Venus vs Lyon & Healy

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

I played on a Venus harp with an extended extended sounding board, full size model, and it did have a deep plush tone. As it had Savarez strings on it, I couldn’t fully compare it to a Lyon & Healy sound, but I would prefer it to a Salvi or Camac. I don’t care for the design of some of their models, but some are quite nice. I would venture to say it is a big step forward for them, but would prefer to know what the differences are, if it is a matter of thickness and design, or if they are using different materials than spruce and maple.

[unknown-user]

Yes, well, some companies use and abuse the “playing in” tag as an excuse for some of the most outrageous things that are wrong with their instruments. You may for instance have 13 discs with loose prongs, and being told to play it and it will settle is just daft. You may have a harp riddled with buzzing, dead patches, and not holding its tuning for months on end. Playing it will settle down some of the tuning problems, but really after a couple of weeks the instrument should have climatised and be holding its tuning.

The playing in excuse will not make a silk purse out of a sows ear…it will not take a fundamentally flawed instrument that should never have been let out of the factory and turn it into something it just is not. And the problem is that some companies use it as a cover all excuse to pass off bad harps to unsuspecting and inexperienced harpists…

And put into that context, I think that these comments made by harpists are completely valid and people in the employ of companies,

[unknown-user]

Hmmm…. I don’t own a pedal harp, I own a lever harp. However! I really do feel that you take a risk anytime you buy something handcrafted such as a harp. Sometimes you get a bad one… sometimes you get a good one… Granted with pedal harps, the quality is usually much higher of lets say… A car??… Soooo You risk getting a lemon car… or lemon harp… As for my next opinion…If i’m going too pay that much money, I’m going too just flat out buy a Lyon & Healy, because it’s high quality has been around for like… 2349280398 years… LOL Soo anyways… Use my useless info as you wish =D

Hahaha.. Have a great weekend everyone!

[unknown-user]

Great point Chris. Yes, there are lemon cars and lemon harps…so you always test drive them both! There is no way that you would buy a car unseen, so you should never buy a harp either! It’s too much of a risk. Especially if you make your living playing.

The best thing about Lyon and Healy, is that you can get a choice of harps – you can order a particular model and they will allow you to choose from maybe 4 or so. And even if you get a choice of one or two, well, at least you have test driven if before it gets sent to you. Not all the companies offer that, and expect you to order a harp and take it unseen.

And in my experience, even a lemon of a Lyon and Healy usually functions in a professional setting. It will hold its tuning, the mechanics are reliable, and it does what it has to do

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

Might just be best to deal with a really reputable company like the Virginia Harp Center. They have such excellent customer service and really care about the satisfaction of their customers. They aren’t in it for “this brand is better than that brand” or “my brand is the best and only” kind of thing. They offer many different brands and are really into “you might really like this harp” because they try to know their customers likes and dislikes. I find them just an excellent concern. Last summer I just wanted to play some harps and the owner in NJ said, “Sure! Come by and play as many and as long as you wish.” I bought some music and some strings because I wanted to, but also because they are such good people to buy from. I got my BEAUTIFUL WONDERFUL Camac from them before that visit — from their Virginia store, and that transaction was also a really positive experience.

[unknown-user]

I’ve also heard that they take alot of trade ins and sell second hand harps…which is really very useful. As models change over time and as people are all so different it is great to be able to see a range of instruments.

I’d also like to say that there are so many other brands of harps the two

[Saul Davis Zlatkovski]

Having recently heard a comparison of several harps in the same space, the best 23s came out on tops, as well as a Salzedo, then the 85s, and last place to the Salvi, which was also so so so much harder to play on.

[unknown-user]

Actually, I saw a handful of Salvi’s recently and was really disappointed in them. They were very very hard to play and did not have the dolce sweetness in the upper register that mine had…but maybe that is becuase mine was played it. But they do seem quite different than they used to be.

I had a tinkle on Alices Salzedo and 23 and they were both lovely instruments. The Salzedo had a really beautiful bell like upper register. I have never heard a bad Salzedo, but then the ones that I’ve seen have always been in

[leonard-lim]

I’ve just gone on to L&H website to have a look at the Style 100 again.

[unknown-user]

Camac in the natural finish and antique maple are rather glamoous! I haven’t seem enough of them to say how good they are in general – but I do know alot of famous harpists seem to use them and they sound pretty amazing on recordings.(Isabelle Perrin for instance, isn’t she wonderful?!)

[Evangeline Williams]

Rosemary, come on over to Delaware and you can play on my electric blue Camac lever harp.

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

HAHAHAHA….what a bunch of hooey propaganda THAT is, Leonard…..

I could have had anything I wanted within my financial range, and I completely bypassed the L&H stuff. No thanks! Just my own preference. Believe me, I have no secret desires — other than an openly spoken one to own a gold Oriane by Camac. 🙂

[unknown-user]

That is intriguing..what did you prefer about Camac? I’d love to know.

I haven’t secretly desired a 23, but I have always wanted an old 22 – but one of the old ones rather than the new. I have a thing for the older models and find that they suit my build and hand size better. Alice has an old 23 – maybe 20 years old or a bit more, and it did suit me better….and I did openly –

[unknown-user]

Hair colour in red Mahogany too…that seriously needs to go on the colour co ordinating with your harp thread!

The Dodd sounds and looks very cute! I have never seen one in this part of the world. Only old Erards and occassionally a Wurlitzer (I’ve heard of 2 or 3 Wurlitzers only in over 20 years!). And most the

[Briggsie B. Peawiggle]

I like the ring…..the evenness from bottom to top. But mostly I like the ring and I like the tone. It’s a nice bright sound….but not too bright. It’s a cultured, beautiful tone. And it doesn’t weigh a ton…..I feel like I am working with the harp and the harp isn’t dominating me. And I like the way the pedals feel — very smooth operation. I just LIKE it. 🙂

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