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Karen,
I just used your phrase today and I was so pleased with the closure and no need to explain anything!! Very good phrase, I will keep it in my books!
Although, I will have this answer on my evil back burner:
“Yes, and so is the price of a Big Mac Meal at McDonalds these days – fancy that!” lol
Thanks for a great response!
Hey Audrey!
I bought my pure Concert Grand Electric as my first CG harp back in 1997. I used it ALL through university (much to the chagrin of my teacher) and I practiced on it acoustically every day. I now use it exclusively for my gigs, and my advanced students have been using it for their lessons at my studio for years acoustically. I just bought a new ElectroAcoustic for a back up in case anything happened to my Electric both for gigs and now so that my students will have a full Acoustic in the studio.
Before I get into the semantics of pros and cons though, if you will never use it electric, then there is no reason to buy it. If you will use it for both, then I do have rave reviews.
Now, here are the pros and cons.
Pro: They do NOT make pure electrics anymore and the pickups on the newer electroacoustics are not as good as the originals. Remember, any time something is half and half, it’s exactly that – not good as something which is pure 100% So therefore, you would be buying a harp that is rare and no longer produced. Mine is custom, so it is forever special. (and btw, they do sell the pickups at L&H still)
Con: as mentioned, I just got a back up harp. If anything happens to the electronics and you are using it full time as a gigging harp, you need to have a backup plan (or a really good musical electronics man to help in a pinch)
Pro/Con: The funny thing is, is that I got bashed for choosing the Electric because it would “compromise” my advancement and technique and it in fact, was the opposite. I will tell you a story – yes it is true that the sound of a pure electric harp is no sound you ever want to be playing with acoustically if you are playing at any type of event. But it does function the same way as an acoustic – the only difference is that the resonance is not as great, making it quite a bit softer and the tone/resonance is compromised.
HOWEVER: the thing is – in order to try to achieve the same tone/resonance quality of an acoustic CG, you have to work much harder. You have to dig into the strings more, you have to have more strength and control. So here’s the kicker. Playing the electric acoustically all throughout university made me stronger and better, because once I had to play on an Acoustic Harp at lessons, or at a recital, it was SO easy to make a huge sound and my hands were stronger for it, therefore making the resonance and tone come out on the Acoustic with hardly an effort.SUPER PRO: the electric harp is unrivaled in terms of the sound it produces when you need to be heard. No number of mics or special amplification can ever duplicate the clarity of a direct signal. Not only that, but it is incredibly cool when you start playing around with a mixing board for special sound effects. If you will be gigging with this harp and performing in the new contemporary world – it is simply a must.
I would NEVER perform at any of my professional gigging events without it. It is one of my main selling points and furthermore, you never hurt your fingers “trying” to be heard over a crowd.Like I said, if you never use it as an Electric harp, it is a waste to purchase it – but I hope that these facts will help you in your decision depending on how you will be using it. I think I may be the only one who was gutsy enough to use this thing acoustically all through my Bachelor’s and Master’s degree with the harp lol.
You can see my harp and tons of samples of music that I have done with it in recordings and on my CD’s on my website http://www.divineharp.com Not only that, but I have a page dedicated to the sound difference between a pure acoustic and a pure electric.
Give me a shout if you have any questions 🙂
Regards,
Alyssa Michalsky
BMus, BEd, MMus
http://www.divineharp.comI know all of us who have rented have horror stories. Just like my gigs, I do not do anything without a contract. Make sure to list all stipulations about it’s care as well as the responsibilities should something happen to it. If they sign it with all of the stipulations listed, there are no misunderstandings. However, as we all know, even with the best of contracts, things happen. You have to be prepared for worst case scenario. Should anything go awry, the contract will protect to some degree, but does not save you the hassle of suing or going to court. One of my stipulations is that it is their responsibility to insure it (as even Anderson who insures many of us) does not allow for coverage if it is in someone else’s posession. If they do not insure it, and something disaterous happens, they are responsible for the full price of a new harp most similar to that model. I’m even pickier stating also that if there is any “new” damage like nicks or scrapes that were not present before the rental, those are also “subject” to charge. It really puts the onus on the renter to be VERY careful and responsible with it, otherwise there may be some serious $$ charges on it’s return…..
Like someone else said, 99% of the time there is never a problem, but you must always be prepared.
Good luck!
Alyssa
