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Thanks! Part of the problem is that we are in the middle of nowhere – lower midwest – far from any harp store or expert. It’s about a 12 hour drive to any major harp store. Thus looking at local options. No idea what a reasonable price would be, either.
I found an article saying that, while the Ogden, Troubadour, and Prelude all use pedal harp strings, the Lyric uses lever harp strings. It was apparently designed to be used by a player who intends to stay with the lever harp, rather than as a stepping stone to a pedal harp. It says that there are many of these being played. I find it odd that I have not been able to find a single picture of one, and very few references to them online.
Is this a harp you would recommend for a student? She has been playing for two years on a smaller harp, 29 strings, and her teacher thinks she is ready for more range and a better sound quality.
I would like to hear whether you got any resolution of this scam. I think this is a problem that concerns all of us. I have been reading a lot of harp ads for a while, shopping for that perfect instrument for my younger daughter. Just in the last month or so I have noticed a change in the ebay ads. Whereas previously there were basically two styles of harps from Pakistan – the ones that look like the Mikel and the carved ones that look like the Roosebeck – suddenly there are lots of ads that look like other harps. I have especially noticed the Camac ones and a LH Prelude look alike. Some of the Camac ones have words like Camac-back, or Ca Mac, and pictures that even include the logo – clearly pictures stolen from an actual Camac site. But they say shipped from Pakistan, or some say located in UK or Ireland, but then they say manufactured in Pakistan.
Except for being sad for your loss, I am actually glad to hear that the scam harp does not really look like a Camac. I was worried that the used market in the future would be sprinkled with look-alikes that were not the real thing, but we would have a hard time telling what was and wasn’t authentic. If they look like yours, this shouldn’t be such a problem.
Deciding to buy a Mikel or Roosebeck is one thing. Being misled by a picture of another brand is another. I hope you get your money back, and I hope that the harp companies work together to stop the false advertising.
Yes, it is easy to say go into a real harp shop and buy from a real person who knows harps. This may be easy if you live near the coasts or Chicago. It isn’t easy at all where I live. A 12 hour drive to visit a harp shop is not that easy, and I am reduced to shopping online. Phone calls do help, and I can buy through a reputable music store. It would be nice to be able to trust ebay or craigslist ads – at least that the pictures are photos of what you will get. We do have to read the fine print carefully, and now we all know that someone in Pakistan is making fake harps.
