Harpsicles? Or what other lap harps can you recommend?

[chris-o-mah]

Hello harpers

I’m considering getting the special edition harpsicle for some musical comedy work that I do which involves a lot of travel, sometimes by air.
I’m in a bit of a quandary because it seems the top end lap harps like Triplett zephyr for example only go as far as middle c, which I’d find very limiting.
It seems the best travel harps are the salvi Juno, camac 27 and ravena 26 by dusty springs….

But none of these fit in the overhead bin on a plane…

I’m curious about the special edition harpsicle because it might have a better sound than the regular sicles.

Can anyone advise ? Are harpsicles good enough to perform on? Has anyone got other suggestions? Ideally I’m looking for something compact, with as many strings as possible that sounds as good as possible…

Thank you 🙂

[jennifer-buehler]

I believe the CD Rose Window was recorded on a Harpsicle.
http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/barneshampton4

I have an older basic Harpsicle and I would say that, if you want to use for performing, you’re going to need some amplification.

I would also do more looking at Harp models. Blevins has a number of good small harps. Stoney End harps would meet your needs sound wise and size wise. Triplett has several models besides the Zephyr which might work for you.

Jennifer

[patricia-jaeger]

Earl Thompson, maker of the lap harps called Linrud Minstrel, is now deceased, but he made many of them for the Christmas toy trade years ago for the Marshall Field Company in Chicago. They fit in an overhead bin on a plane. With 22 strings, the lowest is C below middle C, so the left hand has more to do in bass clef. No levers, nylon strings, standard string spacing, weight about 4 pounds, body in maple or cherry, and hollow sound chamber in fiberglass (made by a boat building company in Ohio) sprayed with gold automobile paint (Ford). There must be hundreds of used ones out there somewhere, so you could do a search and possibly find one under one hundred dollars.Mr. Thompson’s harpist mother, Ruth Linrud, played for Thomas Edison who recorded her playing concert harp on a wax cylinder he invented. His comment was that if her gut strings had been of composite material instead, the clarity of the recording would have been better. Mildred Dilling, harpist, was Earl Thompson’s best customer and practiced on this model in her limousine while being driven to concerts in the U.S.A, She gave away or sold most of these harps.

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