Horngacher harps

[eliza-morrison]

Has anyone played/owned a Horngacher harp? What are your opinions regarding how they compare with Lyon and Healy? I have heard they are quite expensive but good.

[J P]

Horngacher harps are very popular in the UK but not so much in the US, mostly for the fact many teachers/performers do not have them so the exposure isn’t as great. To my knowledge there are no Horngacher dealers in the US so customers must order directly from Germany, which can be quite expensive depending on the value of the dollar or any other currency rate.

My teacher owns a Horngacher and loves it dearly. I play on it fairly regularly for my lessons as well. They are very different from Lyon and Healy. The harps are short, squatty, and very heavy so you have to sit lower in order to find the balance point of the harp otherwise it’ll be a massive weight greater than Salvi on your shoulder. The one thing I do love about the Horngacher is the wide spacing in the middle register particularly for the left hand, makes clean playing a breeze. The spacing is not wide all throughout the harp however, it’s very narrow at the bottom wires and gets wide in the middle and upper octaves. The neck has a glorious amount of room for the right hand which is always a plus. The quality and craftsmanship is excellent and will most likely last a lifetime. The sound is very warm and resonant with lovely sounding harmonics.

I personally could not fathom spending that much money on a harp but that’s just me. You can easily get much more harp for your money elsewhere and it will be just as good if not better. Just my two cents.

JP

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