DUSTY STRINGS Ravenna 34 vs. FH34S CHERRY

[Lily-White]

Hi,

Has someone played both the Dusty Ravenna34 and the Dusty FH34S in cherrywood?

I’m in the process of buying my own harp. I’m playing a rental Ravenna34 that I like a lot. It was brand new when I got it and I could buy it, getting half of the rent I have paid off the price.

However, the FH34S in cherry is tempting me a lot as well. I was supposed to try a FH34 in cherry a couple of days ago, but unfortunately something happened and it wasn’t possible.

I have played an FH34 in walnut, but its sound was a little bit dark for me. It sounded good on my computer, so I can’t trust what I hear online. This makes me hesitant.

I know about string tension, etc. It’s the sound I’m wondering about. Has someone played both the Ravenna 34 and the FH34S in cherry or another wood? I wouldn’t want the sound to be darker than that of the Ravenna. I LOVE the sparkling sound of the Dusty harps, I’m sure I would love the FH34S. But it’s hard to buy such an expensive instrument, without having heard it live… So I go back and forth between the two models, and cannot decide… 😅

I know this is a difficult question – very personal. I would still be very grateful for ANY comments! 🙏🙏🙏

Kindly,

Lily

[wil-weten]

Lily, if at all possible, go to the Netherlands for some days and visit the Zingende Snaar in Rhenen, to try and play all the lever harps. This in order to find out what kind of harp sound you really like. They sell Dusty, L&H, Salvi, and (my favorite) Pepe Weissgerber harps, and some other marks I don’t personally know. The shop isn’t cheap, but it is reputable and sends harps all over the world. Unfortunately, they don’t sell Camac harps any more, as for some sad reason I can’t understand, Camac chose to have only one shop in the Netherlands to sell Camac harps (and only Camac harps)…

[Lily-White]

Hi Wil-Weten,

You are so right. It would be SO enlightening and fun to pay a visit to the Zingende Snaar in Rhenen! But, unfortunately, it’s not possible.

I have been lucky enough to try some Camac, Salvi and Dusty harps though. And the only ones that have made me feel at home are the Dusty harps. The sparkling sound, the touch, the overall feeling.

I love my rental Ravenna 34. If I buy another harp, it will be hard to let go of her. On the other hand, I’m looking for a forever harp, and the FH34S in cherrywood is very tempting…

Thank you for your answer Wil-Weten, it made me think. So I continue to go back and forth… 😂

Any other comments on the two models above – especially on their differences sound-wise – would be highly appreciated 🙂🎵🎶

– Lily

[wil-weten]

@LILY-WHITE If you found the Dusty FH34S walnut already a bit dark, I think you may be preferring a more bright tone. Harps made by Dusty are made to sound bright. Such a harp in walnut will give it a rich and warm sound, and it would still tend to sound significantly brighter than lever harps built to sound warm. I prefer cherry tone wood, which also sounds rich and warm, but has a different sound character. I don’t know how to describe it, and think you really need to sit behind the harps yourself.

I wonder whether you heard the FH34S strung with lever gut strings. They sound richer, warmer and also less bright than a nylon strung harp. Perhaps you experience gut strings as a bit darker than nylon strings?

I understand you’d like to buy a ‘forever’ harp already, but I think you’ve only seen and heard very few harps until now and I wonder what would be your possibilities about trying them out yourself. Is there a society of harpers in your country? They may organize events and some kind souls there might let you try their harps for a while there.

[Lily-White]

Hi Wil-Weten,

The FH34 in walnut that I have played was nylon strung. I actually got to borrow it from a beautiful soul for a whole week! I’m interested in the FH34S in cherrywood, because I have heard so much about its beautiful sound (less dark than walnut!). What I have heard really resonates with me…

All the harps I have tried, I have got through this same beautiful soul, who is in the center of the the harp community of my country. I am extremely grateful for all the help and support he has given me!

I have some issues with the joints of my hands, so a harp with heavy string tension is not for me. The Ravenna 34 is almost perfect in this regard, only the upper treble is a little heavy for me. In the FH34S it’s a little lighter (Dusty Strings have confirmed this to me, and I felt it when I played the FH34 in walnut). The other ranges of the FH are exactly like in the Ravenna. So the FH34S would be perfect for my problematic hands, this is a thing I have to consider too.

So nylon strings are for me, they sound brighter and are less heavy to play.

This said, you are once again so right! I have very little experience and I’m not famous for my patience… 😂
I thank you for sharing your wisdom and experience with a novice like me, in such a kind and honest way. It makes me reflect more objectively on my situation. Thank you!

Right now I can’t see what else I could do, but I will give it a little more time and reflection. I have asked for a quote for both of the models, the outcome of this might have an impact on how I proceed as well.

This isn’t an easy journey, but I have completely fallen under the “harp spell”, and it’s so exciting and rewarding. Learning to play the harp has been a long-time dream of mine. Whatever decision I make about buying a harp, I know I will be SO happy I found the courage to pursue my dream… 🤩

Warmly,

Lily

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Lily,

I was thinking–since we already know that Salvi can make a white harp (even though it’s not one of their standard colors), I was wondering what models of theirs you’ve tried.? Aside from their Gaia and Ana models, I think all of their other lever harp models are lower in tension.

