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I don’t think it’s too cool of the agent not to mention the bumpy field because he/she knows you would turn down the job if you knew. Any possibility of dumping him/her in favor of another agent? And letting the first agent know why you’re making the change? You would be striking a blow for all harpists employed by this agent.
Chin up, girl.
I don’t, but I can tell you that walnut is on the dark end, maple on the bright end, and cherry somewhere in the middle. Rosewood–well, what kind of rosewood? My old Mexican guitar is Brazilian rosewood and has a wonderful tone, but Brazilian rosewood has been nearly unobtainable or colossally expensive for the last 40 years or so. East Indian rosewood is the usual substitute nowadays, and it’s second-best.I haven’t heard or played a mahogany harp, but in guitars I found it usually (but not always) a little more on the mellow side than I liked.
Since your current harp is dark and mellow, you may find it interesting to have a different sort of sound on your next harp. You may like it better for some kinds of music.
The lowest E on the guitar is pretty low for a 22-string harp. I don’t wonder that you find it slack.
Nope. I name my cars but not my musical instruments, even though my cars last me only about 12 years or so, while my favorite guitar is over 50 and my harp is over 30 years old.
I was not aware that the tension was supposed to be lower than that on a Dusty Strings or Triplett–I’ve heard it described as “medium.” The thing that strikes me most about the Merlin is that Rick Rubarth himself describes it as “passionate and expressive.” If that’s what you want, this is the harp. I have heard harps that have a perfectly good tone, even from top to bottom, but that left me unmoved. Also, I like the accounting he gives on one of his sites–the one devoted entirely to the Merlin–of what he did and why (struts, fluorocarbon strings, materials, &c).
The cello is a beautiful instrument too and it would be a pity to drop it. My practice time is divided between guitar, harp and banjo.
There’s a thread or two on the Merlin right here on Harp Column. In lieu of a search feature, you can probably find them by googling “r harps merlin harp column” or similar. Also, one of Rubarth’s two sites quotes from this forum in “What People Are Saying” or a similar topic. Meko of the International Harp Museum also had high praise for it.
I also found it disconcertingly small, though at 54″ it is taller than, for example, Hearland Harps’ Sylvan, and I was able to play it sitting on an ordinary chair. That matters to me, because I want a true floor harp that doesn’t require a special support for the harp or for myself. In my case I think it was a question of getting used to it after years of playing on a harp that stands 63″ high. I am still considering eventually getting a Merlin.
Wagner may have been a nasty you-know-what, but he potentially gave employment to a lot of harpists. I say potentially, because I believe most orchestras have to make do with two harps covering for six. I imagine that Wagner knew what he was doing when he asked for six. This is really impressive! So is Solti, for that matter.
Good golly Miss Molly, have they still not learned to make decent levers at L & H? Mine are the original brass levers on Troubadour I, dato pre-1978, and they are real string chewers. I notice that Loreena McKennitt on YouTube videos is playing the same harp I am but has replaced the levers, TG.
