Stoney End vs. Triplett Lap Harps

[sheri-wildt]

Hi All!

I’ve read several threads on here about lap harps but haven’t seen a lot of comments about Stoney End. I play the Stoney End Briar Rose, 29 strings. I’ve been taking lessons for about a year and a half and I would like to purchase a lap harp for portability. I travel a lot and my lessons are 3 hours away, so hauling even the Briar Rose is a real pain. It’s not heavy really but extremely awkward.

I like my Briar Rose because the tension isn’t too hard and isn’t too soft. I played a L&H Troubadour (rental) and it had higher tension (and sounded better!) but the Briar Rose does the trick for me right now.

I am considering either the Stoney End Brittany or the Triplett Zephyr or Christina. Anyone have any thoughts ? I wanted to do the rent to own option and both have a great program. The Stoney End harp is identical in looks, string spacing and tension to my current harp, which is good and bad. Good because going back and forth will be easier. Bad because I sort of wanted something a little different for variety. And, I read somewhere that the Brittany is heavy for being a small harp, which defeats the purpose of wanting something very portable. I think it’s listed as 10 lbs.

The zephyr looks lovely, but there aren’t a lot of videos demonstrating how it sounds. Also, I read it has closer spaced strings and relatively high tension. I’m a bit worried it would be a lot harder to go back and forth.

I love the look and sound of the Christina but it’s pretty large for a lap harp. It’s only 4 strings less than my floor harp so I wondered if it was difficult to maneuver and cumbersome?

Any suggestions/ideas are appreciated! I like the sound to be less bright and more mellow, medium tension… Definitely don’t like low tension, and of course being a good looking harp helps too! I thought about a Harpsicle also but they are a bit bright sounding for my taste. Plus, no rent to own.

Sheri

[jennifer-buehler]

Is there anyone in your area that can let you try the Christina? I actually have both the Brittany and the Christina. The Brittany has nice tension and a sweet sound. It is heavy but very solidly built and can take a fair amount of abuse. The Christina has a very mellow sound and lighter tension. It is nice having the full octave below middle C. In it’s case, it’s only about 6 inches longer than the Brittany. I like both but tend to use the Christina more often because of the full octave below middle C.

I also have a Harpsicle. The tension on the Harpsicle is the lowest of my three small harps. It does have a bright sound. I think the levers have been improved since I bought mine. I know that the levers I have don’t sound great when engaged. It is a fun harp however. Mine is bright yellow and kids love getting to see the “golden” harp. This is also my go to harp for camping.

[sheri-wildt]

Thanks! It really helps to hear some advice from someone who actually has both! So, I talked a bit more both with Stoney End and Triplett. Stoney End said the Britanny doesn’t use a lap bar because it’s too short. This makes me a little worried that it’s going to be awkward to balance on my lap.

I don’t know anyone that has a Christina to try, but I have listened to a few sound clips online and the tone is quite mellow and lovely. I did talk to the owner of Triplett and she was super nice! They aren’t really offering rent to own any more, but she did some legwork and found someone in Florida with a Christina, fully levered with Camac’s, and has hardly been used, for a crazy good price! They also do rent to own, so I may go that route. The price was so good it’s hard to pass up. I’m waiting on some pictures to see what it looks like.

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