Also, my understanding is that the tone of a harp model made in cherry wood is almost as dark as the tone of the same model made in walnut, while maple and bubinga would have a much brighter tone. Have you seen the following webpage on the Dusty Strings website? (Scroll down to the section about wood choices):

manufacturing.dustystrings.com/harps/about-harps/woods-anatomy

Also, have you given any thought to types of levers? Dusty Strings harps come with Loveland levers by default, but many people prefer to upgrade to Camac levers, which have better functionality but do cost more. In fact, many lever harp makers used to use Loveland levers, but Dusty Strings is apparently the only maker left who still uses Lovelands routinely.

Sorry to add more things for you to think about, haha!

-Gregg

[Lily-White]

Hi Gregg,

Thank you! Somehow I had missed that page of the Dusty Strings website, so the link was very useful. It confused me even more… 😀 But that’s actually a good thing, I need to learn more about different harps, preferably try as many harps as possible, and learn more about what I really want/need. When I started to play in February, I was convinced I wanted to play only opera and classical music. That is what I prefer to play on the piano. When it comes to the harp, I have now discovered for example Ailie Robertson’s Slow Airs, and I’m very much drawn to that kind of music. I obviously do play different kinds of pieces, I want to learn different kinds of techniques and discover what’s out there.

Ailie Robertson recently made a harp comparison on YouTube: Fisher Eireann vs Killarney Muckross. Very interesting! These harps were completely new to me, but they sounded beautiful! This widened my horizons a little as well…

Another thing that has changed is that I dreamed about a pedal harp before. Now I know I want a lever harp. So a lot has changed since February, and I’m sure there’s a lot more to discover…

About the Salvi harps, I looked through them earlier and I couldn’t find a model high enough with light or medium string tension and nylon strings (I need to educate myself about different kinds of strings, I know, nylon strings just feel so safe and light to me… 😀 ). In addition, the sound of the Salvi models I have played doesn’t compare to the Dusty sound I’m so much in love with… I have also ruled out the Camac harps – at least for now – for the same reason. Ironically, Salvi and Camac are the ones who would make me a white harp…

Back to Dusty Strings, I still think I’m a Dusty girl. With a good pair of head phones I can hear quite a clear difference between the Dusty FH34 in walnut and cherry, on the Dusty website. The one in cherry wood sounds more beautiful to me. And about the levers, my Ravenna 34 has full Camac levers. If I buy a Dusty harp, I definitely want the Camac levers on that harp as well. But thanks for pointing it out, it’s a big thing!

About the two Dusty models I have been thinking about: I got the quotes for both. The quote for buying my rental Ravenna 34 was good, but I would so much like to try the FH34S in cherry wood first. Even though the quote for that one surprised me a lot, it’s very expensive…

All this said, I think a visit to the harp store De Zingende Snaar in Rhenen (the Netherlands), is what I need. It’s the nearest harp store to my country, it’s huge, they have all kinds of harps. Dusty Strings included – right now they even have a FH34S in cherry wood! And even a Killarney, if I have understood correctly. Trying different kinds of harps, forgetting about all the labels, just seeing what feels and sounds good to me, could be very enlightening – and so much fun! Wil-Weten suggested this to me above, and I cannot let go of that idea (thank you @WIL-WETEN !). It’s practically impossible for me to go there in the near future, but as they say: “nothing is impossible”… Work in progress, the chances are small, but I’ll see what I can do.

Thank you again Gregg for taking the time to help me and accompany me on this wonderful journey! And thank you for supporting my dream about a white harp…

– Lily

[balfour-knight]

Lily, I enjoyed reading this older thread again. I understand completely why you ended up buying the cherry FH34S! (Your “Lily White” dream harp!) My lever harp experience finally led me to buy, in 2015, the lever harp of my dreams, the cherry FH36S, “Cherie,” with Camac levers. Like you have said, there is just something about the sound of the cherry wood that totally appeals to me, when all the other types of wood were just “close.” I, along with you, felt that the walnut was a little too dark. On the other side, too bright, were the maple and bubinga. Until the cherry, I had never been completely pleased with a Dusty harp. Previous to Cherie, I had indeed owned a very nice Ravenna 34, but when I discovered Cherie, I traded in the Ravenna without another thought. I have never regretted my decision. I am primarily a pedal harpist, and dearly love my Camac maple Atlantide Prestige. But when I play the lever harp, Cherie is my favorite “little harp!”

Best wishes in your new dream harp journey,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[Lily-White]

Thank you Balfour. I couldn’t agree more about the sound of the cherry wood! 🙂

– Lily

[balfour-knight]

Lily, I like to describe the sound of my cherry-wood FH36S as being like eating a chocolate-covered cordial cherry! I love these around Christmas time, ever since I was a little boy and another boy at school gave me a box of them for Christmas. We drew names for gifts back then and I loved my present! Cherie has the same delicious deep, rich, warm sparkle in sound that the chocolate-covered cherries have in taste. I think this specific quality of sound/tone sits right in the middle of all the other woods that Dusty uses to build their harps.

Delicious harp and candy hugs,
Balfour

[Lily-White]

What a delicious story! 😀

It’s exactly that rich and warm sparkle I love so much too. I couldn’t have put it into words like you did though. Spot on!

Thank you for your yummy story, Balfour!

– Lily

[balfour-knight]

So glad you enjoyed the story, Lily! I still think of your name every time I bake something delicious with White-Lily flour. It is so light, fun to sift, and always makes cakes, cookies, rolls, biscuits and pastries turn out well. My family has used that brand for years!

Happy Harp Playing,
Balfour

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