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No offense intended but I must comment on Wil’s statement. First, lever “regulation” simply involves at most loosening a screw or two, moving the lever up or down a fraction if needed, and tightening again after checking the tuning meter. At the least: sometimes all you need to is move the bridge pin in or out a small amount. And of course replacing an old string if needed.
This is not difficult; in fact it is one of the most basic in the harper’s list of skills. If someone finds that intimidating they can of course pay a technician to do it and people have asked me to. I reply that I will be happy to teach them how to do it for free or charge them $50 per hour if I do it for them.
You do need the correct screw driver (less than $10 US or the equivalent at any hardware store) and possibly a wrench – that’s it. Sure there are cute little tool kits out there and if it makes the player feel good about themselves they are welcome to waste the $200 that might otherwise go toward lessons or music scores.
Or pay a tech to do something that should be one of the first things they learn if they want to play a harp.
It is possible to strengthen a sound board by applying thin fiberglass on the inside but this is usually a job for an experienced technician. IMO polyurethane would not provide appreciable strength but I could be wrong. Would have to see some data. Follow the logic…..
After drying, urethane acts as a thin plastic which under stress expands in all directions. One would have to put down a very heavy layer – 20 coats or more – for that to have any strengthening effect and at that only on the surface. Not exactly what one wants to do on a harp sound board.
Note to Hearpe: Musicmakers have changed some of their string charts so I am not sure what you might have. But I can assure you that if the sound board fails due to string tension it will be at the sides where the board is slid into shallow slots, not from failure of the board itself. That is made from 5 layers of Finnish birch laminate for a 3mm thick board. One could practically jump up and down on the stuff and not break it.
All the models mentioned here are very good and frankly one cannot tell a great deal definitively about tone just from recordings. Many people new to the harp complain about a “plinky” treble for instance until they learn how to use their hands and fingers up there.
I could babble on at length about different levers, strings, construction and etc. but under the circumstances and given your excellent choices I would suggest that you get the model that costs the least where you live. At 12 years old your daughter has a long harp career ahead and will undoubtedly settle on a different (and more expensive!) harp at some time in the future.
Best wishes to you and her,
BiagioTwo thoughts on this:
1) Since you have no experience as yet, it would be reasonable to either require the seller to have the harp restrung and regulated or ask for a very steep discount from what it would cost new.
2) Stringing and regulation are skills that a harper should learn at some point and neither are difficult with practice. So if it is otherwise structurally sound and you can get the price low enough it might be worth buying it “as is.”
Regarding tuning, single double and no action etc…..a few remarks:
-During the first year or so the beginning “harperist” will be learning effective technique, so to my mind it does not matter very much, other than in looking to the future. James should understand that wrt to single action a full set of levers constitutes about 15%-20% of the total cost depending on other factors such as the choice of wood. Accidentals will be minimal at this stage; the student will likely be playing in only one key.
-Depending on the student’s interests it may be most logical to tune to Ebmaj on a lever harp, despite the fact that many (most?) tunes for beginners are in Cmaj. This does not really have a bearing on the choice of model.
-Assuming one does not wish to invest the cost of an SUV it does not make much sense to me to buy a pedal harp right away, nor even a high-end lever harp unless you are sure that you will keep if forever.
[Side note to James] Well, yes I enjoy harp design but that was not the point I was trying to make. Rather there were two: a) your interests and needs will likely change and b) in my experience, beginners spend far too much time on the minutae comparing one harp to another. Rather, they would be better off choosing an instrument designed for the style they most enjoy. Love the Celtic style? get one with low tension, 34 strings. Prefer the orchestral classics? at least 36 and preferably 40 strings, gut strung and high tension.
Cheers,
Biagio“Perhaps somebody can remember being in the same situation in the past?”
Getting back to the nub or gist of James’ question…..
Yes, remember clearly and it has been a long journey to discover what I actually did want to do aside from the general idea (“Gee, I think I would like to play the harp, maybe”). I was 50 at the time.
Others have heard this story so I’ll keep it brief and hope it provides one person’s experience for comparison. It went like this:
I had a lot of nice wood lying around and figured “How hard would it be to make one?” So I did a lot of research first just as James is doing and settled on buying the plans for a small 3 1/2 octave as a learning experience.
I soon learned that I needed a teacher’s guidance: she was a professional harpist so I studied with Jocelyn on her concert grand pedal harp and made a 5 octave harp from a kit for myself. Did not like some of the strings though so made another one (not realizing that I would have just modified the string band design).
