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Hi Blindharpe,
Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experience and all this information.
I’m so happy that you have found the right harp for you!
I don’t think I have ever read anything negative about the Excalibur and your post supported this. It’s definitely a special and very beautiful harp. However, only now I noticed on Camac’s website that they classify it as a heavy tension harp. So unfortunately it’s not for me, my hands couldn’t take it, for health reasons.
The Camac Ulysse remains a mystery, both when it comes to string tension and sound quality. It’s quite strange that one cannot find any comments, reviews or opinions about it.
Anyway, I listened to the sound of the Dusty Crescendo you started with and I loved it! I’m very glad you mentioned it, once again I noticed that there’s something about that “Dusty sound” that appeal to me very much. Bright treble and lots of bass resonance. They have several medium tension harps. The FH36S sounds wonderful and it’s pretty high as well. Not as high as the Excalibur though, I’m 179 cm tall (the converter gives me 5 feet 10 15/32 inches, if that makes any sense. To me it doesn’t… 😀 ).
Ah, I loved that you said: “Don’t be fooled by that label! You can play anything you want to on a Celtic style harp just as you can with a harp that carries the label of classic and has traditional concert spacing!”. This made my life easier… 😀
Thank you once more and enjoy your Excalibur!
– Lily
WOW!!! Balfour, I enjoyed every second of it! Beautiful pieces, played by a real pro! Now I love that harp even more… You are PERFECT together! – as I’m sure you are with Carol Lynn as well! <3
I love tall harps too. I’m 179 cm, so maybe I need an even taller harp… 😉
Huge Harp Hugs to You, Carol Lynn and Chérie!
Lily and Mélanie
Hello Gwen,
and thank you!
I’m still in the process of trying to understand which harp is the right one for me to buy, when the time is right. I fell in love with the Ravenna 34 online, and the rental guy got one for me – a wonderful person!!!
I have been looking at different harps online – it’s so much fun! In my country we don’t have harp stores, and not a lot of harps or harpists either. So it’s online I fell in love with the FH36S as well… But as I was right about the Ravenna, maybe I’m right about this one too.
I need to take my time to decide, I’m not ready to buy anything yet. (There is no FH36S for sale where I am… 😉 ). Anyway, these two Dusty harps are my favorites, but I’m looking at other models as well. I’m a beginner and don’t know where this wonderful adventure will take me. Playing the harp has been a long-time dream of mine, and finally I decided to make it come true. I loved to play from day 1 and couldn’t stay away from my Ravenna either. It has been so lovely to read your story, there’s so much I can relate to!
Time will tell for me – I might stick to my Ravenna, I love her so much! It would be hard to let go of her… Her name is Mélanie, which means “black” in ancient Greek. My dream was a white harp, the rental Ravenna I got was black! 😀 But I love her exactly as she is! <3
You have two beautiful options… I can’t wait to hear what you decided and how you feel about it!
Enjoy the harp you choose! <3
– Lily
Hi Gregg,
I don’t know how to thank you for all the advise and support! <3
When I mentioned the lap harp earlier, I didn’t refer to the Grand Harpsicle, it was just a general comment. I like the idea of having a harp for practicing that’s kinder to my hands. But in that case it would have to come with the bonus of being less “loud” as well. I live in an apartment building and the joy of practicing is often disturbed by my thoughts: “Am I torturing my neighbors?”. But I guess a smaller harp like the Grand Harpsicle is automatically less “loud” than harps like my Ravenna 34 (?).
And I guess the DS FH36S is “louder” than the Ravenna 34? I know you can play any harp delicately, but in in general? Maybe Balfour would have an answer to this? I hope this was the the day we were allowed to ask stupid questions… 😀
Anyway, I am processing your idea about a hand-friendly harp to practice on, it’s a good idea! I would just have to find a kind harp I’m comfortable playing in general – this has a huge impact on the hands as well. There is no stand for the Grand Harpsicle for sitting when playing, just for standing. So at least for now I’m not ready to go for that one. I know you mentioned others as well, I just started with the Grand Harpsicle because they make it in white 😀
There’s also the financial factor. I just bought a new piano, which I have meant to do for a long time, I just haven’t been able to decide which one to go for. A clearance sale in a store finally got me moving 😀 . And I don’t want to rent a harp forever, so this would mean buying two harps… That’s why I’m also asking myself if I could get everything in one harp – a large AND hand-friendly harp. There is the Camac Mélusine for example. A concert model you can get in white 😀 , but I guess it’s quite “loud” for my apartment building. And a student model that isn’t so loud, but I’d have to settle for a walnut finish. However, those who love the Mélusine don’t want a bright and delicate sound, they like that deep and mellow tone of it. That’s why I’m so in love with the Dusty harps (Ravenna & FH36S), to me they have a warm and deep tone, but there is brightness and delicacy as well. If I hade to choose between these two types of sounds, I’d choose delicacy. But those strings are not for my hands.
