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Since there’s some knowledgeable people on this thread I wonder if you can tell me your opinion: If you were buying a 36 string lever harp with 5 octaves and you had the choice of having the string range as either “C to C” or “A to A”, which would you prefer and why? I’m asking because this is an option for the Aberdeen Meadows Harp. In my case I’ve never had repertoire that needed anything past the top A on a 35 string lever harp. But I do have repertoire that could use that low A. However, I don’t have a large repertoire in the first place. So I’m trying to figure out what is usual and most advantages?
Wow wow wow. After looking into it, the Timothy Harps mentioned here have captured my attention. Where can I try one?
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve never heard of this harp. So I will definitely look online to learn more about it!
These are all great responses and gives me much to think about, especially about being willing to be more flexible with my technique. To answer some of the questions:
No, I don’t want a lever harp with full pedal tension. My particular Pedal harp is extremely high tension. I want a lever harp that will give me a break (from the high tension) when I need it, and something enjoyable to travel with. However, I don’t want it as light-tension as the one I currently have. That contrast is a bit extreme for me. I’m willing to modify my technique. But in my current situation, I feel I’m modifying technique so much that it’s reinforcing “bad habits” that don’t work on my pedal harp.
I suspect that a Medium tension lever harp could possibly give me a happy ‘Medium’ that might be easier for me to work with. Thank you for sharing that the Rees are medium tension. If anyone has tried the Rees and the Merlin, would you say the Rees is higher tension than the Merlin?
I’ve also explored and played other lever harps including some of the ones mentioned. I’m not ruling any options out. I’m personally drawn to the Aberdeen Rees, so exploring that at the moment. Thank you all again for your responses! You are helping me immensely.
Thanks for your helpful replies. On your recommendations I ordered the Salzedo version from the Lucille Lawrence book!
So after all that….. I was able to have my harp regulated by a professional over the weekend. And it was worth every penny. It took the guy less than 5 minutes to diagnose the cause of 2 loud buzzes!!! One of the buzzes was only in certain pedal positions. He stuck what looked like a screwdriver up into the action (is that what it’s called?), jiggled his tool around a bit, and that was it. The second buzz on a wire string was also quickly corrected. He sanded the bridge pin a little bit and that was the end of that too! Several years of enduring such an unpleasant noise are now GONE. I had him adjust my sticky pedals while he was at it and now my harp is so much more pleasurable to play. He drives all over the country doing this and seems willing to come back to my home in 2 years. VERY HAPPY. But I’m still going to continue to study Carl’s book and learn what I can.
Good news people! My harp troubles may be temporarily over. Venus Tech guy just called me and happens to be traveling towards me. He will be here tomorrow to fix and regulate my harp!!!!! Whaaaaat?!!!
Ok Thank you Carl. I read over your response again. Thank you for all that information. It seems I have a lot more investigating to do on the buzzes.
Hi Carl, I’m the one that had the buzzing in regards to specific pedal positions. You mentioned you might have a hunch about this? And you wanted to know my harp make / year, which is a 2009 Venus Seraphim. Here’s the problem again for reference. Any thoughts? :
1) First LOUD Buzz occurs on 3rd octave G & F. And it only occurs when the pedals are as follows: D flat, B flat, E flat, G flat, (all at the same time). The buzz appears and disappears as I move the D out of flat into natural or sharp, or when I move it back to flat. I can make the buzz go away by intentionally moving the D pedal back and forth between flat / natural / sharp a few times, in which case the buzz will disappear for a little while, only to return later while moving the D pedal again. Once the buzz appears, I can move ALL the other pedals (except D) to any position and the buzz remains. But the buzz won’t initially appear without all those pedals being flat first.
2) Second Buzz occurs on 6th octave wire G. It only occurs when G pedal is in the Flat position. All the other pedals can be in any position and it has no influence on the buzz. The only thing that makes that Buzz go away is to move G out of flat into natural or sharp.
Carl I would love to hear your opinion on my string buzzes described above. It’s a 2009 Venus Seraphim. Do you think the problem is correctable? Thank you so very much!
Wow! Lyon & Healy has a training program? Not that I’m in any position to pursue that, but fascinating to know. This weekend I will attempt to change my pedal felts for the first time. I have Carl’s book now and some you tube videos to rely on. Wish me luck.
I want to thank you all for your great advice. I ordered and received your book Carl Swanson. It looks like a really good starting point for me. I’m currently trying to diagnose 2 loud buzzes. I realize from your book that it can be many things causing it, so I’ve got a lot of investigation to do. However, I have it narrowed down to certain pedal positions, at least. Can you tell me if this narrows down the problem at all? –
1) First LOUD Buzz occurs on 3rd octave G & F. And it only occurs when the pedals are as follows: D flat, B flat, E flat, G flat, (all at the same time). The buzz appears and disappears as I move the D out of flat into natural or sharp, or when I move it back to flat. I can make the buzz go away by intentionally moving the D pedal back and forth between flat / natural / sharp a few times, in which case the buzz will disappear for a little while, only to return later while moving the D pedal again. Once the buzz appears, I can move ALL the other pedals (except D) to any position and the buzz remains. But the buzz won’t initially appear without all those pedals being flat first.
2) Second Buzz occurs on 6th octave wire G. It only occurs when G pedal is in the Flat position. All the other pedals can be in any position and it has no influence on the buzz. The only thing that makes that Buzz go away is to move G out of flat into natural or sharp.
Any thoughts? Thank you in advance!
Thank you for this great info. Cynthia. I have a 5 year old Merlin Harp (RHarps). It is in great condition, other than a couple of minor dings in the finish. It has an entirely new set of strings. It was well taken care of, well-loved, and well played. I am selling it because I bought a pedal harp and had to completely re-learn my technique in order to produce beautiful sound on it. Merlin has such light string tension that I feel like I got away with murder for 5 years. Now that I am able to handle the tight tension strings on my Venus, I discovered that I like tight tension better (sounds more articulate, produces better dynamics). Whenever I go back to play Merlin, it has to be played so differently, it seems to be reinforcing old habits that don’t help me excel on Venus. And I don’t have enough time in the day to keep up trying to sound good on two VERY different harps. But Merlin is a really wonderful harp for people who don’t want to work too hard. I’m thinking of pursuing a tighter tension lever harp for travel.
Haha. Definitely a mouse. What else could it possibly be? But yes, my understanding was that if the strings are dirty, or have any kind of residue build up on them, they do not produce the best possible sound. But I tried to play my harp with slightly “moisturized” hands, as recommended. And it made the squeaking worse. Cleaning the strings improved things, more than anything.
I’ve always been in the habit of keeping clean strings anyway. On my lever harp I use guitarist’s wire string cleaner to keep the tarnish of the bass strings. (That particular harp doesn’t have the tarnish-resistant kind). And I can tell you, just doing that every once and while brings the whole harp back to life in a new way. It goes from “muddy” to “articulate” in 10 minutes flat.
