Which Harp??

[Donna O]

I am looking for a smaller transportable harp that will fit in the back seat of my Toyota Camry with at least 34 strings.. I am interested in opinions about which harp to choose from the following four harps and why you would choose it. Does anyone have experience with them especially blevins harps vs dustys??
Blevensong 34
Blevins Encore 34
Dusty Strings Ravenna 34
Dusty Strings Crescendo 34
DonnaO

[ellen-beckerman]

Hi there,
I can’t speak to the Blevensong or the Blevin’s Encore. However I have had a little experience with the Dusty Strings Ravenna line, and I own an Allegro, which is the smaller harp of the Allegro/Crescendo line. A friend of mine in England had the full sized Ravenna. I played it, and thought it was a nice harp for the money, but didn’t have the sound of a solid wood harp. My little Allegro is an amazing little harp, and its voice has really matured over the years, and is bright and full. My instinct is that you would be happier longer with the Crescendo than the Ravenna, so if you could afford it, I would opt for the Crescendo over the Ravenna. Hope this helps!

Ellen

[Sherj DeSantis]

Hi Donna! It’s nice to talk to you again. Dusty makes a perfectly fine harp so you can’t go wrong with them. I own 2 Blevins however and my Encore is a die hard. It never goes out of tune, it never breaks strings, and it is 10 years old now. (My other harp is a Gwendolyn Blevins.) I would just say if being able to move it and have as many strings as possible is your major concern, all the above models really are full size floor models and they have the weight to go with it. Certainly they are smaller and lighter than your Prelude. I don’t think you can go wrong with any of them. So choose the one you like best, maybe after talking to the makers. Again, both of them are very customer friendly. My only comment would be if possible, get Truitt levers instead of the Lovelands. Let us know what you decide, and good luck shopping.

[Donna O]

Thank you Ellen and Sherj for your feedback. I have played all four of these harps but at different times, so it’s really hard to compare them. I was really interested in feedback on the Blevins because there is a lot more info on the dustys, so I appreciated the help. All of these harps are 1/2 the weight of my Prelude so they seem easy to transport and will fit in my car. I plan on keeping my Prelude as well. I am going up to Madison, Wi next week to try the Dusty’s again. Thanks much.

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