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I’m very grateful that Santa brought me a new Thormahlen Serenade about two weeks ago. It’s solid black with gold-colored Camac levers. It has a beautiful, warm, rich tone. I’ll try to include a picture with this post.
Sunita’s “Sky and Sea” and Sam Milligan’s latest “From Medieval to Modern.” Oh, and Rhett Barnwell’s “Oh the Beautiful Treasures.”
Eliza, I can’t answer your question about the standard for wide spacing (or if there is one), but I can tell you about my experience with one harp that had wide spacing. My hands are large, so I had always wanted to try a harp with wide spacing. L&H had one in their CPO stock when I was there for a visit, so I tried it. It was much more difficult to play than I thought it would be. After playing it for a few minutes, I had difficulty going back to a harp with regular spacing.
Spacing that is narrower than normal bothers me a good bit on harps. I’ve even sold harps before for that very reason. It’s especially noticeable in my left hand. So I figured that a wide-spacing harp would be the answer, but I actually found it more difficult to play than a harp with narrow spacing, which surprised me. So, even with my larger hands, I prefer harps with normal spacing.
Eliza, I did–a beautiful Style 100 harp. I’ll see if I can attach a picture. It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a pedal harp and more. I chose it from a group of three ebony harps–two Style 100’s and an 85CG. They were all great harps, but this one spoke to me the most.
Ben, the Sharpie approach is definitely one option, but suggest that you try it first on the bottom of the harp or in a place that is not normally seen. I bought a used ebony harp once where the owner had used a Sharpie to cover up dings and blemishes, and the shade of black of the Sharpie was a good bit darker than the harp’s finish. It looked like a harp with measles! Good luck in your efforts to spruce it up.
I played one at the factory when I was there last month. It had a lovely sound. It’s a beautiful harp up close; I don’t think the pictures do it justice. I would have considered it, but I was specifically looking for an ebony harp. I’d say the sound was equal to that of an 85CG.
Li Shan, I saw several of the new Style 150’s when I was there. I did find out a little information about them, but it’s probably best not to share it here because I don’t want to get it wrong (and I’m not sure if L&H is ready for it to go out).
I’ll include one more picture I took of the Style 11 that we’re discussing above. It really was one of the most beautiful harps I’ve ever seen.
I saw this harp at L&H when I was there a month or so ago. I can’t say this for sure, but I believe it is a new version of the Style 11 that they are going to start offering: the Nouveau. It’s listed on their prices page: http://www.lyonhealy.com/prices.htm. The harp is stunning. It looks like they’ll be putting out more information in the coming days. I’ll try to add a picture I took of the top of the column.
Congratulations on your new harp! Wow–how beautiful!! I’m so glad that you got to experience the factory and the tour. Nancy was very helpful when I was at the factory choosing my new harp a few weeks ago. The L&H staff has always been so great to work with. I hope your harp brings you many years of musical enjoyment!
Thanks so much for your suggestions, guys. I don’t have any pets myself, so I won’t have to worry about animals being attracted to it. The odor is slowing going away, but I still may try some of your suggestions if it doesn’t vanish completely. I really appreciate your help!
Yes, Jerusha, I agree! I definitely didn’t mind the fact that it is ebony (my favorite, of course). With the new strings, it has a sweet, warm sound. I don’t know how long I’ll get to baby sit it (maybe forever), but it’ll definitely be put to good use while I have it. Kay, those are very good suggestions–thank you! I’ll try the dryer sheets tonight and see how that works.
Sounds like a Chicago 40 might not be the best for you then. With the Chicago CG’s on sale, those would be a great option. I think the CG’s with the straight sound boards are on sale too.
The China issue has been floating around on this website for a while. One thing you’ll be able to see on the tour is that these harps are not made in China. L&H confirmed this for me several years ago. You’ll be able to see the Chicago harps in production when you take the tour.
Sonya, this is awesome to hear!! I stayed out near the airport, but that’s because my flight Thursday night got in very late, and I didn’t want to have to spend a lot of time trying to find the hotel closer into the city. L&H is basically a straight shot in from the airport on I-90. There is limited parking there, but I know they try to save the parking spaces in the front of the building for customers. Of course, if you’re taking a taxi, this won’t matter. Natalie or Nancy can recommend some hotels that are nearby. I used FF miles to get there but got a good deal on a hotel and car using Travelocity.
We had lunch at La Luce, and it was very good and also convenient–just a walk across the street.
Are you looking at the Style 15 that is on the CPO site? I did play through a few of the CPO harps last week, but I don’t remember this one in particular. It’s a beautiful instrument, for sure. The customer in the room next to me was purchasing a Chicago 47CG, and they are very impressive looking instruments (they had three in there–all natural finish). They seemed to have a good number of the Chicago models in stock, so that will be good. Don’t discount the Chicago 40s, btw. I owned one of these once, and it had a great sound for a smaller pedal harp. The only issue I had was the pedal spacing. As I was leaving, there was a young boy–probably 12 or so–trying out three Chicago 40s. It was inspiring to see this.
Be sure you check out the high end instruments that are in the concert hall. There is a specialized hand painted Style 11 that is stunning. They’re more than happy for you to look around at all the harps, not just the ones you are considering.
Please keep us posted. I can assure you that you won’t regret this trip one bit. We’re excited for you!
You may want to try Harp in LA http://www.harpinla.com. They are in Los Angeles and are the L&H dealer for that area of CA.
