Sweetharp

[barbara-dixon]

Has anyone received their Sweetharp yet?

[angel-zhao]

From what I understand, Chris had some problems with the parts last year. He also tweaked the design to prevent the neck from warping. You can see the new design here:

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2914159105530&set=a.1918334890547.103744.1607251544&type=1

To quote him: “We’re running them through the shop as fast as we can to catch up on the backlog, and they’re going together great.”

When I contacted him in January this year to order my Sweetharp, I was informed the current wait time for the Sweetharps is around 3 months. So that means his production should run smoothly from here on out. You might want to contact him to get an update on your order. Seeing the other person ordered theirs one month before you did, yours might not be that far down the line.

[Amber M]

I’ve received my Sweetharp, and at some friends’ urging, am posting my review (the good, the bad and the ugly).

[barbara-dixon]

I have contacted Chris numerous times.

[Biagio Sancetta]

Well, I *am* a luthier, albeit strictly for my own personal harps.

[mary-albers]

I too have been waiting 9 months for my SweetHarp. It is disappointing to read that the finished product may not be what I expected. The long delay in production makes me wonder if there are still design issues being worked out.

Thank you Amber for your comments. You covered many of the issues in question.

[angel-zhao]

Thank you for the review, Amber. The problems you experienced made me quite concerned, especially the dye. I would really appreciate it if you could post some photos. Does your SweetHarp have levers on it? If so, is it difficult to flip them under the neck?

[Amber M]

Angel,

Not sure how to post pics here, so I will email them to you. Mine does have full levers, and I haven’t had any difficulty engaging them. They don’t really flip ‘under’ the neck, but more come right up to it.

[angel-zhao]

You can send them to the e-mail address that’s listed on my Harp Column member page. Thank you so much!

[Julie Jones]

I ordered a Sweetharp last May from Chris Caswell and STILL have not received it. I’ve paid in full at the beginning of February, as well as paying for a case. Every time I call him, as he sends very general email posts about 3 times a year, if that many, he gives me a different excuse and I’m about ready to take him to small claims court.

I’ve never owned a harp before. The only kind of harp I’ve ever owned is an autoharp which is quite different. Last May when I saw his video for the new Sweetharp and easy to play it looked, and the low price, I decided to purchase one and got all excited, told my friends and really looked forward to getting it as a Christmas present to myself. No? Not ready last year? Okay then, a February birthday present for me! Not ready? In two months it will be a year and will I actually have it in my hands yet? Do I even want it anymore? What if something goes wrong with it? Am I s^^t out of luck or will Chris actually service it?

[barbara-dixon]

I should imagine your harp would be ready any day now.

[Julie Jones]

Thanks Barbara for responding to my post. I called Chris at the beginning of last week ( after calling him several times throughout the year since I placed my order) and he said he had a bad cough (a bad cough shouldn’t affect his email usage) but I would be contacted by him by the end of last week (“at the latest!”) but of course, I didn’t hold my breath because if I did I would have suffocated.

You are right about his extremely poor customer service and lack of communication. I will definitely NOT recommend him to anyone wishing to buy a harp. MY previous call to him to ask about the status of my order, I suggested to him that he seriously should hire a secretary or someone who can call his customers on a regular basis to keep them updated on his progress. He laughed and said that would be a great idea.

At this point,

[barbara-dixon]

I received my Sweetharp last night and the long wait was ALMOST worth it.( Nothing was worth waiting nine months for unless it is living, breathing, wears Pampers, and has half my DNA.)

[angel-zhao]

Barbara, it’s good to know you’ve (finally) received your harp. Your assessment of its volume and tone is reassuring. I hope Chris will maintain all the good tweaks.

If possible, could you please post a picture or two of your new harp? It’s fun seeing all the custom colours.

[Sidney Dharmavaram]

Anyone have a picture of one of these harps with a lap brace being used?

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