Experience of Eve Harp by Stoney End?

[watershed]

Hello fellow harpers! I am considering purchasing a travel friendly lever harp, as I would like to be more mobile with my playing. I currently have a Merlin by Rubarth, which I love the deep sound of, but it’s just too big for me to tote about with (22 pounds & 4.5 feet in height). I love to hike and would adore playing harp out in the woods for all the good folk ;). I even dreamed last night I traded in my Merlin for a travel harp!

After researching, the Eve 22 by Stoney End looks to be a wonderful choice. Stoney End has a rent to own program for this already affordable harp, so this grad student can afford it! I love the look and deeper sound of the Eve. I am wondering if anyone has experience with the Eve 22 and could share their insight with me. If there are any other smaller harps that are wonderful, I’d also love to hear about those! Thank you.

[evolene_t]

Hey Watershed!

I know what you mean by wanting a small harp to play outside in nature 🙂 and 22 pounds is on the light side of a harp, but it’s juuuust a bit too heavy to hike with on a whim

Personally, I have never tried the Eve harp but I’ve heard a lot of good. Harp teacher and reseller Carolyn Deal sells that model in double strung : you might be interested in the possibilities that it has to offer.
(With two rows of parallel strings, your hand never bump into each other. This means that you can play a lot more on a double-strung 22-string harp than on a single string 22, or even 26-string harp!)

Even if you want to stick to a single strung Eve, you can have a look at the videos to have a feel of the sounds and structure.
Here’s the link to the demo, but she plays it in a lot more videos as well. And she plays different models in different wood types so that’s something to consider too!

She also demo’d the Ena harp, based on the same shape as the Eve but different string.

You can also check out her other videos of other double-strung harps by Stoney End (like the Brittany and Brea, 22 strings as well, shaped like the Brian Boru, are apparently heavier than the Eve and Ena).

Other lightweight harp exist too!

I’ve played a little of the Camac Bardic 22 strings : although they’ve just stopped making new one a few month ago, many harp shop still have new models in stock (and you’ll find it second-hand too).
Here’s the link to the Camac Bardic 27 but the 22 is the same, only smaller.
Camac is a great, reputable French brand, and if you’re in Europe you should definitely take a look.

Lewis Creek makes the Nightingale harp, and I’ve heard a lot of great things about it : Nightingale – Lewis Creek

There’s also the Christina by Triplett Harps : again, haven’t tried this model myself.
Triplett Christina

That’s all I can think of right now concerning extremely lightweight harps but other people might be able to give more links. (And definitely browse the forum archives).
As usual, the only way you’ll be able to make an informed choice is by trying out the harps yourself, since the videos can never tell you everything. If that’s not possible, I hope I’ve given you a little bit to go on!

[David Kitamura]

For another lightweight harp to be aware of, Heartland Harps is about to launch the carbon fiber successor to their 25-string Serenity harp. Expect a higher price when comparing their carbon fiber line to their wood equivalents, but at the same time they’re about as lightweight and tough a harp can conceivably be: https://heartlandharps.com/now-taking-pre-orders-new-air-serenity-lap-harp/

Personally I’m interested in seeing the double-strung variant of the Air Serenity they alluded to in the post, but that will take some development time yet for it to go into production.

[Biagio]

It’s a fine harp but if I were mainly intending it for hiking, camping, and so on, in your shoes I would opt for the lowest cost and lowest weight in a harp that is nevertheless well built. For me that would be the Rees Sharpsicle or Fullsicle.

Enjoy whatever you choose!
Biagio

[brook-boddie]

I own a Stoney End Lorraine. It’s a nice little harp with a good sound. I’ve tried an Eve before–same result–but the harp is lighter and has reduced string spacing. This bothered me so much that I had to send the harp back.

I have a double string Lorraine, but I would avoid it if you have large hands. It can be quite tricky. Good luck with your search!

[Author]

Posts