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I’ve got shimmering silver for the other levers- I may paint the A’s back the same. The copper on the center soundboard rail also seems to strengthen that, and I also put some white latex as best as I could on the string rail inside- the soundboard doesn’t bulge quite as much now, and I found the sound more lively then too-
From experiences with other instruments- that’s how my thinking has evolved here- strength on the bracing, but lightweight on the actual sound chambers- although I’ve ground internal guitar bracing down and gotten better volume and resonance. I’ve slightly sanded the inside of the round back- it was left a little rough, and I’ve found that rough surfaces in sound chambers really kill the sound. The soundboard of course needs a certain strength to resist the string tension so I leave that alone beyond a smoothing.
I really think the pillar perhaps transfers vibrations better now- while of course painted soundboxes usually diminish that.
Anyway, I always enjoy detailed painting, if it’s non-toxic especially.
Harp lights may be too technology for my ecological concerns- but I do have some multi colored rhinestones on order that may look nice somehow.
The little red ruby stone in the center of the Celtic circle doesn’t show well in the photo, but in certain situations really lights up.
No part of sound box will be painted outside of the frame/bracing-
well maybe a small thin Celtic stencil of some sort- not much of a freehand artist.I could swear my bass strings got louder after painting the pillar…..
maybe- there’s metal in this paint and I think it may be stronger now.The aquamarine blue turns out to be the same color as our 1960 Dodge Dart Seneca was- the only new car my family ever bought when I was a kid.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/1960-Dodge-Dart-Pionier.jpgThe Mikel Celtic 34 harps – aka “Hunky Bunky” are really not a bad buy- There are two models- The Saffron and Aster I think it is, for the money new they are half or less of the Dusty Ravenna- but the lower thick nylon strings may prove a problem as mine did, and a small temporary extra expense to replace strings which will happen eventually anyway.
The levers aren’t top notch name brand, but they seem to function smoothly and deliver the correct tuning- I haven’t had any trouble there. They are much les clunky than the Roosebeck levers
$1200 is about the normal price these days including shipping- which runs about $350 from Pakistan to the U.S.- and you may find one listed cheaper- I got mine under $1000 delivered. So 1200 for a used one with damage is high I think.
I had thought about trying to finance a harp for a number of years, and my future is as tenuous as many peoples, so there is a chance I might eventually end up having to relocate and not be able to take a large harp along. So to be able to get a harp as large as or similar to a Ravenna 34 – new- and for much less money was what swung me to purchase for now. I’m happy to be having a larger harp experience.
You might inquire at their website as to the costs- I see they aren’t listed up front, and expect to be on your own after purchase finding strings and any repair. As I said, most of the Dusty Ravenna wound strings seem a pretty good match, with a slightly more desirable beefier configuration. Good luck finding a harp.
Haven’t got a real recent photo= I’ve put some touches of color and decoration on the harp- and I don’t have a good shot of the levers yet. maybe soon
http://i720.photobucket.com/albums/ww206/nancyewilson/DSCF2024_zpsdu5pknwd.jpg
Just saw the slightly more expensive Aster on ebay listed NEW at your craigs price:http://www.ebay.com/itm/Brand-New-34-Strings-Aster-Professional-Harp-All-Frequencies-Digitally-Tested-/272120003443?hash=item3f5b9dbb73:g:XC0AAOSwUV9Wo~sy
You better shop around momcat!
Hello Momcat-
Yes that is a Mikel Celtic 34 saffron harp- I bought one new recently (6 months or so) direct from Pakistan via ebay- and got the harp delivered for well under $1000 new. They are also marketed in Ireland as a “Hunky Bunky”- not the best sounding name and at a higher retail. I bough mine mostly because I saw the ebay listing and it seemed like a lot of harp new and delivered for the money, although at that time I also saw a Hunky Bunky listed on ebay for under a grand, that quickly went up, and as many harps seemed to be suddenly increasing in price late last summer or early fall.
Here’s a thread about them here I don’t know if you’ve seen and a couple of videos sample in it:I’m still very pleased with mine, but some of the larger nylon wound strings- which appeared quite wavy and suspect- have self-destructed- three of them in fact since I got the harp- all spontaneously letting go at the top of the winding and as the harp was just sitting unplayed.
