Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
I’m still very happy with mine also. It’s still my only harp and I still only dabble, so it’s possible that a more dedicated musician might find something to dislike; however, I have not.
I have had one issue with it since my last post, however. There are three different sizes of lever across the range of the harp and the smallest size (corresponding to the smallest gauge strings) is metal but has a plastic rod glued on where it actually contacts the string, unlike the larger levers which have either entirely metal construction or a metal core with a plastic outer ring. In the attached photo, you can see that the A lever is entirely made of metal while the B has the plastic part. This is because that original A lever was the metal/plastic combo and it eventually broke under the tension of the string.
I contacted the company to let them know what happened and asked if I could purchase one entirely metal lever to replace it. Instead of selling me one, they went ahead and made me a set of eight entirely-metal levers to replace not only the A that broke but the rest that had been made that way, just in case another one fails (which no others have as of yet- rather to my surprise). They did not charge me for these levers, though they did have me pay for shipping.
So the lever broke due to what I might consider poor design, but I knew going in that I was purchasing a cheap instrument and I was very happy with the support they gave me when I reached out. I still love my harp. It holds a tune wonderfully and has brought me a great deal of joy. I have not been consistent enough in my efforts to learn to play to justify buying something more expensive, so this was the perfect harp for me.
I’m sorry to hear that others are still having bad experiences with their Mikel instruments.
I can say that, well over a year into my ownership of my Mikel harp (still my only harp), I still love it. I still think it sounds lovely, and it hasn’t started coming apart like Pakistan-made harps from other companies that I’ve read about. Of course it’s possible that I just got lucky, but as a starter harp– especially for someone who’s never actually stuck with learning to play an instrument before, and thus could not justify paying for a more expensive instrument– I still have no regrets about my purchase.
The tension does indeed feel even to me across the whole range. I don’t have any frame of reference to compare its tension to another harp, as I’ve never played any other (not counting the little rosewood one, of course– but I’m not sure that that counts). The only other stringed instrument I’ve ever plucked before is my hammer dulcimer, when I’ve decided to treat it more like a lap harp… but I don’t think that’s a fair point of comparison either. The harp strings are far less tense than that, but I’m sure that’s to be expected given the nature of each instrument and the materials from which the strings are made.
The levers do indeed seem to be in tune, and they certainly move smoothly and don’t buzz or anything. I have only had the harp for a little over a month now, but so far, no strings have broken even with the daily abuse of an absolute beginner.
Hopefully my photo attaches properly.
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I wanted to chime in here with my experience with Mikel Celtic since this seems to be one of the most recent reviews available. I’m sorry to hear that yours wasn’t great, but my experience makes me think that maybe yours was an unusual circumstance rather than an indication that their customer service is normally poor. I just purchased my first harp from them and I was very happy with both their customer service and with the harp (though I admit that I am new to harps other than the mass-produced rosewood ones– but the harp I bought from them is certainly nothing like the rosewood ones at all. I love it).
I saw your review before I purchased mine, but given their good (albeit limited) feedback on eBay, I decided to place an order through their eBay store because I felt like that might give me a little more protection if anything went wrong. I really didn’t want the only Saffron 27 that was listed, though, because it was blue, so I contacted them and they built me one in a walnut finish instead. They were quick to answer all my questions both before and after my purchase. Unfortunately, I bought it right around the time that COVID started shutting everything down last spring, so international mail services from Pakistan to the US stopped running for several months– but Mikel Celtic was still quick to respond each time I checked in while waiting. What’s more, the gentleman I emailed with seemed very genuinely concerned about news he was hearing about COVID in the USA back at the beginning of the pandemic when everything was really scary. In fact, we exchanged a number of messages that had little to do with the harp at all– I felt more like I’d made a friend on the other side of the world who was worried about our country’s wellbeing. I was quite touched and got the impression that he, at least, is a very kind person.
Anyway, back to the harp. After waiting for four months (during which time Mikel was still quick to respond to all my emails), they reached out to me and offered to pay part of the very steep shipping fees for FedEx instead of using the regular mail since there was no knowing how long we’d have to keep waiting. I took them up on this offer and paid the remainder of the FedEx fees after their contribution, and the harp was safe and sound on my doorstep four days later.
As I mentioned, I am a novice with harps. But I absolutely love the instrument I received. It feels sturdy enough not to pull apart like my old rosewood one, and I think it sounds lovely. I could not be happier with the harp, but honestly, it was Mikel’s customer service and the unsolicited compassion during a frighteningly uncertain time that left an impression on me. I am very happy that I decided to place an order with them, and I wouldn’t hesitate to do so again if I ever needed another harp like this.