Thank you if you finished this novel! In a nutshell: There’s a lot to consider.
I’ll post a question about the Camac models later, separately. Even if I don’t find my harp among those, it’s always so interesting to learn about different models! 🙂
Thank you once more for everything Gregg!
Lily
Hi everybody!
Gwen, it’s so funny, a few hours after you had posted this, I asked EXACTLY the same question on another thread here on HC. I wanted to know the difference between The Ravenna 34 and the FH36S. Our friends Gregg and Balfour kindly guided me to read your post (that I for some reason hadn’t seen).
I play a rental Ravenna 34 – exactly like you! I love it! The sound is beautiful, warm but still bright. I don’t want to rent forever, so I’m in the process of trying to understand which harp is the right one for me to buy. The FH36S is very interesting! On the other hand I can buy my rental Ravenna if I want to (and get half of the rent I’ve paid off the price). My Ravenna was brand new when I got it a month or two ago. It would be so easy – and much more affordable! – to stick to the Ravenna. However, having read everything above…
Thank you Gwen for this post and thank you Gregg and Balfour for all the information! I have learned so much reading this interesting thread! 🙂
Good luck and enjoy your harp Gwen – whatever your choice will be!
– Lily White
Hi Balfour and Gregg,
You are the best! I feel so much better after your wise advise and your support! <3
About the tuning, I could tune it in C major and change it back if necessary. I will ask my teacher as well, so far she has listened very carefully to what I would like to do 😉
About the hands, to be honest, I think I will have to deal with this in the future as well. In periods. At least so far I don’t think it means I have to quit the harp, I just have to find my way to do it. At least try, I love the harp so much! I’m very grateful for all your suggestions, you know so much more about this than I do. I’m not sure about the Harpsicle, it’s so small. Only after getting the highest legs available for my Mélanie I really felt “at home” with her. I like a steady floor harp that is high. Mélanie is perfect in that sense. I’m very tall, and, of course, we all have different preferences.
That is, I need to feel generally relaxed and comfortable, in order to have the right hand position and be able to relax the hands (still working on that, e.g. my pinkies still have a life of their own…). With a high floor harp everything is easier and more comfortable for me. A lap harp is not for me.
There is one harp that is a mystery to me: the Camac Ulysse. Nobody writes anything about it (or maybe I have just missed it…). It has “only” 34 strings and isn’t very high. But it’s VERY light and can take changes in temperature and humidity very well (a big bonus if you live in my country!). It’s not all wood, unfortunately. But they make it in white! 😀
I would like to know about its sound and its string tension / quality (for my hands) – compared to my Ravenna. Maybe I should write a separate post about it, if anyone out there would know these things.Actually, it’s strange to me that they say it can take changes in temperature and humidity. I understand it when it comes to the body, because of the special material, but not the sound board and the strings (which are pretty important parts of a harp…). But I guess I don’t have to understand everything, I’m just curious by nature… 😀
– Lily
Hi Gregg and Balfour,
Gregg, I agree! My teacher is quite demanding, beginning with such a piece. First it felt impossible. But it wasn’t, it just took some time. And I still love the piece! I’m happy she chose it for me. At home I have method books with pieces I wouldn’t necessary choose myself. I play them to learn the technique, later I can choose all my pieces myself! But even if a piece is boring, it’s so rewarding when you get it right! 😀
I just played the original version of the piece “Moonlight”. I so much wanted to hear and feel it. I liked it a lot, there was more harpy stuff than in the version I had played before. But now my hands are protesting, argh!
