structural problems with Aida & Voyageur?

[jane]

I can’t decide between the Salvi Aida, L&H Lyric, and Voyageur, and it’s making me (and probably lots of harp dealers I’ve been emailing for weeks) crazy. My problem is this: I love the sound of the Voyageur and the Aida, but both seem to have inherent structural problems. The Voyageur’s soundboard seems to bow really badly, even after just a couple of years; the two Aidas I’ve seen were separating at the neck and top join–torquing towards the strings. The Lyric doesn’t seem to have any problems, but I haven’t been able to hear one yet. (I’m calling L&H tomorrow to see if they’ll play me one over the phone–desperate times, desperate measures.)

One dealer tells me the Voyageur is low quality; another tells me they’re really

[Karen Johns]

First of all, are you referring to the Musicmaker’s Voyageur? If so, I’ve had one for over three years now with absolutely no problems. In fact, I’ve only had one string break on it which to me is astounding compared to other harps. Another of my friends has one that is even older than this, having bought one from a previous owner. Yes, the soundboard has bowed. This is known as “bellying-up” and as far as I know fairly common to most harps. The soundboard is made of 6-ply Finnish aircraft birch, the strongest on

[Alice Avery]

Hi, Jane,

I have a Musicmaker’sVoyageur harp, a bit older than Karen’s which I purchased used at a music festival.

[jane]

Thank you! And happy spring to you both–

[Author]

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