Old Camac Harp Model identification

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Tagged: Camac harp, old 36 string Camac Harp, Old Camac harp models

This topic has 15 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 1 year, 9 months ago by Mel.

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July 26, 2023 at 1:57 pm #304299

Mel
Participant

Hi I would be very grateful if anyone could help me to identify this Camac harp model that I bought in a secondhand shop today. It has 36 strings. I searched the back of the soundbox for a serial number or model but there is nothing there. Any help would be appreciated. I’m also interested in the harps worth since I paid €600 for it and the body is in very good condition. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

July 26, 2023 at 4:20 pm #304302
Lily-White
Participant
Hi Mel,

Would it be possible for you to submit a picture or two? That could be helpful… 😉

– Lily
- This reply was modified 1 year, 9 months ago by Lily-White.
July 26, 2023 at 4:27 pm #304304

Mel
Participant

Ups! The files were too big! I will try to resend them now.

July 26, 2023 at 4:30 pm #304305

Mel
Participant

Here is the harp.

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July 26, 2023 at 4:33 pm #304307

Mel
Participant

I bought the harp in a charity shop today.

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July 26, 2023 at 4:34 pm #304309

Mel
Participant

I’m just getting used to sending information on this platform. Sorry about the multiple posts.

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July 26, 2023 at 4:39 pm #304311

Lily-White
Participant

WOW! Very interesting! Unfortunately I’m not able to help you though. Somebody else will be, for sure. Have you asked Camac’s customer service? I’m curious and will follow this thread…

– Lily

July 26, 2023 at 4:47 pm #304312

Mel
Participant

I did get a little more information about it on Facebook in the meantime. It could be a “petite clasique” model from around 1998 but it’s not 100% sure. I am of course also interested in the retail price at the time of production and the price it could fetch today. Only because of the circumstances that I found it and naturally to find out how much of a good deal I landed 😉

July 26, 2023 at 4:50 pm #304313

Mel
Participant

Yes I did send an email to Camacs customer service. And received an automated reply saying that they are on holiday until mid August and then I will need to resubmit the email. So until then I will find out as much as I can and eargerly await Camacs return from vacation 😅

July 26, 2023 at 5:02 pm #304314

Lily-White
Participant

Good luck! And please let us know if you find out something, from Camac or from elsewhere!

. Lily

July 26, 2023 at 5:04 pm #304315

Mel
Participant

Thank you! I will. ☺️

July 27, 2023 at 1:45 am #304332

wil-weten
Participant

This is a Camac PH36. I owned a Camac PH38 (so with 2 more strings) once. You got a real nice harp for a great price. Have a lot of happy hours with it.

July 27, 2023 at 6:18 am #304339

Lily-White
Participant

I thought I should have tagged @wil-weten ! 👍

What’s the lifespan of an old harp like that? For playing?

I find it beautiful just to look at…

Congratulations, Mel! 🙂

July 27, 2023 at 6:34 am #304340

Mel
Participant

Thank you Wil. I’m sure I’m going to be really happy with it, did yours also have the gut strings? I wonder if I should restring it keeping the gut strings or change them to carbon fibre…. Also I’m thinking about changing the levers to the current Camac lever style….any suggestions?
Thanks Lily too 😊

July 27, 2023 at 5:37 pm #304343

wil-weten
Participant

@MEL, mine was strung with pedal gut strings. At the time, this model was both sold as nylon strung as pedal gut strung.
I wouldn’t string it into fluoro carbon strings, as with the same diameters of the strings, they would increase the tension which is bad for harps in general, but especially for older harps, and with the same tension, the strings would be significantly thinner and that could be a problem for the old levers which might work less well (the plastic levers can hardly be adjusted). Also, the sound of gut is quite different from fluorocarbon strings.
Now,if you want or need to replace strings and you’re on a budget, you may like to try Camac Nylgut. That is especially suitable for harps with pedal gut tension and it has practically the same diameters. Nylgut sounds a bit less rich than natural gut, but it is much cheaper, and I actually like it being a bit brighter than gut, but not as bright as nylon.

If the levers are still functional, don’t change them. If you need to replace a few, chances are that Camac could still provide you with them. Though the modern Camac levers are great, putting them on this harp would cost a lot of money. Think of removing the current levers, filling up the holes, drilling new holes, masking the filled up holes and putting new levers on. I really don’t think it would be worth the price.

@Lily Camac harps are very sturdy and heavily built. If they’re properly cared for, they could last at least for the rest of your harp playing life.
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