Dusty strings Ravenna vs Teifi Siff Saff

[chas.thomason]

It’s lovely that people are advising you on which harp to go for at this early stage (Harpers are a great bunch)…but please don’t get too ‘hung up’ on all the technical stuff just yet. Most new (quality) harps are pretty well sorted before you get them and you’d have to play a harp for a very long time before it needed ‘setting up’ again. It’s like asking about buying a new car and then a mechanic starts telling you all about adjusting the timing and carburettor – a bit scary? The point about ‘try before you buy’ is well made though and again a local main dealer will guide you through any ‘teething troubles’. Happy harping…😊

[wil-weten]

I agree, chas.thomason, that most new quality harps are pretty well sorted out before they leave the factory, but unfortunately, there may be an occasional harp with bad luck.

The point is that the circumstances of the OP are quite different from those in the US or Europe where certified harp technicians can be rather easily found and most problems can usually be solved locally and quickly. A certified harp technician is usually certified to repair for specific harp factories all over the world and that usually means that the harp won’t need to be shipped oversees to get it repaired.

So, even when the chance of a problem with a new harp is slim, I do think, it’s still important for people in real small harp communities to consider the possible heavy costs of shipping a harp oversees back to the factory to get it repaired.

Edit: and, the chances of a harp being inadvertently bumped into at a harping event may be tiny too, but these things happen.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 1 month ago by wil-weten.

[Biagio]

It’s a good bet that at least one string will break within the first year or two so it would seem a good idea to know ow to put on a new one, at least. Fortunately most “beginner” books show how to do this.

Just as a matter of common sense though: if you had never driven a car before and had just bought one, would it not be a good idea to at least skim through the owner’s manual to understand what periodic maintenance is suggested?

Same with a harp. I’ve lost count of how many questions crop up by people who just dived in but neglected the basics – often on pretty trivial “issues.” And/or find that they do not have to tools or knowledge to fix them.

Look, I’m not suggesting that a beginner become a technician but it is really doing them a disservice to just wave away the issues that any harper will face with their instrument.

Biagio

[Claire B]

Hello! It looks like we will be getting a Ravenna as the lady who bring it here has been in contact with Dusty Strings on a regular basis for several years now and has been bringing in stocks for them as she has a harp therapy thing going on. And, she has been doing her own self regulation on her own Dusty for many years now, too. My daughter said she would be equally happy to learn on either this or the Korrigan. The deal breaker was the weight. She needed it to be portable in case she needs to go for a test or something.

I will definitely try to learn to do my own self-regulation @biagio!

@wil and @chas thanks for your inputs! And, the Salvi showroom here has temporarily since covid. The owners went back to Indonesia. My daughter looks forward to when everyone can safely travel, then she can also attend harp festivals overseas and learn more how other harp sound and feel in real life. Till then she is content with harp #1 – the Ravenna. =)

[wil-weten]

Hi Claire, congratulations with your decision. The Ravenna is a great harp to start one’s harp journey on. I wish your daughter many happy hours with it.

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