So I’ve replaced those with Dusty Strings Ravenna 34 strings- which seem always a pretty good fit, and the harps are about the same height and sweep- and I’ve acquired some extra of those , including two more STEEL wound strings to replace the original Mikel configuration and more match the Dusty Strings approach- i.e. all steel wound on FULL lower octave, although I haven’t fitted them on yet- as winter has gotten difficult and other things have come up.
So it is a pretty nice harp- but the price on craigslist of $1200 seems too high, and the strings lower end nylon strings may be marginal and end up being extra expense. The gap at the top of the rounded soundboard doesn’t seem dificult repair unless you can’t do it yourself, and the workmanship seems a bit shoddy.
New delivered, mine still seems a great deal for what I paid and the rounded soundboxes do deliver a nice sound- I’ve got nothing to really compare it to otherwise. With some strings beefed up, I think the sound is similar to a Dusty Ravenna, but the quality may not be and the name brand is not there for any resale.good luck with your search- I would watch ebay -even search “34 harps” and you might see something there.
Here’s a link to Mikel Celtic- Haven’t been there lately and not sure what the models are selling for:
http://www.mikelceltic.com/lever-harps/saffron-34-strings-harp/The newer models have a wood inlay strip on the top rail.
A lap harp is good for everyone! Love my Stoney End Eve 22. (My avatar picture)
Although I play my larger 34 more, it is nice to grab a smaller one and fidget with watching TV or in the Comfy Chair.The COMFY CHAIR!?
Hadn’t thought about it- Have three harps right now – one for sale-
My big Mikel Celtic 34? How about “Dove”? It’s from my movie script.
http://thehearpe.tripod.com/index.html
My Stoney End Eve 22?
“Captain Rawlings” It’s from “How the West was Won”
The Dusty 34 harps has one more wound string up to 22 A. That string on the Mikel Celtic is monofilament, and it doesn’t sound bad. With the luck I’m having nylon wound, I may not worry over that. But they also have more steel wound- the whole bottom octave including two C’s. So there are two more than My Mikel. I may get those soon and keep the other nylon wound fatter strings as backup.
People like Camac but I can’t tell you anything never tried one. I’d love to hear the examples you speak of if you could post the links. It might generate more response.
The strings appear to be of lesser quality- this latest one seemed to unravel near the top and then more as I was removing it. The last one broke near the top, but seemed to be away from contact with the lever. Some of them and/were visually “wavy” and /or feel not terribly straight or exact running my thumb and forefinger up the length of them.
A couple of years back I bought an Oscar Schmidt 3/4 sized classical guitar and a couple of the wound of the strings were the same way. Of course it was much cheaper to replace those.The problem strings on the Mikel Celtic seem to be the nylon wound nylon core strings. There are still four others which haven’t been replaced.
Mikel Celtic just gave me the name of string sellers here I the states when I first queried them- just as well because I’d rather have better nylon wound strings than these. With the gauges and overall height of the harp it seemed to pretty well match the Dusty Ravenna 34. When I ordered the first one, only the length was much in doubt, but it arrived quickly fit perfectly.
Wil-weten wrote
“A broken string is a normal phenomenon”Geez- I’m wondering just how normal.
Had another one go- a nylon wound E right next to the other replacement- so that’s two in 3 months-
I’m wondering about the quality of the original strings- some of the wound strings did/do appear wavy if they sound fine otherwise.
Also wondering how common it is to have thicker nylon wound nylon strings farther up than thinner steel wound towards the base? It struck me strange from the first there were thicker strings above the steel wound basses, and those nylon wound strings are the ones failing at the top.
After the last one- I had planned a strategy of building up replacements, because several bought from Dusty Strings saves quite a bit on shipping from the $11 these strings are costing me one at a time- but with Christmas and car repairs I put that off.
I think the Dusty Strings very likely higher in quality, so that might be a consideration in comparing a Mikel Celtic to a Ravenna 34. But it’s still a lot of cost difference, though I also believe the Mikel Celtics have generally risen on ebay as I expected they would. The newer models also appear to have a wooden inlay across the top rail- I have no idea if they have changed the strings any, but not having the greatest of luck here- very happy still otherwise, and making some progress I think.
Gotta go- Downtown Abbey Season 6 is coming on.