I have since made and played many different designs (though was never interested in spending the $$ for a pedal harp). Those have included double strungs, wire strungs, one abortive attempt at a cross haha. All different sizes.
I have been fortunate to live in one of the centers of harp enthusiasts and am surrounded with some of the best known players in the world. So what do I have now and intend to keep indefinitely?
Two wire strungs (a 19 and a 26) and two nylon strungs (a 26 and a 36) all custom.
If I were to do this all over again more rationally I would have followed Jocelyn’s advice. She said “Buy a good economical lever harp first while you learn good technique (she suggested the Dusty Strings Ravenna 34). Go to as many concerts as you can, join a harp circle or two, and listen listen listen. You can’t know when starting where this might take you so relax and find out.”
So there you are: learn what constitutes a well made harp and buy or rent a good one, preferably from or with the guidance of a teacher. All of us have our favorite makes and models but no one can tell you what will be “right” for you.
By the way, I don’t know any serious players who have only one harp!
Best wishes in your journey,
BiagioI agree with Charles as far as the column is concerned, but at the neck split epoxy alone would not be sufficient; a tech would also use hardwood dowels. I have repaired a few broken necks and one must construct a rather specialized clamp in almost all cases.
I would suggest contacting Steve and Debbie Triplett if Carl or someone else in the area does not want to take it on. Rick Kemper (Sligo Harps in the Baltimore-Washington area) is another possibility.
I don’t know what the cost for repair would be but frankly it might be better to just replace the neck-pillar assembly. If Triplett would do it they will want you to ship the components to their shop.
Biagio
Before jumping into makes, models and so on I would ask whether you have researched harp teachers? A music back ground is very helpful, especially piano, but harp technique is unlike any other instrument and you will need at least some initial guidance. A teacher will also be in a position to better evaluate what harp(s) might best suit you and might even be willing to loan or rent an instrument.
Best wishes,
BiagioTaking the tension down a step or two might be a good idea but whether or not, the gut strings may deteriorate.
Hi Balfour an Karen,
Interesting factoid: The Mooers (Dusty owners) live in Ravenna which is a Seattle community and it was in their garage that Ray started building hammer dulcimers and harps.
Karen, with deference to my friend Balfour your fingers may not develop calluses on a DS harp with its nylon strings. I’ve been playing now for a long time – look Ma no calluses. On a higher tension harp with gut strings though calluses are guaranteed.
Best to all,
BiagioCongratulations Karen!
You’ll do just fine. I too had my last musical exposure in high school (55 years ago – gosh), having ditched clarinet in favor of saxophone thanks to loosing two teeth in football. Tough to form a strong embouchure with implants haha.
So at the tender age of 54 I made my first harp on a whim and have been hooked ever since. Your Dusty is a wonderful instrument and you will catch on to harp technique quickly, especially if you practice the “harp fist” frequently. This can be done while driving, reading…anything that leaves one or both hands free. Ask your daughter about it.
Happy harping!
BiagioAs Imentioned things seem pretty slow but just as an FYI there is a used Salvi Daphne advertised on the Reigning Harps site:
http://www.reigningharps.com/harps_for_sale.htm
This is the orgab of the Puget Sound Folk Harp Society and though it’s name implies a focus on lever harps tjere are more than a few pedal Harpists members. Well worth joining – it’s free and when not in pandemic mode we have two conferences, and an annual picnic in Ravenna.
The monthly newsletter always has items of interest to all “harperists” from concerts to period regulations by traveling technicians.
In normal times there are two periods in the year when things are slack for people selling their harps: now, the holiday season; and late Spring when there are more bookings for weddings, concerts and other gigs.
It’s possible, indeed probable that with the corona virus spread in Seattle as well, people are just not thinking about selling. I doubt that the California and eastern WA wildfires have anything to do with it in the Seattle area, but that’s always possible.
A large suitcase or trunk is probably the best idea if you do not want to buy (or build) a hard case. Or check with the airline and see if they will allow you to buy a seat for it and what restrictions would apply.
One thing to be aware of: whatever you do if it is in a case of some sort it will be inspected before departure and after arrival. Arrange to be there personally when it is: most agents don’t know anything about harps. I heard of one horror show where the agent thought the levers might be triggers to an explosive device and broke several of them. Honest.
The Caswell Sweetharp was a 29 string with removable legs. Other unique features: it had a split neck with guitar tuners instead of harp pegs. Nice little harp, I had one for a while.
Chris was certainly not new to luthiery, he was one of the first in the US making folk harps as well as being a great teacher and musician.
