Heartland Harps carbon fiber pedal

[Allison Stevick]

I just received the latest email newsletter from Heartland Harps, and (even though I’m in no position to be buying any new instruments) I’m so excited about their news! Their carbon fiber “Starlight” pedal harp prototype is being played, and they have a wood grain finish option now for all models!

Anyway, I just wanted to say, “Isn’t that COOL?!” 🙂

(For the record: I am in no way affiliated with Heartland Harps except as a satisfied customer) 😉

[natalie-wagner–2]

Hey Allison!

I have their Delight in the classic black. I love the harp very much!

I had problems though, when Dave came out with the LED lights he offers now he had a sale giving them for free on harps already in stock. So I saved up as much as I could and financed the rest. I am proud to say it was the first loan I ever took and I payed it off in only a couple months. 🙂 The lights never worked quite right and when I emailed Dave about it he ignored me for… I think it was 3-5 months, I can’t remember. I had to call and email every day for a week to finally get a response and apology from him.

Now he says he shipped out the parts in priority mail, but I still haven’t received them… And that was a week ago…

So as much as I love the harp itself and can only say wonderful things about it, I am not having the best experience with my purchase since it’s STILL going on.

Which model do you have? Any color? What do you think?

I was blown away by the bright cheery sound it has. My levers were stiff when I got them, and sometimes they still stick, but overall I enjoy the truitts. I live in Florida so this harp has been a huge blessing for the beach wedding I had over the summer. I’m the only harpist I know who happily will go to the beach now! It gives me a unique market, but of course I’m a student and summer had pretty much passed by the time I got it. I have a new teacher who has a big following in the city above my town, so maybe she will direct outdoor jobs onto me. She told me she won’t play on the beach either!

I want to start volunteering with this harp too, it’s so light I can move from room to room in no time at all!

I can’t believe how pretty the wood finish looks. Dave will be coming to Florida next week so I might get a chance to play the starlight. How exciting is that?!

I hope your harp keeps “delighting ” you! 😛

—- Natalie

[Allison Stevick]

I also have the black delight. I love everything about it! I got mine before lights were an option, so I don’t have any experience with that.
When I lived in the States (and hopefully again when I go back) I played in the local cancer treatment center for patients on chemo days. It was really great to have the light harp to be able to move it around easily.
I hope you have lots of fun on the beach! I like to take mine out by the creek, and also play at campfires. 🙂

[christina-b]

Hey Allison,

Is there any way for you to post a link to the newsletter? I signed up for it, but I never received anything in my email. I would love to see the pictures of the wood finish.

You seem to be really happy with your Heartland harp. How does the sound compare to wood harps?

Thanks so much!

[natalie-wagner–2]

Oh the sound is gorgeous! I have played only a few wooden lever harps, all were lyon and Healy and aimed to imitate a “pedal harp” sound. The Delight has a beautiful bright Celtic harp sound, you can listen to it in a wood/carbon fiber blind harp tasting test here. @http://www.heartlandharps.com/harptasting1.html

I personally LOVE it, very different from my petite pedal harp. Listen and see if you can even tell them apart. I couldn’t but I don’t have much experience.

[Allison Stevick]

Christina,
It’s true that I do really love my harp! 🙂 Some people say the sound of carbon fiber to wood is similar to a solid-body electric guitar (plugged in) compared to an acoustic. I would say that’s fairly accurate, in that the carbon fiber has a little less in the area of overtones. I love the sound though. It’s what I would call bright and sweet. It’s lovely in the upper range, and even clear in the lower range–not muddy at all. Because the whole instrument is hollow it resonates well, which gives lots of volume with minimal effort. Anyway, I hope that helps! Do go to the website and hear the harp-tasting, as Natalie suggested. It’s pretty cool. 🙂

[tonie-ogimachi]

I have an Infinity, which I just love for all of my travels and classroom work. I had similar issues just with trying to set up payment for my harp. Dave has been so busy traveling, that it sometimes seems like it’s hard for him to get to his email. I have also been searching for information on pricing for the Starlight model. I’m thinking of replacing my L&H pedal harp with it. I would love to have some sort of ballpark idea of pricing, but can’t seem to find that information anywhere. Does anyone out there have any idea?

[natalie-wagner–2]

Yeah he said $33,000 if I’m correct. Somewhere between $30,000-35,000. He’s very friendly but not organized, I would pick my harp up and pay in cash to simplify things.

[christina-b]

Natalie and Allison,

That wood finish sure is pretty! I have been eyeing the carbon fiber harps for a while, and I am always scrounging for more information on them. I used to play in a hospital for the patients and I am hoping to start doing that again. A carbon fiber harp would be much easier to carry in and out of the hospital. 🙂

Thanks for your help!

[natalie-wagner–2]

No problem! If you purchase one I am almost positive you won’t regret it, they most certainly are the lightest harps around and retain a beautiful sound. Every harpist is different so it is always best to play it in person. I couldn’t and ordered it on faith, and I love it! Just be extremely direct with Dave, try to get everything with payment done as quickly as possible.

[tonie-ogimachi]

Thanks Natalie! Very helpful to have some idea.

[emma-graham]

Given that I regularly have to get my (CG pedal) harp up this staircase…..

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Spiral_staircase_in_Haldon_Belvedere.jpg

…..I would really love to see the starlight harp. I wonder if it will ever make it to the UK?

[Sylvia]

Isn’t there an elevator? Doesn’t the UK have laws assuring access for the handicapped?

[emma-graham]

Ha! Sylvia. No, no elevator. I wish!! This tower is very tiny. Only 50 people are allowed in the building at any one time so no room to even install a lift (elevator ;)) even if they were allowed to. Yes, there are laws about disabled access but there are also laws about what can and can’t be done to ancient buildings. It’s a common problem here, trying to balance the needs of everyone while preserving our heritage.

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