Pratt Lever Harps

[HBrock25]

I’m late to the string, but I just purchased a Pratt Chamber Harp.

[Kathleen Clark]

I’m late to this string too. I just played my first Pratt harp last week, at the Harps International Showroom (Carolyn Sykes, rep — Pasadena, CA). I have six harps (one pedal, one wire, three 36-string levers, one lap). I had never heard of a Pratt and when I went into the showroom there was one tucked away in the back corner that caught my eye. I bee-lined right to it. It was a Pratt Chamber harp and I tried it and was completely blown away by the sound. I didn’t try lifting it, but was told that it is a heavy harp for its size. It is not just the audible sound for me. The way the soundboard vibrated into my body was bigger than my full-size pedal harp. That absolutely stunned me. If and ever we have enough extra money for another harp this is the one I want!

I had to laugh when I read the comments about visual vs. aural in choosing a harp. This is what happened to me: at Sylvia Woods Harp Center a couple years back some new 36-string Triplett Signature harps had come in and I tried them all. One I sat down at, when I started to play it, I felt a huge woosh and saw my aura expanding all around me, blue with gold sparks. First time that had ever happened in my whole life. The harp next to it was the same model and wood (bubinga) so I played that, but nothing special happened. It only happened on that one harp. Repeatedly. Week after week I would sit down at all the different harps and that harp kept picking me out with a huge woosh, blue light, and gold sparks. Unfortunately for my pocketbook the harp that ‘picked me’ was loaded with inlay design and so cost considerably more than the other plainer ones (same model, same wood) around it. I just could not justify all that extra cost. Then one day I was in there and someone almost bought it. I panicked. The harp went home with me that day and is by my bedside as my healing harp now. My husband calls it my Harry Potter harp because of the way it picked me — instead of the wand choosing the wizard, the harp chose the harpist!

I love all my harps. I wouldn’t part with any of them. Someday I hope to add a Pratt Chamber harp to the family.

[karen]

check out FaceBook and search for Pratt Harps….you’ll see he has a pictures of the Princessa with both a straight and an extended soundboard. He was just at the harp conference in Tacoma, WA.

[karen]

sorry…someone asked about the Princessa in a different ‘thread’ and I posted it here. The Chamber harp is the creme de la creme of John Pratt’s harps but his Princessa is a newer model and he is making it with both a straight and an extended soundboard.

[deb-l]

isn’t the debutant the other model?

[HBrock25]

The hierarchy is:

Pratt Chamber Harp, Princessa, Debutante, Sprite (in descending order). No experience with the Debutante…just the chamber harp which is amazing–in sound, design and construction. The Sprite is the new tiny harp (lap harp) that he just designed). The Princessa is also a fairly new design. I think the Chamber Harp and the Debutante have been around for about 15 years.

[kathy-chanik]

I see by the Facebook photos that the new Princessa with the extended soundboard has 38 strings, with the low B and A added.

[deb-l]

I could only find info on the straight soundboard with low c as lowest string on Summerhays website.

[kathy-chanik]

If anybody’s interested in hearing some sound clips of the Chamber Harp, I found some on

[karen]

Kathy~

Do you come across a lot of music that requires the low B and A? Just wondering what prompted you to say you “wanted those two extra strings”. Seems like most music for lever harps goes to the low C and that is it. Would love to hear more from you.

[karen]

Pratt Harps just put launched their updated website with pictures, specs and prices on the Princessa, the Empress (that is the one with 38 strings that someone so shrewdly noticed in the pictures) and of course, the Chamber Harp which has been around for 16 years. Chamber Harp and Empress are about 48 lbs and between 63-64″ tall (to answer those questions from above.

check it out:

http://www.prattharps.com

[kathy-chanik]

Hi, Karen-about having those two lower strings.

[brook-boddie]

Kathy, please let us know your experience with the Pratt when you play one.

[kathy-chanik]

Brook, I was just watching your videos again.

[barbara-brundage]

>never more than 36 strings

Oh come on, Kathy. I know you had an Ana, even if the extra strings were on the wrong end. 🙂

[Author]

Posts