Music Makers Jolie opinions

[harpnvermont]

I’m looking to add another harp to accompany my Thormalen Ceili (LOVE this harp)
I’d be using it when traveling but also may leave it at my father’s house for a few months at a time so it’s there when we visit.
My Ceili is strung with FC strings and is just so pleasant to play with its light touch.
Curious about the Jolie and as I may have an opportunity to buy one but it would involve a trip to purchase.
Thanks for any thoughts on its playability, string tension and thoughts on a Joilie’s “voice”

[noahsmatrix]

I was invited by my former teacher to play at a worship conference and concert a few months ago. She owns a Jolie hybrid and as she was traveling from out of country to attend this conference in the U.S, she reached out to Music Makers to see if they would provide her with a harp rather than shipping hers. They sent another Jolie hybrid for her to use and she ended up selling it for them at the conference after the concert. The Jolie had quite a bright sound and what really impressed me was the volume. We had several harps playing in a huge lobby as people arrived at the conference. I stepped into the foyer away from the noise to tune for a moment, but even through closed doors, I could still hear that Jolie ringing out above everything. The wood was really beautiful as well; it seemed to shimmer. The hybrid version she used was super light. If you like a bright sound, clear tone, and plenty of projection, I’d say you’ll be very pleased. It was a lovely instrument. My former teacher uses her Jolie frequently on her YouTube channel, Harp for the Lord, and the tone that you hear in her videos is a good representation of what it is like irl. The only thing that doesn’t come across is the terrific amount of volume. I prefer a warmer tone, but I was impressed with it!

[balfour-knight]

The folks at Musicmakers are always so nice! I used to own a large Gothic 36 made by them, and it also had tremendous volume, without using a mic. For a warmer tone, you could also use lever-gauge gut or New Nylgut NGH strings, but do make sure of the correct lever-harp scaling, if going over to lever-gut from lever-nylon! Aquila, USA, who provides the New Nylgut strings, will help you obtain a good scale when going from nylon to New Nylgut. There is no problem going from real gut to Nylgut, as you just use the exact same gauge scale.

Happy Harping!
Balfour

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