Dusty Strings Ravenna 34 or Pilgrim Clarsach

[alistair-howie]

Thanks Ellen. Gut is an option on the Ravenna, either from the outset or with re-stringing.

[patricia-jaeger]

I owned a Pilgrim Clarsach since 1977(while the company had the previous name Wilfred Smith Harps) until I finally sold it to a local student a few years ago. The tension and the gut strings help young fingers gain support for the “placing” of fingers ahead of plucking, and were easy to compare to that of my large pedal harp. I was receiving compliments about the rich tone of the clarsach. If you are in the U.K., you would not be making a mistake choosing this one that your daughter might keep indefinitely for its excellent workmanship and portability, to play at school and other places. Talk to John Hoare at Pilgrim, or Benjamin Creighton Griffiths in Wales, who had a Clarsach as a beginner, with any question you might have.

[alistair-howie]

Thanks very much, Patricia. I’m going to try and visit Pilgrim tomorrow to see the harps in real life!

[Tacye]

Alistair, another piece of information for you to be aware of when discussing harps internationally is that gut strung lever harps have a much bigger market share in the UK than in the US. This is why Ben Morley offers the Ravenna with gut strings fairly prominently and this option is more obscure on Dusty Strings’ own website. Do be aware that simply changing the strings to gut later on is unlikely to be satisfactory – the levers will need adjusting too which will probably call for a trip to a technician.

[alistair-howie]

Tacye – now that is interesting, I never knew that! Don’t worry, I wasn’t ever going to swap the strings myself anyway. Apparently two sharping lever cam handles would need changed to accommodate the gut as well, and I have no idea what they are, let alone how to change them. It would just have to be cost I’d have to bear.

As I said above, I’m going to make a trip to Pilgrim tomorrow to check out their harps. Either way, Pilgrim or DS, nylon or gut … let’s face it, based on the information that people have been kind enough to share with me on this forum, either would be absolutely fine for my daughter starting out. At least that’s my take on what I’ve read …

[jennifer-rehfisch]

I don’t have any experience with Dusty Strings but have had a Pilgrim clarsach for twenty years. My experience of the company has been positive and I have always found the staff helpful. I think they may do a rent to buy scheme, so that you could try out the clarsach before committing to buy it. Something similar may be available with Dusty Strings.. The Pilgrim clarsach is lighter than many harps of a similar size. I think the Dusty Strings ones may be even lighter though. Not something that is too much of an issue now when there will always be an adult to help her but it may be in a few years when your daughter may be moving the harp around herself at school.

[tony-morosco]

I have to agree with what others are saying about preferences in harps changing. Years ago I would have never considered a Dusty Strings harp. Not for quality issues, but I just didn’t care for the tone.

Over the past two years I have developed a real appreciation for them, and if I had to get a new lever harp tomorrow for some reason I would probably go with a Dusty Strings. Just how my taste has changed.

That said, there is something about the Clarsach that I really love too, and I have had the opportunity to play one in the past and they are great harps, so you just can’t go wrong either way.

[alistair-howie]

Thanks Jennifer, Tony.

I visited Pilgrim a couple of days ago and had an enjoyable hour there, being shown around the workshop and then talking to Naomi Harling and listening to the Clarsach. Sounded great to my uneducated ears!
I’ve got a question out to my daughter’s harp teacher asking whether she thinks the Clarsach would be “better” for our situation than the DS. At the end of the day it’s another £640 with the carrying case, compared to the £2k Ravenna all in, so I just need her final input to decide whether it’s worth the extra expense. I might try to get to Morley Harps to hear a DS before finally deciding.

[alistair-howie]

Just closing out this thread. Thanks again to everyone who has provided input to my choice. Today, I called Pilgrim and paid 3 months rental of a Clarsach, with a view to potentially purchasing one at Christmas when the rental is up. At the end of the day I was swayed by my daughter’s teacher saying she really preferred gut … so who am I to disagree when I don’t really know one end of a harp from another!

Thanks again. WIll doubtless be back online when I hit a problem tuning or replacing a string!!!

[jennifer-buehler]

Congrats! And have fun!

[Tacye]

I hope your daughter loves playing it! If you are collecting it in person you might ask for a quick lesson in tying string knots – it is easier to be shown and only use the diagrams as a reminder.

[alistair-howie]

Great advice, thanks!

[Author]

Posts