And Balfour, I would SO MUCH like to tune my harp in C major!!! Everything would make sense to me (maybe because of my piano background). I have been taught to tune it in Eb…
– Lily
WOW!!! Balfour, you have quite a collection of beautiful instruments there! I have seen a picture of your Camac Atlantide Prestige before… And the CHERRY 😉 on the cake – a large layer one! – is that stool that makes my heart melt! <3
I believe every word you say about Aloe Vera, and I love natural products as well. Fortunately I get very good results with my creams, even though the don’t contain any Aloe Vera.
Gregg, the piece is “Moonlight” by Susan McDonald (the very first piece I played, and I still play it – it’s very simple, relaxing and still very “harpy”). I would have needed the C string, not the B string. But now that I looked at my sheet music, it’s not the original version of the piece, a couple of notes have been changed. In Susan McDonald’s original version you DON’T need those two extra strings, you can play the original version on my Ravenna 34! Interesting, I’m glad you asked! I now very much want to play the original version and hear how it sounds…
I’m also glad you asked because I’m in the process of trying to understand what kind of a harp I really need. The number of strings is one of my question marks. I guess you can play a lot on a 34-string harp like my Ravenna! 🙂– Lily
You are both SO right, as a huge Puccini fan, I cannot wait to play O Mio Babbino Caro, but it still has to wait for a while. But the sheet music will be here for me, as soon as I’m ready. 🙂
I’m very sensitive – in every possible way! 😀 – so I can’t use stuff like Aloe Vera. But I have very good creams I use several times a day. I haven’t got calluses at all, but I use creams for atopic and sensitive skin, with very good results! Thanks anyway for the tips, Balfour!
Gregg inspired me to look at and listen to different harps the other day. Online, but anyway. And there was one lever harp that really caught my eye – exactly like the Ravenna34 did before (and the rental guy got one just for me, he is such a wonderful person!). Anyway, the one that I’m looking at now happens to be a Dusty Strings harp as well! It’s simply called FH36S (desperately in need of a more loving name! 😀 ). But it sounds wonderful. At least online… I liked it in walnut, the sound is warm, but bright at the same time. That’s what made me fall in love with the Ravenna as well, I guess it’s a typical sound for Dusty harps. I love it!
Anyway, this FH36S also has the perfect height for me. And 5 octaves, from C to C!!! I have already played one piece in which I would have needed those two extra strings (I played those parts an octave lower, no problem, but those 2 extra strings would be nice!). String tension exactly as my Ravenna, and you can get it with Camac levers (I have them on my Ravenna and would take them again).
I can’t forget this harp, so it’s definitely a contender for me! Compared to the Salvi Gaia, that I have been looking at before this, the strings of this one would probably suit me and my skin and hand issues much better. In addition to all the nice features above, it does have a nice price tag as well though. That’s why I settled for my second choice piano… 🙂
Gregg, as you have so many harps, maybe you have a FH36S as well? I would ask how the sound is compared to the Ravenna 34. It’s just that you have gut strings on your Ravenna, if I remember correctly, so it’s different from mine… And you Balfour? You have played everything, it seems! 😀
That’s a novel I wrote, so sorry! But I can’t get that harp out of my mind… <3
I would just have to persuade them to make it in white for me – or settle for the walnut…
It’s 10.50 pm here now, so I say have a nice evening! Or good night! (I’m a night owl…)
– Lily
I already got Kristine’s book with the sheet music for Puccini’s O MIO BABBINO CARO for lever harp! Thanks to you Gregg!!! 😀
And Balfour, yes, it certainly is exciting to get a new piano! I’ll have to wait a few weeks before it arrives – another golden opportunity for practicing my patience… 😉
I had a first choice, but I decided to go with my second one. More affordable, but I love it! This way I have a budget left for my own harp, when I’m ready to make a decision.A Huge Hug back to both of you,
Lily
Hi Gregg,
I practiced for about one month without any problems. Then one day I just noticed my hands were swollen, but I didn’t make a big deal about it. And the next morning I woke up with pain in my hands and arms… I saw a doctor because I immediately associated it with the harp and got scared I’d have to quit. I’m glad I did, he was so optimistic! 🙂
Now I’ll copy even this short message 😀
I was about to write “have a nice evening”, but I guess it’s not evening where you are…
– Lily
Hi Gregg,
The picture is beautiful! <3
Thank you so much for all the information! You can’t find information like that on the internet…
My doctor said that the problems I’m having with my hands might be just a beginner’s thing. I have been using muscles and doing movements I’m not used to. And I have been practicing way more than you should in the beginning :D. The doctor said that his hands wouldn’t have been able to take all that, he was surprised I wasn’t worse… So I’m hoping for the best! And I will wait and see before buying a harp. But I keep my eyes and ears open all the time about what’s out there. In order to learn, but also because I love to look at harps and read about them. So what you wrote was very interesting! You have quite a collection of harps – and first hand experience!
