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Thanks, Gretchen–so glad you saw this. I like the same things about the Camac cover, the base cover attaches to the main harp cover, and there are plenty of handles to assist moving the harp and getting it in and out of the car! On my Camac cover, there is also a nice zippered “pocket” for accessories like tuning key, tuner, and extra strings. Because of the different neck shape of Camac harps, I did not think a Camac concert grand cover would well-fit the Venus, but it seems like the Salvi cover would do very well, since the neck shape of Salvi’s is more like the Venus.
Best wishes, everyone! We are under an eight-inch deep snow in western North Carolina right now, so happy Winter!
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)
Hi, Gerrard,
I don’t know where you are located, but we are in western North Carolina, USA. The current rates for weddings, without having to be at the rehearsal, are around $350. here. I prefer to charge about $50 more than that for having to transport my pedal harp, compared to the ease of moving my lever harp. The rehearsal would be an additional $50. If we have to travel far, mileage charges would be added. Sometimes, I say “you need to pay all my expenses, if I have to spend the night in a hotel,” for example. Hope this gives you some idea. Maybe other harpists will post here, too!
Best wishes,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Hi Rachel,
Thanks for all your kind words. I think you are doing the right thing by choosing the Salvi concert grand cover. There is a nice professional harpist on these forums, Gretchen Cover, who loves her Salvi transport covers, like I do my Camac one. Maybe she will see this thread and respond.
That is so interesting how Venus made that earlier harp smaller, and then larger later! L&H obviously did the same thing, over many years of redesigning their harps. My Atlantide Prestige is similar–the height used to say “73 inches.” Now, it is 74.25″ tall, and weighs more than the earlier ones! It is just like automobiles, I suppose. Sometimes the cargo area is large enough for a concert grand harp, and then when the company redesigns the car, it is not long enough to fit the harp in!
Best of luck with your Salvi cover!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Yes, we all need to take strings with us in case any break on our harps, since it is not as simple to find them as it is with violin or guitar strings. Hope it all goes well for everyone who needs to take extra strings on a flight in the future.
Best wishes,
BalfourHi Philippa,
My, I had not thought of harp wires as “dangerous garrottes!” I knew that piano strings had been used that way, but harp strings? You learn something new every day, I suppose!
Hope your concerts are going well. You play so beautifully!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Thanks, Paul. Rachel, according to my catalog of Venus harps in 2005, the Classic Grand Concert harp had 47 strings, was 74 3/4″ tall, the extended soundboard width was 23″, and the weight was 86 lbs. This definitely sounds larger than the harp you have, which you said is from an earlier time in the 1980’s. That may be why Kurt told you that “any large harp cover should fit your harp.”
Happy transport cover hunting, and harp hugs,
BalfourGreat you got the harp part, Jaydg! But, that place between the two glissandi sounds impossible. Wonder who overlooked that? Is there any possibility that pedals can be changed in advance before that place? Or is it one setting for the 1st gliss, and then a whole new setting for the 2nd gliss? In that case, it should have been written for two harps instead of one!
Best of luck,
BalfourI hope so, Paul, but when I contacted them a few years ago, I never got back a reply. Are they still in business?
Cheers,
BalfourRachel, that is indeed a large harp, probably larger than any L&H, except for maybe the Salzedo model. You might contact Venus directly and ask them for a recommendation. They are still in the business of repairing/rebuilding harps, I believe. They should know if any L&H transport cover would fit your harp. Also, maybe a Salvi cover would fit your harp. I have a Camac concert grand, and I know that they have a different harmonic-curve and shoulder shape, so I do not think you could use a Camac cover, unfortunately. This Camac cover is the best of all the transport covers I have ever used, so if one would work, I heartily recommend it. Also, have you thought about contacting Carolyn Sykes at Pacific-Atlantic harps in CA? She sells new Camac harps and all brands of used harps, so she might be able to help you if Venus cannot. Hope this helps.
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Anne, I use a nice Walmart acrylic cutting board for rolling out and cutting pastry, biscuits, rolls, cookies, etc. It is so convenient! I bet it would work beautifully under the Prelude, too!
Happy baking, and harp hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)So glad to hear all that, Jaydg! It sounds like you and the pedal harp are meant for each other. I play piano, organ and harp professionally, and I must say that the harp is the instrument of my soul. At one of my piano concerts a few years ago, a man remarked to me after the concert “you play that piano like it is a large harp!” I asked him if he knew that I was also a harpist, and he said no, but it all made sense to him now! I had never even realized that about my piano playing, but it really made me think about it, ha, ha!
Best of luck with your pedal harp learning,
BalfourJaydg, I hope you can get the harp part in plenty of time to prepare it. I can sight-read most anything on the piano, but not on the harp, ha, ha! Even the great Henriette Renie preferred to sight-read on the piano instead of the harp, so we are in good company.
By the way, how is learning the pedal harp going? It is so different than the lever harp! I was so lucky to learn pedal harp first, so I think it is much easier than flipping levers, ha, ha! I also love having all the flats, naturals, and sharps “under my feet,” instead of just naturals and sharps I have to change with my HANDS, which want to stay on or near the harp strings.
Best to you, and all,
BalfourHello Anna,
There was also a harp in one of the Christmas Carol (Dickens) movies we watched this season! We watched several versions, so I’m not sure which one, but you can watch for it.
We are enjoying the snow we got last night here in the mountains of western North Carolina, on this, the 10th Day of Christmas! It is so beautiful!
Best to you,
BalfourWe love to see harps in movies! We just saw one in an old Poirot episode!
Happy New Year,
Balfour and Carol Lynn
