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Sad news for lovers of the Style 17

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Home Forums Harps and Accessories Sad news for lovers of the Style 17

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 20 total)
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  • #70326
    eliza-morrison
    Participant

    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?

    #70327
    carl-swanson
    Participant

    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.

    #70328
    Jerusha Amado
    Participant

    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

    #70329
    catherine-rogers
    Participant

    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.

    #70330
    Sidney Dharmavaram
    Participant

    This is unfortunate.

    #70331
    emma-graham
    Participant

    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.

    #70332
    catherine-rogers
    Participant

    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.

    #70333
    Sherj DeSantis
    Participant

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

    #70334
    kay-lister
    Member

    Sherj,

    What a touching story!

    #70335

    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?

    #70336
    Sherj DeSantis
    Participant

    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.

    #70337
    donna-missigman
    Participant

    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.

    #70338
    eliza-morrison
    Participant

    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.

    #70339
    jessica-wolff
    Participant

    Ebony and bronze 17? Wonderful!

    #70340
    Sylvia
    Participant

    Can you show us a picture of it?

Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 15 (of 20 total)
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