, and I am getting to a point where it is becoming quite fluid and lovely. The strings on the Dusty feel a bit strange now, but with just a few minutes, I can move back and forth pretty easily. So I guess the transition between Celtic and pedal doesn’t have to be a big deal. It just takes some patience and curiosity. Hope this helps!

I don’t know which hold their tune better overall, nylon or gut strings, but I can say that my Clio really stays in tune. I am always surprised by it.

[alistair-howie]

Tacye, thanks for your thoughts – I’ll look again at the Skylark – and the reminder about VAT free purchases by schools – alas the Assisted Instruments Purchase Scheme only applies to state schools, not independent ones … so it’s the full price for me, I’m afraid.

Jennifer – thanks for your comments. My daughter doesn’t have any style or preference for a particular type of music yet. She saw the harp on a children’s TV program a year ago and fell in love with it – pretty sure it was classical music on a pedal harp – and she was reminded about it when she saw a girl playing the lever harp in her school assembley a few months ago. Thereafter, we’ve been pestred for lessons, so we’re dutifully complying!

Ellen – great information, thank you.

So … at the moment I’m leaning towards the DS … which I could always string in gut down the line if desired. I’ll complete my research, but that’s where my mind is currently at!

[haromagik]

Hey there, do check with Dusty Strings about re-stringing one of their harps with gut… I know that harps are designed for particular strings, and you wouldn’t want to harm the harp with the wrong kind of strings. Good luck! I wish I had started playing the harp at your daughter’s age… there is an embodiment that comes with starting early that is hard to capture when you start as an adult, at least so it has seemed to me.

[Author]

Posts