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As Saul mentioned, the turnover of staff is a real concern now. Do they have time for proper training in harp building, or do they apply for a job and get put to work immediately? The lack of quality and customer service/satisfaction really bothers me at L&H. They were too great a company to now fall into this “lack of concern.” The prices of their harps has risen, but the quality has not!
Philippa, I have never heard of that or seen one, but it sounds interesting! Great pianists such as Franz Liszt traveled with silent keyboards, which were small like a suitcase, with weighted keys for exercising their fingers. A small clavichord would work well, too, but the action is very light compared to a modern grand piano! At least, it would make soft music when you practiced, so you could enjoy it more. A small electronic keyboard would take the place of that now, I’m sure.
Harp Hugs,
BalfourGregg, your link works for me! I would rather use my emery board than a tennis racket, ha, ha!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourThanks Gregg! That post was very thorough. I usually travel with a harp, either my pedal harp or my lever harp. Of course, the Dusty FH36S is easier to travel with, and we can pack more traveling supplies into the car when taking the Dusty. I would not enjoy having to practice on any smaller harp than my Dusty, or any harp-shaped object while on vacation. I have to have a REAL harp to play on–that is the whole point of enjoying the instrument. Even though the tension on the Dusty is not quite as firm as the pedal harp, I can maintain my calluses very well by just playing it. If I do not travel with a harp, I do like Gregg said and file my calluses every day with an emery board. This mimics the friction and roughness of actually plucking harp strings, and maintains the calluses. Aloe Vera gel soothes the irritation and helps the healing, and keeps the calluses from becoming too hard.
I would not give up the large, ringing tone of the Dusty FH36S for a pedal-harp-tension small harp. This harp pleases me much more than the Dusty Boulevard, even though it is preferred by some pedal harpists. Since the weight of this Dusty is only about 26 lbs., I find it very easy to carry and transport. I still keep myself in good shape, so 26 lbs. is very light, ha, ha! Even the 77 lbs. of my Camac Atlantide Prestige is not actually very heavy to move, compared to other concert grands made by L&H, Salvi, and Venus, to name a few.
Hope you all are having a great day!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourSarah, have no fear of trying out the Camac harps, despite what Saul just posted. He is certainly entitled to his opinion, but many of us professionals really love Camac harps. My pedal harp is a most wonderful Atlantide Prestige, made in 2016, and to me it is my dream harp. Before this harp, I was indeed a L&H fan, but they have severely disappointed me, with a decline in the quality of their harps and failure to supply customer service and satisfaction.
Good luck in your search!
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)This video is terrible, John! It is like witnessing an execution–poor harp! There should be a society to prevent cruelty to harps!
I agree with what Charles just posted. If you get this harp back together, someone might like to have it just for its “looks,” to place in a drawing/living room, even though it is not playable. On the other hand, a professional lever harp maker might like to rebuild it into a “lever harp” with pedals, like I mentioned earlier. They could use a stringing scale that they know to be good, and they would also know how to make a new soundboard to support this tension. Biagio, are you reading this? I know you could do all this! John, I am not underestimating your woodworking abilities, either. With a little help and advice from the right harp builder, I think you could pull this off and make a very usable, playable, harp too! Good luck!
All good wishes,
BalfourDoes the professional harpist who requested this harp have any ideas? I have never seen or played one, so I cannot help you there. Maybe someone here will see this and offer some advice.
Best wishes,
BalfourJohn, thanks for posting this video. I agree, why would someone do that to this beautiful harp? I do hope Carl or Biagio sees this and responds. Lyon and Healy could restore this harp for someone, if they bought it “as is.” Also, Tom Bell does this type of work, and of course, Carl Swanson. Everything about a harp is expensive, so I don’t know what advice I can give you. Good luck, whatever you decide!
Best wishes,
BalfourThat surely makes sense, Charles. I remember reading about a lever harp maker who came across a badly-damaged 40-string pedal harp. (It seemed much like this one.) The lever harp maker rebuilt that pedal harp with a lever harp soundboard, and installed lever gauge strings on it. I thought that was great, because I have always wanted a 36-40 string lever harp with pedals! My Dusty FH36 would be absolutely perfect if she had pedals, even just single action.
Best regards,
BalfourCharles, thank you so much for your wonderful explanation. What puzzled me was that I did not see anything in the original post regarding “editing.” I wonder if it got lost in cyber space? Harp Column staff, please help!
Have a great day,
BalfourCharles, I don’t mean to be ignorant, but where did you read about “a large part of the body was cut out, etc.” ? I don’t see that in the original post. All I see right here is: October 2, 2022 at 2:48 pm#295434REPLY
JOHN LECLERC
Participant
Where can I find a string spacing template for a 40 string 2006 L & H pedal harp? Building a soundboard.
Thanks!“
That’s good, Talfryn and Brenda. I like to get all the strings on the harp at a low tension, then pull up all the C’s to about 3 notes below. Then pull up all the G’s, since they are in the middle between the C’s. Then do all the E’s, then the A’s, etc. This will balance the tension along the neck and the soundboard. How exciting to get to hear the voice of this brand new, hand-made harp!
Congratulations, Brenda!
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)
