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For reference, I paid about $2200 shipped for this.
I am at a loss for what to do. I certainly cannot afford to repair this with how much servicing costs are expected to be or get a replacement instrument right now. Should I attempt to sell this as-is to a woodworker or builder who believes they can tackle the task at a kit-like price? For the time I was able to play it, I was quite pleased with it.I am certainly chalking this up to another learning experience, if nothing else. I am grateful for the responses from the harp makers here.
Hi wil. I bought this from a private seller/harpist so I don’t expect any recourse that way. The price was quite good as she’d been trying to sell for a while, and I and someone else didn’t notice anything immediately wrong with its playability or tone before this happened.
I did email Dwight Blevins for his opinion, and I did get a response today. Here is a pastebin link of it for those interested: https://pastebin.com/jAV74eKy
The main thing I took from his response was that the glue joint mentioned seems to be part of its original design as he was not surprised about its existence.Thank you for the offer, carl. It is sadly well beyond my means to get the harp or even myself to Boston. I do not drive, and a significant part of my spare resources was put into this harp.
Failing everything else, how do I keep this in storage in its current state? I’ve been gradually tuning it down to reduce tension all throughout the range, but should I work towards unstringing it completely?
I don’t believe it is still under warranty as I bought this preowned and not from Blevins. As far as I know the Reve 34 is also an older model and no longer in the original warranty period. I am awaiting a response from them for their opinion on repair but I doubt I’d be able to get warranty service from them since the brand also changed hands recently.
I presume you’re looking into Heartland Harps’ Delight and Legend models, which have the curved and straight soundboard design, respectively.
It may be worth contacting Heartland Harps to see if they can network you to nearby owners of these harps for you to try. Maybe even give Pamela an email about her opinion between the two models. Not having played the Delight or its progenitor the Dragonheart I can’t give an objective opinion past what the site says about the benefits of the curved soundboard design. The Legend is slightly smaller and was made to address demand to longtime players who are used to a straight soundboard design, I heard.
The cost difference between the two models is negligible, though it is worth noting that the Delight goes down to a low A if you have any repertoire utilizing the 2 additional bass strings.
According to reesharps.com, “Camac levers cannot be installed on the right side of the arch so they cannot be used for double harps.” https://reesharps.com/types-of-harp-sharping-levers
I would guess this is why they’re not on offer for the Dusty Strings double.
I recall reading this exact post on the r/harp subreddit a couple days ago with an update that you had ordered a Ravenna 26. Did that go as planned or are you still looking?
For another lightweight harp to be aware of, Heartland Harps is about to launch the carbon fiber successor to their 25-string Serenity harp. Expect a higher price when comparing their carbon fiber line to their wood equivalents, but at the same time they’re about as lightweight and tough a harp can conceivably be: https://heartlandharps.com/now-taking-pre-orders-new-air-serenity-lap-harp/
Personally I’m interested in seeing the double-strung variant of the Air Serenity they alluded to in the post, but that will take some development time yet for it to go into production.
A similar concern from the winter sun prompted me to install “light filtering” blinds for the windows in my current music room. They allow plenty of natural light in the room while keeping direct sunlight away from anything inside. I wouldn’t advise allowing a covered harp to sit in direct sun. A dark covering retains heat from the sun and is liable to overheat whatever is inside of it.
I found that harp instruction books are such a particular kind of resource that you have to go out of your way to find them even when new, let alone used. When I was looking for this set myself, I only came across one used copy and it was for Level 1, over a year ago on eBay.
I realize you already have Level 1 in this case but would suggest working with Hobgoblin Music’s “Play the Harp Beautifully Full Set” since it’s a fairly good value for what you get: http://www.hobgoblin-usa.com/local/sales/g/600-050/harp-books/
You’ll get the books for Levels 1, 2, and 3, a 2-DVD video set meant to follow along Levels 1 & 2, and also the Performance Gems book supplying additional repertoire that tests skills learned from Levels 1 & 2 up to the respectively labeled chapters plus a CD of that music as played by Pamela.
Orders at Hobgoblin $100 or above ship for free, so you might be able to arrange something with them directly if you don’t want an extra copy of Level 1.
I believe this means the ABRSM exam levels, of which they have eight exams and thus passing grades for a variety of instruments, including pedal and non-pedal harp. https://gb.abrsm.org/en/our-exams/harp-exams/
Coincidentally I was also recently looking into the same thing the last week. USB condenser mics have come along pretty nicely with the number of offerings and options they provide. I was looking into getting the Samson G-Track Pro USB microphone, because it has both a 3.5mm out and also a 1/4″ Line In for recording directly from a pickup. The frequency response only goes as low as 50Hz (Blue Yetis do go down to 20Hz), but since I am not a pedal harpist I am told it is a nonissue in my case.
@erin-wood I ultimately did not get the Mikel, as I was getting my finances together a preowned 34-string Blevins harp at a very agreeable price appeared on the used market. It’s been in my hands since about May.
@Rachel I just wanted to say thanks for the tip about the Portastand Troubador, which I hadn’t heard of until searching around the threads here. I was really hurting for a music stand and I just got this in the mail. It’s sturdy and moves nicely. Indeed there’s no lip cover by default but it’s a simple enough object I can likely stitch up a covering for it myself.
LTL freight shipping is a constant when it comes to the shipment of any floor sized harp, as any dealer will tell you. It seems to never cost less than a few hundred dollars to ship them as they are overweight/oversized packages. While there is a little variance depending on zone and the carrier you use, I’d expect at least 300 dollars’ freight for a home delivery of a 36 string lever harp, and that’s before factoring costs of any packaging you’ll need. This is just a ballpark number I noticed when shopping for my own 34-string harp recently.
It’s likely not the answer you want to hear, but it is a reality and a reason why many private sellers of a harp prefer local dealings and won’t ship at all if they can help it.
