[alistair-howie]

Great advice, thanks!

[alistair-howie]

Just closing out this thread. Thanks again to everyone who has provided input to my choice. Today, I called Pilgrim and paid 3 months rental of a Clarsach, with a view to potentially purchasing one at Christmas when the rental is up. At the end of the day I was swayed by my daughter’s teacher saying she really preferred gut … so who am I to disagree when I don’t really know one end of a harp from another!

Thanks again. WIll doubtless be back online when I hit a problem tuning or replacing a string!!!

[alistair-howie]

Thanks Jennifer, Tony.

I visited Pilgrim a couple of days ago and had an enjoyable hour there, being shown around the workshop and then talking to Naomi Harling and listening to the Clarsach. Sounded great to my uneducated ears!
I’ve got a question out to my daughter’s harp teacher asking whether she thinks the Clarsach would be “better” for our situation than the DS. At the end of the day it’s another £640 with the carrying case, compared to the £2k Ravenna all in, so I just need her final input to decide whether it’s worth the extra expense. I might try to get to Morley Harps to hear a DS before finally deciding.

[alistair-howie]

Tacye – now that is interesting, I never knew that! Don’t worry, I wasn’t ever going to swap the strings myself anyway. Apparently two sharping lever cam handles would need changed to accommodate the gut as well, and I have no idea what they are, let alone how to change them. It would just have to be cost I’d have to bear.

As I said above, I’m going to make a trip to Pilgrim tomorrow to check out their harps. Either way, Pilgrim or DS, nylon or gut … let’s face it, based on the information that people have been kind enough to share with me on this forum, either would be absolutely fine for my daughter starting out. At least that’s my take on what I’ve read …

[alistair-howie]

Thanks very much, Patricia. I’m going to try and visit Pilgrim tomorrow to see the harps in real life!

[alistair-howie]

Thanks Ellen. Gut is an option on the Ravenna, either from the outset or with re-stringing.

[alistair-howie]

Tacye, thanks for your thoughts – I’ll look again at the Skylark – and the reminder about VAT free purchases by schools – alas the Assisted Instruments Purchase Scheme only applies to state schools, not independent ones … so it’s the full price for me, I’m afraid.

Jennifer – thanks for your comments. My daughter doesn’t have any style or preference for a particular type of music yet. She saw the harp on a children’s TV program a year ago and fell in love with it – pretty sure it was classical music on a pedal harp – and she was reminded about it when she saw a girl playing the lever harp in her school assembley a few months ago. Thereafter, we’ve been pestred for lessons, so we’re dutifully complying!

Ellen – great information, thank you.

So … at the moment I’m leaning towards the DS … which I could always string in gut down the line if desired. I’ll complete my research, but that’s where my mind is currently at!

[alistair-howie]

Christie and Shelby, thanks very much for taking the time to reply, it’s much appreciated.

As I suspected, the DS and the Pilgrim both seem to be wonderful harps which will serve my daughter well as her abilities hopefully grow over time. I still haven’t found any worthwhile information or opinions on the Salvi Mia, so I’m going to drop that from consideration now. If Salvi can’t be bothered to provide information, then I can’t be bothered to research it further!

Re nylon versus gut, I’ve heard completely conflicting information about the strings ability to hold their tune. Which holds tune better – gut or nylon?

[alistair-howie]

Thanks again Andee.

Jennifer, I’m based in the UK. Any thoughts on the merits of these 3 harps and the ease of learning on a concert gauge and tension harp for a 6 yo? I’m interested in these 3 models because of their size and (light) weight.

[alistair-howie]

Thanks, Andee. I’m not stressing too much the rental decision, but I’m aware that barring a teaching disaster in her first term back at school, I’ll probably buy sooner rather than later so I’m not spending “dead” money on renting. The challenge is, presumably, at that age, the idea of playing several different harps and finding the one that “sings” to her probably doesn’t really apply since she’s so young and an absolute beginner. Hmmm ….

Well you’ve confirmed my thoughts on the quality of the Dustry Strings, which was going to be my first choice anyway, until her teacher threw me a curved ball saying “go for gut” if possible.

Can I ask, though, what are your thoughts on learning at that age on a concert gauge and tension harp i.e. the Pilgrim. Is that much harder for someone so young to learn to play? Is it an realy advantage starting out on that if moving to the pedal harp later on, or is that transition actually not so bad if you’ve been playing on a folk strung harp for several years?

And any thoughts on the Salvi Mia? It’s so frustrating not being able to find decent information online about it. Another reason to go for DS, I think!

Thanks again for your help.

[alistair-howie]

Or what about the Salvi Mia?? I find it amazing that Dusty Strings give you so much information about their products yet Salvi are the complete opposite. I’ve been surfing the Internet for a few hours now trying to find out about this harp!!

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