Recommendations for hand crafter lever harps

[dylanhicks]

Hi all!

I am in the market for a hand crafted lever harp and I am looking for recommendations. For some context, I recently (within the last 3 years) bought a Lyon and Healy Troubadour. As I started to play around with more harps I noticed that I was less satisfied with the sound quality on my own. I did some research and found out that Lyon and Healy had been outsourcing production over seas and using synthetic materials for sound boards and such. I’m a little upset to say the least as, as far as I could tell, this wasn’t indicated on their website but it is what it is and I’ve resolved to sell it and move on.

I’m definitely looking for a harp that is the same tension and string spacing as the troubadour. I’m 5’11” and I have large hands so I appreciate the larger spacing and the height. I am very interested in some of the smaller harp makers but I am open to recommendations from larger harp makers as well if you feel floored about any of them.

I have heard good things about John Pratt but cannot find his contact information for the life of me so if anyone has it that would be awesome!

Thanks for any assistance you can provide!

[charles-nix]

I can’t speak to the sound of your Troubadour, though I have seen several from the last 10-15 years. They are concert tension and concert spacing. You will not find many possibilities in the lever/folk harp world like that, except from regular pedal harp makers, who build various lever harps mostly as “starter” instruments.

A birch-ply soundboard is not synthetic, and is predominantly used on the vast majority of lever harps produced. While certainly not as good as a _good_ spruce or cedar board, they are certainly far more consistent, and you have to have a rather good instrument otherwise for it to make much difference.

In general, when I (as a harp repair person) hear of a new harpist “not liking the sound” I go to a couple of possibilities. 1) You don’t like the “concert gut / high tension” sound. Try a good pedal harp from a local symphony player (Schedule a lesson and try their harp out). Does that make the sound you want?
2) Examine your technique. If you are not “placing” and using correct finger motion from the correct portion of the finger you will never get a great sound out of a concert tension gut strung harp. Lower tension “folk” lever harps can be much more forgiving of technique, and will (in gross generalities) have a brighter, more ringing sound, rather than the warm, rich plunk of a concert gut harp.
3) List some harps you have played that you like. What is in common? You can list them here if you want; many people here have a lot of experience with different harps.
4) Maybe this is the most important question: What kind of music are you trying to play? What genre draws you to the harp. You need a harp suited to that music. Harps are not designed for the same purpose.

The Pratt Chamber harps (full-size) I have heard were most excellent, with a big, warm round sound. I don’t know the current status of the company, but would suggest contacting Summerhays Music Center. I’m sure they will know.

Lastly, absolutely consider a pre-owned instrument. Have it checked by a knowledgeable technician if buying from an individual especially.

[Pamela Saunders]

Looking at the Summerhays website leads me to assume that John Pratt is now only building the 36 string chamber harps. But if I could ever get the chance to buy one of his Empress harps I would, especially one with 40 strings rather than 38.

[Gregg Bailey]

I’ve been in contact with John Pratt several times over the last couple of years about the possibility of his making me one of his little “Sprite” harps (22 strings). He always seemed willing; however, he would never follow up with me. I know he had serious health problems awhile back which affected his eyes among other things, though I think he largely bounced back from most of that. His website went defunct a couple of years ago when he didn’t renew the contract with the domain or something; I think he was struggling financially. I do have his phone numbers. If anyone REALLY wants a harp from him, you may be able to hound him to get it done, but I just got tired of trying three different times over the span of more than a year, and he would always promise to do some price-checking and then never follow-up, so I just gave up.

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

Dylan,

I have a Dusty Strings Boulevard (pedal tension, 34 strings), and you would perhaps like this model. It rings more than the Troubadour, possibly due to the bass wires being lever-gauge, but the main playing range uses pedal strings.

Also, have you looked into MariniMade harps? I don’t know what their string tension tends to be, but they make very fine lever harps.

What about a Salvi Ana (40 strings), Camac Mademoiselle (40 strings), or Camac Korrigan (38 strings)? All of those use pedal stringing, though the Camacs still use lever wires in the bass end. I also have a Salvi Gaia (38 strings), which is pedal stringing, though I’ve been disappointed in how the bass wires sound, I think due to the fact that they’re too short on that model.

I agree, however, that a large Pratt model might best fit what you’re looking for if you can get him to actually make one for you.

Let us know what you decide!

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

I also have a Troubadour V (2006) which sounds GREAT with the levers all down (not so great with levers engaged), but I don’t know how the sound compares to a VI. The V was designed to only have 5 gut strings (5E thru 5A) and to use pedal nylon from 4F up, so that’s how I have it strung. My V honestly is the best-sounding lever harp I have, and I have many. I also have a Prelude 40, though the sound is paradoxically not as big as my Troub V.

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

I just discovered that the Camac Korrigan has now been replaced by a new model, the Lancelot, which is very similar but improved, and it now uses better, heavier bass wires to better match the pedal gut higher up. They’ve made other improvements, as well.

-Gregg

[balfour-knight]

Good research, Gregg! Also, take a look at Musicmakers’ largest harp, the Epic. It has a very different visual design, but it might fit the bill for Dylan! It sounds wonderful in the videos.
Harp Hugs,
Balfour

[charles-nix]

All, I feel the need to circle back to a point that may be overlooked in all the wonderful suggestions about harps, all of which can be very nice instruments.

I read into @dylanhicks original post, perhaps very incorrectly, that Dylan is 1) entirely new to the harp (3 years), and mostly or entirely self-taught. There seems to be no mention of a teacher guiding the process.

Nearly every self-taught harpist I have ever seen, _myself included at first_ (until I stopped and relearned finger motion and placement), did not have proper technique to produce a good sound from a concert tension harp. You can get away with a LOT more on a lower-tension folk harp. I found this as true on a Troubadour as on a pedal harp — you better place and use full finger action from the knuckle, or you will have either a thin sound or a wooden sound.

On Dustys, Heartlands, Tripletts, Fishers, Thormahlens that I see, this may be better and more controllable, but nearly anything gets an ear-pleasing sound.

I would hate to have Dylan go through the frustration and expense of multiple instruments, especially when few of the easier-to-play medium tension instruments will meet his string spacing requests. And then find at the end that the Troubadour did exactly what was wanted — when a trained harpist played it.

I could easily be all wrong — but that is what jumped out at me.

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Charles. I believe you are correct on all accounts, and I’m looking forward to seeing what Dylan has to say. Incidentally, when I mentioned the Musicmakers’ Epic harp (38 strings) I read about it again on their website. They advertise that it has concert harp spacing and high tension. Like I said, the tone is very pleasing in the videos, especially listening through headphones. For a 38 string harp, it isn’t too tall, and doesn’t weigh a lot, but it has a real booming bass. No doubt, the “cello-like” shape contributes to the beautiful, full tone.

Have a great day, all my friends,
Balfour

[balfour-knight]

Please respond here, Dylan, so we can figure out how to help you.
Best wishes,
Balfour

[Pamela Saunders]

I like the stringing of the Camac Lancelot because of the heavy bass wires and because the bass wires start at G30 instead of C27. I’m going to have to get one, but I’m still planning to keep my Lyon and Healy Ogden. I could tune one to E flat and the other to F. It’s like the Lancelot is everything the Ogden is and then some. (Four more strings and the Camac levers) And I could transport one about as easily as I could transport the otherI’m currently thinking I’m not interested in pedal harps.

• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Pamela Saunders.
• This reply was modified 5 months, 3 weeks ago by Pamela Saunders.

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