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Gretchen, that is excellent advice. Sean, I would also like to know where you live. I am in western NC if that would be any help to you!
Sean, you are on the right track about the Camacs. The Big Blue is an Atlantide with the pick-up system already installed, and of course it is blue or some other color. The model with the extended soundboard sounds large and full like the Atlantide without using the amplification, but the one with straight soundboard needs the amplification to equal the volume of the Atlantide without amp. The extended soundboard does much more for the tone of the harp than just making it louder, however. It makes the bass and middle sections of the harp ring out much fuller in tone and beautiful vibration, much like a large soundboard in a piano. The high treble also benefits–on my Atlantide it is sparkly and bright.
You could not go wrong on an Athena Ex as your first pedal harp, and the expense is about half that of the Atlantide. As you become a professional, you could trade that in on an Atlantide or other model that you liked the look and sound of. The Canoppee is a really nice sounding model if you like all the inlaid decoration, which makes it an expensive harp. Also, even with these price differences, Camac states that they do not make any “student” harps, they are all professional harps in different sizes. The Clio model can even be ordered as an expensive Gold harp!
The only thing I can tell you about the differences between the Athena and the Atlantide is that the latter is supposed to be made of the most choice wood that is available, particularly the soundboard, and probably the degree of hand finishing is held to a higher standard than on the cheaper models. I know that pianos which undergo more hand voicing, finishing, regulating, etc. are higher priced and live up to a more professional standard. I would love to hear other opinions about this and other harp builders. Keep the replies coming!
Cheers to all of you,
BalfourKatie,
Just read your post and I can definitely recommend the Subaru Forester. I know that at least as far back as 2015, the Forester has been large enough to accept a full-size concert grand. My harp requires about 75″ at the column plus the transport cover, and it will fit straight back behind the driver’s seat, leaving plenty of room for the bench, dolly and amplification equipment. My height is 5′ 6″ so I have the driver’s seat pretty close to the front. A taller person would need the seat further back and would not have that much room in the back.
There used to be a video on YouTube about loading a concert grand in a Prius, so check it out. It looked like a lot of trouble to me, compared to loading it in a Forester. Hope this helps.
Harp Hugs,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Gretchen, my friend, do we ever agree about anything except that we both dearly love the harp?!!!Ha, Ha! In doing further research about Salvi in some older catalogs I have here, the only mention about the “new concept soundboard” applies directly to the Arion model. This model started out with 44 strings, then went to 47 like most of the harps now. You must have some information about their other harps using that new concept soundboard that I do not have-Yay! This is all good for Sean.
Sean, I know all about the changes and innovations that Camac has done to the pedal harp, too much to go into here, but check out Pacific-Atlantic Harps in Pasadena, CA on their website. Carolyn Sykes has put valuable information on there about the Camac line. These new innovations include the cables which have replaced the pedal rods, which are very easy to regulate, along with their discs. The natural discs turn in the opposite direction to the sharp discs, making for smoother pedaling with less buzzing, for example. Also, their soundboard technology is unique, and makes for a super-sounding harp. Bear in mind that my favorite one is the Atlantide-Prestige, which to my ears is well worth the price difference compared to the Athena Ex.
Harp Hugs everyone!
BalfourI certainly agree with you, Biagio, my friend! All musical instrument players need to learn about how their instrument was made and how to maintain it. When I was an early teenager, complaining about how badly our family piano needed to be tuned, my father, who had the piano tuned only once a year, expressed his feeling: “guitar, harp, and fiddle players tune their own instruments, so I think you as a pianist need to learn how to tune your own piano.” That was that, so I began an “apprenticeship” with our local tuner. It was so good that I did that, and it enabled me to tune my own piano every time I heard something out of tune, and I made a nice business out of it tuning for other folks.
Sean, in the case of “high-end” harps, the more carving, decoration and gold it has on it, the more expensive it is. It is like cars, the more “chrome” and “bling” they have on them, the higher the cost, ha, ha! Once you get to the full professional concert grand size, past any that are referred to as “student” harps, then it is just a matter of personal taste in what the harp looks like, feels like, and sounds like.
There were two nice summer harp concerts at a local church here in NC which featured six L&H and Salvi concert grand harps and four faculty soloists, along with about 20 students. Although the harpists all were very particular about which harp they played, all six harps sounded very much alike to the audience. Many harp conferences feature “harp tastings” where the harps and players are behind a curtain or screen, so that the audience cannot see them. The results of judging the SOUND of each harp are usually a big surprise to the listeners when they are announced!
