Sad news for lovers of the Style 17

[eliza-morrison]

I recently heard that L&H is discontinuing this model. I’ve always loved the 17; the carvings are so beautiful, the size is perfect (for me, anyway), and I’ve NEVER played a bad one. I was very saddened by this news. Apparently there isn’t the demand there once was…and I am told it costs almost as much to build a 17 as to build a 23. Any other Style 17 appreciators out there?

[carl-swanson]

it’s unfortunate in a way that harps have traditionally been priced according to their size, when the fact is that the production cost is virtually the same regardless of the size of the instrument. Costs like action plates, linkage, discs and other hardware, column, body, pedestal, and neck construction don’t change at all because 95% of the cost of a harp is the labor involved in building it, and the labor is the same for all size instruments. So a small carved instrument is as expensive to build as a large one. I don’t know of any repair shop or repair facility that charges less to build a new neck or soundboard for a small instrument than for a large one. I certainly don’t.

[Jerusha Amado]

I appreciated the 17, particularly for its sound and size.

Will the value of the remaining 17’s owned by the public rise once they are no longer available for order, or will it be commensurate with other semi-grands that are still being manufactured?

Jerusha

[catherine-rogers]

The value of any harp is what people are willing to pay for it, not its scarcity, although that can be a factor for some. The 17 was never a big seller compared to other models, probably because it was the most expensive semi-grand Lyon & Healy made (until they brought back some of the discontinued, early 20th century gilded models in the 1980s), but the soundboard was narrower than a concert grand, so the sound was never as large. I had one I loved for 32 years and it was marvelous from day one, but I finally sold it because it wasn’t being played as it deserved. Why? Because I needed the extra volume of a concert grand in orchestra, and I had a smaller, lighter weight 44-string for casual jobs. If it had weighed less or had a wider soundboard, I probably would have kept it.

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

This is unfortunate.

[emma-graham]

I completely agree. I used to have a 17 gold which I chose because I just found the gold 23 too much! I wish I still had it. I traded it in for a style 11 which is a fabulous harp but I miss the portability and the simple elegance of the 17. Funnily enough I now also have a 23 but in ebony and bronze. It seems I’m a sucker for a stripy pillar!

R.I.P. 17.

[catherine-rogers]

Where did you hear this news? There’s nothing that I could find on the Lyon & Healy website, but I’m not the best on searching the internet.

[Sherj DeSantis]

Unfortunately, I can comment on part of this conversation. My Mom passed away

[kay-lister]

Sherj,

What a touching story!

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

The loss of such a beautiful design is indeed a sad blow for the harp, as there are so few to begin with. Will new designs ever have such balance of grace and beauty again?

[Sherj DeSantis]

I don’t mind at all Kay. She posted as a man, with a female harp teacher, because she was a widowed senior citizen, and was concerned about her privacy. (Her first teacher was actually a man.) She posted as luc Sherrill. She really did have a slightly deformed finger that didn’t work quite right, and an artificial knee, but she wanted to play and so she did. She named her Prelude “Fantasia”, because she said it would be her fantasy come true if she ever learned to play her.

[donna-missigman]

Well said. And when it’s right, it’s right. Since I’m mentioned in this post I’ll throw in my little tale too. I bought an 85GP. My first pedal harp and it’s lovely. Just the right size with deep, rich sound. Thanks Sherj for finding us both beautiful harps! It seems to me your mother would be very pleased indeed.

[eliza-morrison]

Catherine, I heard the news from Heidi at Harp in LA.
Sherj, a bronze and ebony 17 sounds stunning. And unique! Enjoy your new harp.

[jessica-wolff]

Ebony and bronze 17? Wonderful!

[Sylvia]

Can you show us a picture of it?

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