Webster Harp vs Dusty Strings?

[Molly K]

“Get something good and keep it” – exactly! I have taken the plunge and ordered the Ravenna, yay! Currently waiting to hear if it’s in stock and will ship soon or if I’ll have to wait for a bit. And a teacher will have to wait for next month with all the money I’m spending on shipping it!

[balfour-knight]

That sounds wonderful, Molly! I think you made the best possible decision to purchase the Ravenna. Let us know how you like (love!) her when she arrives!
Best wishes to you,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[Biagio]

Congratulations Molly! I’m sure that you will be very happy with it.
Biagio

[wil-weten]

Congratulations, Molly! Nice to hear that you have ordered a 34 string Ravenna. I expect that you will be really happy with it for many years to come.

[naisha]

Hi there! I’ve been reading all the conversation and I wanted to say I love when a thread ends with “I finalyy bought this one!”, it makes me really happy! I’m sure you’ll love your harp 🙂 Best wishes
Annie

[Molly K]

My Ravenna 34 has arrived! It is absolutely gorgeous, as expected. The ash has some beautiful dark streaking that I love, and it sounds just amazing. Like a bell.

The one thing I would do differently if I was ordering again, would be getting the camac levers installed instead of Lovelands. I’d never seen either in person, and I don’t like the way the Lovelands operate or feel. I’m used to the Rees levers on my harpsicle which feel much gentler on the strings.

I’m sure I will get used to the Loveland levers with time, and overall I absolutely adore the Ravenna. Thank you for your advice 🙂

[Molly K]

Another try at uploading the picture, haha. My partner took the photograph and I feel he chose the wrong focal point, but you can still see the harp!

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[balfour-knight]

Great news and photo, Molly! I am so happy for you! That is one beautiful new Ravenna. On full screen, that is a perfect photo–tell your partner, ha, ha! I agree with you about the levers, Camacs are my favorite, but I got used to the Lovelands on my Ravenna, too. There is one advantage to the Lovelands–the “throw” of them is less distance than the Camacs, which helps when flipping them fast during a piece which requires quick changes.

I know you will bond with this beautiful harp and make gorgeous music on her!

Best wishes and harp hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)

[wil-weten]

Hi Molly, I hope that you have been happy with your Ravenna and that you’ve grown accustomed to the Loveland levers.

If you still feel them a bit stiff, here: is how you could adjust the stiffness: https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/application/files/1814/7518/1495/Sharping_Lever_Installation_Instructions.pdf you can read how to adjust the stiffness. It is explained at the bottom of page 1 under ‘Optional step.’

[balfour-knight]

Thanks, Wil-Weten–I forgot to mention that to Molly myself. I did adjust the levers on my Ravenna several times while I owned her. They were regulated very tight when I bought the harp, but were easily loosened with the 1/4 inch wrench. Also, the bass-string “scraping sound” when using the levers can be minimized with a little dry graphite applied to the string where the lever engages it. I used a soft-lead pencil and rubbed it on the string at the lever contact point, up and down on the wrapping and then worked the lever into the graphite. Since most bass-string levers are set up before you play the piece, this worked well. I had no such trouble with the solid nylon strings, which are usually the ones you have to change quickly during a piece.

Molly, I hope these ideas help you to fully enjoy your new harp!

Best wishes and Happy Holidays,
Balfour

[Anonymous]

FYI, that link seems to have been hijacked–there’s some kind of ad for medication superimposed on it, at least as viewed in Chrome.

[wil-weten]

Oops, Kryptoleadonium, the link still looks fine to me. I also use the Chrome browser in combination with Ghostery and AdBlock Plus as well as F-Secure. So, I am not sure whether that website or your computer has got a problem.

[balfour-knight]

Molly, just wondering how you are doing on your beautiful Ravenna. Were you able to adjust your levers to your satisfaction?

Also, Annie, have you purchased/rented a harp yet? I love to hear updates from all you wonderful friends on Harp Column!

Wil, I did not know Camac ever made a single-action pedal harp–how neat! Do you know any more about them or why they stopped making them? I guess the Clio 44-string replaced that single action model, and the Clios are great pedal harps in a “petite” package.

Harp Hugs to everyone,
And,
Have a great day,
Balfour

[wil-weten]

@ Balfour, all I can say about that Camac single-action pedal harp, is that it was relatively cheap and that if one had Camac PH38 lever harp it could be rebuilt into this single-action pedal harp for a nice price.
The shop where I bought my Camac PH38 somewhere during the nineties, said that the mechanism of the Salvi pedal harps worked easier. By the way, both harp models have been discontinued.

[balfour-knight]

Thanks so much, Wil!

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