L&H Lyric harp?

[interested]

I am looking at the possibility of buying a used harp. Someone local has a Lyon & Healy Lyric harp. They say it is similar to the Troubadour, but is not made anymore. It has 36 strings, fully levered and a pick-up installed. Does anyone have any experience with this harp, or any idea how much we should pay for such a harp?

The owner bought it used in about 2007 from their teacher. It has been sitting unplayed in the parents’ house for a number of years. It comes with a dust cover, a traveling case with wheels, a tuning key, and a full set of new strings. I imagine the strings probably need to be replaced anyway.

I would welcome any advice and price estimates. Thanks!

[interested]

I found an article saying that, while the Ogden, Troubadour, and Prelude all use pedal harp strings, the Lyric uses lever harp strings. It was apparently designed to be used by a player who intends to stay with the lever harp, rather than as a stepping stone to a pedal harp. It says that there are many of these being played. I find it odd that I have not been able to find a single picture of one, and very few references to them online.

Is this a harp you would recommend for a student? She has been playing for two years on a smaller harp, 29 strings, and her teacher thinks she is ready for more range and a better sound quality.

[Biagio]

These are “lever gut” strings ie a lighter gauge than on a pedal tension harp such as the Prelude. If the harp has been sitting around unplayed for any length of time it will probably need new strings and regulation, so add that in to the asking price. If it is in good shape otherwise and the price is acceptable it should be fine…but….

Her teacher can give better guidance on what would be suitable, all else being equal. Some people insist on gut strings, others prefer on nylon, those who like rapid Celtic tunes prefer a lighter tension such as the Sligo Luchair, others a more medium tension like the Dustys and so on.

For better range and sound quality, Dustys Camacs, Thormahlen, Triplett, Sligo Raven, and many more are all excellent but her teacher would be the best person to help you make a judgement. In any case you should not buy a used harp without a personal inspection accompanied by an experienced player.

[balfour-knight]

I just found a couple of photos of a L&H Lyric at:
affairsoftheharp.com lyon and healy lyric harp

Hope this helps! I have never seen one in person. I agree with the excellent advice Biagio posted–see the harp in person and have someone there who is very knowledgeable that you can trust, such as the harp teacher.

Have you considered a rent-to-own option? Not knowing where you are located, I cannot say what shop or company is near you, but I can recommend the Virginia Harp Center along with the Atlanta Harp Center, owned by the same nice folks.

Best to all of you,
Balfour

[interested]

Thanks! Part of the problem is that we are in the middle of nowhere – lower midwest – far from any harp store or expert. It’s about a 12 hour drive to any major harp store. Thus looking at local options. No idea what a reasonable price would be, either.

[Biagio]

PS Rees is located in Indiana and has long been recognized as one of the best; they do not advertise however due to their reputation and small shop. There is also David Kolacny in Colorado; and for “kit” harps or those with AC laminate boards Musicmakers in Minnesota. These are all great people with excellent reputations.

David is a very respected harp technician and often has harps on consignment. I noticed that he has some beautiful and hard to find harps on consignment: a Rydecki, Salvi McFall and Hummingbird for example. Those are hard to find because most owners hold on to them!

Best wishes,
Biagio

• This reply was modified 4 years, 8 months ago by Biagio.

[wil-weten]

Hi interested, as you live in the USA, you may like to have a look at thomannmusic dot com
They sell Lyon & Healy Harps as well as Salvi harps. L&H and Salvi are reputable harp manufactures. Don’t even look at the other harps, those are Paki ones which won’t make you happy.
As to the L&H Harps:
the 34 string Ogden costs: $3,179
the 36 string Troubadour VI costst $4,469
The 40 string Prelude costst $5,255
All the L&H lever harps are strung with pedal gut strings.

As to Salvi Harps: 34 string levers harps start from
$2,275 (the Salvi Mia) and the 40 string Salvi Ana starts at:
$5,159
Yes, all these harps do have a solid soundboard. With the exception of the Salvi Gaia they are strung with lever gut strings. The Salvi Gaia has pedal gut strings.

You will probably find sound clips of these harps at this website, otherwise have a look at the shop in Germany at Thomann dot de
You may also have a look at youtube and find some comparison clips where a few harps are played in the same room. It’s important that they are played in the same room, because that helps comparing the harps. E.g. have a look at: https://youtu.be/6iPLzipq4kQ

In Europe Thomann is known as a large music instruments company with a great customer service. Where I live, I get stuff above a rather low amount of money delivered free. Also I get it to try it out for a month, while I can send it back within the first two weeks, free of charge. I don’t know how these things work in the USA, but you could find that out on the site.

[wil-weten]

In addition to my post above: when you want to compare harps, it’s not only important to hear harps in the same room, but also played by the same harper. In the same room, because every room has its own acoustics and by the same harper, as each harper produces her own unique sound (produces by the way she plays the strings).

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