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Glad to find this thread. It also happened to me after I changed the 1st octave G and 2nd octave E (both are nylon).
The levers flatten the notes a semitone instead of sharpen them.
Is it because of new nylon strings stretch so the strings become longer when the levers engaged or should I focused on regulating the levers?
I have tried to loosen and tighten the strings but it didn’t fix the problem.Bowie
Thank you for your suggestion, Saul. I will try your advice to tune the harp a semitone down. And for the nylon strings for 3rd and 4th octave I’ll consider to purchase them at next accessories shopping as I already have stocked a whole octave of gut strings last December.
Bowie
Biaggio, I will tell you a silly story of mine.
Sometimes the harp bug bite me and remind me how much I wanted to play the harp. Then I finished my weekend chores early and abandon some. After practising about half an hour good old Reality came telling me that I don’t have any callusses to support my practices, so I better left the harp and back to work. This particular harp bug comes at least once a month 😁
Adding another harp however small and portable it is not a favorable option for now.
About the string life expectancy, you’re verry correct. In 2 years, almost the entire gut strings have to be replaced in various time between. But perhaps it happened because the harp was homed in Bogor, a small town with relatively high rainfall frequency.
Thank you for your insights however.Bowie
Yes, Biagio that is exactly what I mean. Thank you for making it clear.
It was across my mind to loose the strings a bit. But what I feared is the harp will adjust in that condition and when time comes for it to be played again it will have a hard time to adjust back to its original tension.
That’s why every week i keep it stay in tune.Bowie
I have to left it in my hometown because I feel that it would be more safer to left it there than to bring it in my current town. Last New Year we have a severe flood that make me very glad to not have my harp beside me. Bring it to my weekday place is not possible then. On weekends I have so many chores and acivities that only left me very little time to play the harp, so basically it was unplayed at all.
Hello Mr S,
Do you mean the last three digits appeared in the back of your credit card?
Many (if not all) online merchants require you to put those numbers to validate your transaction. I had experience buying things online from us.harp.com and some music online using credit card and so far it didn’t give me any trouble at all. Usually those sites have policy about buyer’s privacy. Please check if they have statement about it.I suggest you to change your question if there anybody in this site that had experience with the company you mentioned above, that will give you more accurate information about the company’s reputation.
Good luck with your purchase..Bowie
Thank you Jerusha..
I don’t have much harping experience, but I’m eager to share whatever might help all of you..Bowie
When I received my Prelude (ebony finish), some part of the neck was stuck to the case. I thought the finish was melt by heat during the transport. When I pulled the soft case, some threads from the cover were left stuck to the neck.
I was thinking to use some benzene or oil to remove the thread, but I didn’t want to take a risk of further damage. Finally, I use coconut oil used for hair treatment to clean the threads from my harp. It’s the only safest material I could thought at the moment. It also has nice sweet fragrance that is different from coconut oil used for cooking.
I removed the threads patiently with brush, picking it up one by one. Finally all the threads were removed. It does leave some scar/marks like thread pattern, but wasn’t noticeable.
I’ll try to post some picture later..
I don’t know whether such oil available in your country, maybe there will beHi Barbara,
Yes, I think it’s worth to have a set of replacement strings along with your harp purchase.
My Prelude came with (only) a broken string, which I considered normal as it had have long trip from USA to Indonesia. Fortunately I also purchase a full set of replacement strings so I can fix the problem as quickly as I can do.
From my full set of replacement strings, I’ve been used all of the 3rd octave gut strings until now. IMHO, you don’t need to buy the wires one for replacement if expense is your consideration.
There are some harp store that offer a free full set of replacement strings for purchasing new Prelude at their store. Or you can buy a good used one from L&H CPO so you can spare your budget for a full set of replacement strings. Another option is just buy a skeleton set of strings ( C, D/E, F, G, A/B) each octave.All the best,
Bowie
Hi Vivian,
I don’t know how Ogden sounds, but I used these two channels for reference when I purchased my Prelude since many dealers don’t have Prelude’s sound clips :http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNgl3IO4r8Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=piC0Ke9M_2s
I’ve got my Prelude from L&H CPO and I really recommend them. I noticed they have some Prelude 40 at discounted price now, but maybe you can’t trade in the harp for a new pedal harp someday if you buy from L&H CPO.
My long term goal is playing the pedal harp someday, but I won’t mind stuck with my Prelude for many years to come if it didn’t happened. They really are very lovely harps.Good luck with your decision!
Bowie
Hi Lisa
I own a Prelude 38 and I live in Jakarta, Indonesia where we have warm humid weather all year round. I’ve got my harp used ( 5 years old) this February. Until this month I’ve already changed nearly all the 3rd octave strings and some 4th strings due to breakage. I think partly of it was caused by the strings age rather than by the weather or humidity. However after I installed air conditioner in the harp’s room the breakage stopped. The AC only on when I’m practising but I think it’s fine for the harp.
I didn’t do special care for the harp but I avoided sunlight, even sunlight from glass window.
Hope you make the best decision!Bowie
You can check out these videos, I believe this lady use a Pratt Nancy Rae lever harp..
BeautifulHarpMusic
It sounds pretty much like pedal harp for me. .And after seeing her playingI’ve just found this channel by Linda Umstead.
Beautiful Harp Music
Her playing indeed is really beautiful and she played all of her repertoire on a (Pratt’s Nancy Rae?) lever harp. Very stunning and inspiring performance.Bowie