This is a fascinating topic. It will be good to read more postings about this in the future.
Harp Hugs everyone,
BalfourHello again, everyone! I checked on the old catalog, and it was a “facsimile of our 1899 Harp Book, reprinted in 1979 in celebration of our 90th Anniversary.” Briefly, the harps available then from Lyon & Healy were the single action No. 11 with 43 strings, double action harps No. 20, 21 and 23, 45 strings, No. 22, 45 strings with the new patent enlarged sounding-board (extended soundboard) and last, the largest harp they sold then, the No. 25 with 47 strings and the Gothic hexagonal column. Note that this last harp only stood 71″ tall and weighed 69 pounds.
Great point, Gretchen, “ultimately, your choice comes down to whether or not you like the feel and sound of a particular harp.” It must feel good to you when you are playing it, comfortable on your knees and shoulder, and above all, you must like the sound of it. With me, my two harps are like magnets, pulling me toward them with the beautiful memory of how good they felt and sounded to me when I last played them. Even on vacations, one of them must “travel” with me.
Sean, I think that checking with retailers who sell all the major brands of large concert grand pedal harps is your best bet. Also, talk to harp technicians like Tom Bell and Ivan Gardner to see which ones they like best, from working on them and playing them. Our own Carl Swanson can give you excellent reviews, from being a harp builder, technician, and a harpist. I am also a piano technician, so I have definite ideas about the major brands of pianos, and I love Dusty Strings and Camac harps, but this is just personal preference. I love that I can do most of the regulation on my harps, even though I would not call myself a “harp tech,” ha, ha! If you see and play enough harps, you will develop your own feelings about which is your favorite. Best of luck in your quest!
Harp Hugs,
BalfourThanks for posting this, Charles! I love to see old harps, too. Wow, 1894 is a real historic one. I have a reprint of an early 1900’s Lyon & Healy catalog, and there are Style numbers in this edition. Since I am not at home right now, I can’t look up the exact year of the catalog, but all of this is very interesting.
Harp Hugs to you all!
BalfourBill, that was a good point about removing the rubber mat. We opted to not get that, and my sweet wife constructed a foam “mattress pad” about 2″ thick, cut to fit the cargo space in our Forester and covered with a nice smooth fabric for the harp to slide in and out on. The Atlantide Prestige enjoys a nice cushioned ride on our bumpy mountain roads here! Incidentally, this harp is actually 74.25 inches tall, even though on some websites it says 73″ tall, and the column fits straight back, behind the driver’s seat, without having to be turned at an angle, for the two of us.
So good to hear from all of you about “Harp Carts,” ha, ha!
Happy Harping,
Balfour (and Carol Lynn)Congratulations on the new RED Outback–that is a beautiful car to take a harp out in! We are certainly enjoying our Forester. I guess we sound like a Subaru commercial, ha, ha!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol LynnThanks for posting this! The harp sounds real nice through my headphones–bright, but very deep, like my favorite Camac, the Atlantide Prestige. Davy will very soon be used to changing pedals; it will just become “second nature” to him! His technique is also coming along very well. Best of luck to Davy and all of you in your endeavors!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol LynnI think Carl has the best idea for having the most room in the car! But I will add my two cents here anyway, ha, ha!
We have a new, redesigned 2019 Subaru Forester which has plenty of room in it for the two of us, a full-size concert grand Atlantide Prestige (Camac), the bench, the harp caddy, amplification equipment if needed, luggage for a trip, etc. The main thing is that we are 5′ 6″ and under, so the front driver’s seat is pretty close to the front while driving. If you needed to push it further back, the harp would probably not have enough room. The rear seats fold completely flat, so no “hump” or incline to overcome while pushing the harp in. Also, for inclement weather, you always have the “beauty of all-wheel drive,” as Subaru advertises.
My suggestion is to take the harp case (transport cover) with you to the dealership and see if it will fit in the car of your choice, much easier than taking the actual harp. Of course, to make double sure, go ahead and take the harp in its case. (I actually did that and then was asked to play the harp in the lobby while we were completing the sale!) I hope this reply helps, and thanks everyone, for all the good ideas!
Harp Hugs,
Balfour and Carol Lynn KnightI was delighted to find again this “old thread” of Davy, and thought it would be nice to see the difference in his technique now that he is on the right track. All of us are looking forward to a post of him playing his new pedal harp, but do let him get used to it first–no hurry!
Best wishes,
Balfour
