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Just A follow up: I went with the RHarp! I got it today and I love it! It’s beautiful and the sound is big and mellow, but not overly so. Definitely reminds me of a cello. The staved back is also super comfortable, and I love the fluorocarbon strings!
Thank you everyone for your advice and help!!!
Oh, yes!! Love all of Rees harps! The Aberdeen Meadow is on my ultimate wish list! I need to play better to justify the expense of that one, but some day…
I had stopped playing for about a year, but I’ve started again so I’m working my way through Darlene Waltons’s online classes at Rees right now as a refresher. Highly recommend these as they are excellent value for the cost!
Again, super helpful! You all are so knowledgeable!
I actually live in southern Indiana. We had one teacher in the area who moved about two years ago and now the closest teacher for me is a about 3.5 hours one way. :/ Not much in the way of harps to try out either. Rees is about 3.5 hours away and Atlanta Harp Center is 7.5 hours.
Oh, and this may be a stupid question, but how does changing strings even work in the Merlin if the back is enclosed?
Indeed! I’m in love with the sound files! Looks like it would be even harder for me to locate one to try on a store, though.
Any comment on tension? It mentions online that the tension is lighter, but I’m not sure if that means really loose like some lap harps, or on the lighter side of medium like a Stoney End.
This is all very interesting info! Looks like Stoney End harps all have a solid wood frame and pinblock, plywood sides and back panels and the soundboard is 3 mm aircraft birch laminate.
I don’t find my Briar Rose plinky but it also isn’t as big sounding as the L&H Prelude I learned on.
Tell me more about the R harp Merlin… Someone mentioned it to mentioned it to me and I dismissed because I had never heard of it..
Hello!
Thanks for the replies! Good point on magnifying the more bright sound. I always thought I preferred the more mellow, warm tone, but I’m not sure I dislike any of them. I also own a Triplett Christina which is very bright and a little plinky (all lap harps sound plinky to me) and the tension is very loose. Still, I like the sound of it, especially for Irish folk tunes.
I guess I’ve narrowed it down to either a Crescendo or a Camac Isolde (Celtic). Two totally different tones but I really love both for different reasons! The Camac reminds me of a warm fire with a cozy blanket and the Crescendo remind me of sparkles and starlight!
Anyway, I can’t seem to find a Camac distributed that orders the Isolde though, as if I’m going to pay that much I would like to do the soundboard engraving. Virginia and Atlanta harp center don’t list that one as available to order.
Any thoughts on Camac Isolde vs. Dusty Strings Crescendo (aside from the tone quality)?
I would agree on the Ravenna vs. Crescendo. I actually listened to the Silvia Woods sound comparisons of all of the Dusty Strings with my eyes closed and wrote down the number of the one I liked best. It turned out to be the Crescendo. I could hear a pretty big difference between that one and the ones she played before it. I had trouble hearing a big difference between the Crescendo and the FH series on the sound file, though.
Hi there,
Yes, whatever I get will definitely be rent to own. I will sell my Briar Rose and use the money to put down on a new one. I also have a Christina Therapy Harp from Triplett that is gorgeous and sounds amazing for a lap harp, but I rarely use it. I always end up on the floor harp, so I’ve decided to sell both to get one bigger floor harp. I wanted to get a new one first so I’m not left without a harp in between if I manage to sell them quickly.
Most places do Allegro Financing. I talked to Atlanta Harp Center, and they mentioned the 4 months up front, plus a security deposit and shipping, and monthly payments on the Crescendo are $130. If you keep it beyond 8 months they charge a service fee and 10% interest. Not bad, and something I might consider. Atlanta Harp Center is still a full day drive for me, so it would be cheaper to have it shipped instead of paying the gas and hotel to go down there. I literally live in the middle of nowhere! There isn’t even a teacher for at least 4 hours from me.
The one thing I like about Stoney End is they have a very uncomplicated pay as you go policy. 25% and shipping up front, and then they just split the payments out over 24 months. There are no extra fees and no interest. 100% of your payment goes towards the harp. The down side to this is that it isn’t really Rent to Own. They make the harps to order so once you put the 25% down, it’s yours. There is no trial period.
Very helpful to hear about the Isolde! How did the tension compare to the DS models? My Briar Rose is medium tension, though I’d say on the lighter side of medium. I learned on a Lyon and Healy Prelude, which of course is really high tension, so playing one that was medium tension was a relief!
Thanks Donna.. very helpful!
The sound recordings of the Crescendo are more resonant to me, but also brighter. I do tend to lean towards a more mellow, warm sound, but I was really drawn to the sound file on the DS website for the Crescendo. It’s also a beautiful harp. I’m a little worried I’ll get the Marion and it will sound exactly like my Briar Rose, but with a few extra strings. I can’t tell from the sound files on the Stoney End website. The soundboard isn’t much bigger, and the materials would be the same. My Briar Rose is a gorgeous, lovely harp, but it’s starting to limit me with number of strings and I figure I might as well get more “Umph” if I’m going to go up to a 34 or 36 string.
Size isn’t a factor. I have a Caravan with seats that fold down so I can haul just about any size lever harp.
Although it’s a bit out of my price range, has anyone played a Camac Isolde? It hits all the sweet spots! Sounds amazing from the sound files I’ve found online, 36 strings, and gorgeous! I noticed Atlanta Harp Center has them on sale right now, so they are pretty close to do-able. Any comments on the tension and resonance? There are a lot of videos online of people playing but I haven’t seen them mentioned a lot on the message boards.
Thanks for the info!
The recordings on Dusty String’s website are really clear and clean, vs. some other sites where there is background noise (including Stoney End’s recording), so yes, I realize it’s really hard to say unless you hear it in person. Also, I know that taste is a factor. The Dusty Strings Crescendo sounds very nice to me, but my husband cringed when he heard it compared to a Camac Isolde. He said it sounded “tinny” and too bright. Certainly the Isolde isn’t as bright but I didn’t think the Dusty Strings sounded tinny at all.
Obviously I want the harp to sound great, but looks are also a factor for me. My instrument is both an instrument and an art piece, displayed in our living room when I’m not playing it. 🙂 When I first started playing, I had narrowed it down to the Ravenna 26 and the Briar Rose, and picked the Briar Rose. The Ravenna isn’t as attractive to me, though it isn’t an ugly harp. It just looks a little too modern for my tastes. Also, it was my first floor harp and Stoney End has an amazing pay as you go option. The Stones are really nice people and very easy to work with. Both of the harps sounded very nice from what I could tell, but the Briar Rose was more rich and mellow compared to the brighter Ravenna.
I guess what I’m looking for is something with a bit more projection and more strings, while still being pleasing to look at. A friend of mine recently got a Lewis Creek, 36 strings, and it just sounds much bigger/resonant than my Briar Rose. They had a similar tonal quality (more mellow and less bright) but hers was like Goliath to my David. 😛 Ours both have the same soundboard (birch). Her neck and sides are Rosewood, and mine are Walnut. Hers just resonated like crazy and I assumed it was mostly do to the larger sound box. When I started looking online at harps, the ones I liked the looks/music samples/prices were the Marion 34, Crescendo 34, and Camac Isolde. The Isolde, although a beautiful harp, is a bit out of the price range.
Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere, and the closest place that has different harp brands I could try out is Atlanta Harp Center, 7.5 hours away. There is only one other person in my town that plays harp and she has a lap harp. I also have a Christina Therapy Harp from Triplet, but I plan on selling this one to help finance the new, bigger harp. 🙂