And thanks for the precious tips about the sheet music for Kristine Warmhold’s arrangement! 😉
You are SO right, white is an excellent colour for MANY things! I love that Balfour has a white car! I’m between pianos at the moment, playing a very affordable rental keyboard I’m not exactly amazed by…
Today I finally ordered a new piano and you know what? Yep! It’s WHITE! <3– Lily
PS. This will be my third attempt to submit a reply. I should have saved the first ones temporarily, but I didn’t… My first answer was long, they have gotten shorter every time… I hope they won’t all pop up later! Anyway, I have saved this one and will try again. Third time’s a charm 🙂
Hi Gregg,
and THANK YOU!!! You made my day, sending me all these beautiful things. The link and everything worked perfectly! 🙂
I feel spoiled… 😀
I have asked Rees Harps about that white Brilliant harp, but as you said, it’s not cost-effective for them to do it even for an extra charge. Salvi’s Minerva in gold and white is just GORGEOUS!!! A chocolate bar isn’t enough for her, she makes me want to eat a large layer cake! You and Balfour have to help me finish it though… 😀
I also like Salvi’s Daphne in white! Did you see that? It’s my dream harp. I’ll attach the picture below. Based on my inquires, Salvi is the only manufacturer who would make any harp for me in white for en extra charge. I have looked at Gaia. And Daphne, but Gaia is more realistic. But first I have to see what my skin and my fingers / hands can take.
Ah, right, you asked about my hands. Thank you so much for your concern! They are a bit better, I just have to be careful not to use them too much. They need to rest. Aargh!!! I’m not famous for being the most patient person in the world, so I guess this is a golden opportunity for me to practice that for a while, instead of the harp… 😉
Last but not least, Kristine Warmhold’s arrangement of Puccini’s “O Mio Babbino Caro”. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!! I love it! I have done everything possible to find Puccini lever harp arrangements, but it has been almost impossible. You can find “Musetta’s Walz” and that’s about it. And now you serve me this! 😀 I already tried to google to buy the sheet music for Kristine Warmhold’s arrangement, but no luck so far. I won’t give up!
Monsieur de Quervain is complaining, my hands need a rest from the keyboard now.
I can’t thank you enough Gregg, what a community this is! And you too Balfour!
Take care, both of you,
– Lily
Thank you Balfour for sharing that, it felt good to hear I’m not the only one… 😉
I feel so lucky, everyone has been so kind and understanding with me here at the forums. It took a while to build up the courage to write here the first time, you are all so wise and experienced. Thanks for taking the time to help a newbie like me. I have really learned a lot!
I hope I can give back some day! 🙂
– Lily
Hi Balfour,
You could be a doctor! 😀
I have “De Quervain’s Tenosynovitis” in both hands. Due to overdoing it… 😉
It’s like in sports, you don’t go immediately from 0 to 100, you do it gradually. When the doctor heard how much I have been practicing, the only thing he wondered about was that it wasn’t much worse. He said his hand’s couldn’t have taken what I have done. I’m not very proud of myself…But when I get passionate about something I immerse myself completely in it, it’s stronger than me…
The good news is that I can continue playing the harp!!! 😀 I was so scared I’d have to quit.
The doctor was wonderful, he understood my passion and supported my playing 100 %. I will restart gradually, of course.Maybe this is a good thing, after all. Now I have to take it easy for a while, so I will take a few steps back and restart with some really easy pieces, in order to be able to concentrate fully on proper hand position and relaxing my hands. I actually look forward to it, I want to get it right! 🙂
Thanks for your support Balfour!
– Lily
