Forum Replies Created
-
Posts
-
Hi, Kristen,
Ooh–is it the type of harp that’s like a hybrid lever-pedal harp in which it only has 7 levers but each one moves mechanisms for ALL the strings of that note letter like the pedals do of a pedal harp?
-Gregg
Catherine, thanks for the suggestion to use part of the Prelude transport cover for my Troubadour. I don’t yet have the transport cover set for my Prelude, but I would like to purchase that eventually, so it’s good to know that I could probably use the main part to transport the Troubadour. I still can’t believe that they don’t offer a way to protect the base of the Troub in transport!!
I did a search function just now on harp (dot) com on “Prelude transport cover,” and I see that they DO still, in fact, sell the three parts separately as well as the set.
-Gregg
There are two videos by Harpwinkel de Singende Snaar in the Netherlands demonstrating those two L&H models nearly 4 years ago. The harpist is the same, and the videos were posted on the same day, though she’s wearing different clothes between the two videos, so they probably weren’t recorded on the same day. Surprisingly, I hear more warmth and fundamental in the Ogden, but the Troubadour sounds somehow grander but brighter.? I wonder if the microphone setup was the same between the two videos. I tried sending this with the links, but it didn’t seem to go through, so HC probably doesn’t allow that. Just look up “Harpwinkel” with “Troubadour” and “Ogden” on Youtube.
-Gregg
I think if you really like the Troubadour VI you’ve been learning on, I would seriously consider that model! After all, L&H advertises that model as being the “best-selling lever harp in the world”! I wonder how true that actually is. I can imagine that it was probably true decades ago before there were so many lever harp makers, but I wonder if it’s still actually true.
The Troub VI has a full 5 octaves, which is a very nice range for a harp. If it’s going to be your only harp, at least for awhile, you might eventually find that you would miss those top two strings if you were to get an Ogden instead. Then again, you would possibly not miss those strings. I’ve been curious about the sound difference between those two models.
-Gregg
I just thought of a couple more things to mention. There are two Camac lever harp models which feature pedal tension strings: The Korrigan and the Madamoiselle. However, I should point out that both of those models have bass wires which are lighter tension than the bass wires of L&H lever harps, and those two Camac models also take the bass wires 3 notes higher than the L&H harps before switching over to the gut strings, so you would have to get used to those differences.
-Gregg
Hi, Amalia,
I have a large lever harp collection, including a pre-owned L&H Troubadour V, a new L&H Prelude 40, a new L&H Drake, and a new Salvi Gaia. I highly recommend the Prelude, especially if you like the look of that model being patterned after pedal harps, and if you would appreciate having even more strings, particularly in the bass, as it goes down to “A” instead of stopping at “C”. Many people (including me) find this to be very useful. Having the extra-high notes in the top end can be fun, too!
Since my Troubadour is a V, most of its strings are nylon with only 5 gut strings, and I haven’t tried a VI. I will say, my Troub V actually has a bigger sound than my Prelude; I’m not sure if this is due mostly to the Troub being an older harp or because the soundbox of the Troub is larger (wider) than that of the Prelude. (I’m not sure why the model with more strings has a narrower soundbox, as it seems like the larger harp should have the bigger soundbox.) The Prelude is also actually a little shorter than the Troub, which is also counter-intuitive!
Is there any reason you couldn’t get a Troubadour VI?
I haven’t tried an Ogden, but it’s not simply a matter of having two less strings in the top; it’s a much smaller harp, so the sound will be much smaller than the Troub.
One thing I should mention is that L&H has never designed a transport cover for the Troub. I’m not sure why they think that the dust cover is enough protection for transporting it, considering that the Ogden has an actual carrying case and the Prelude has both a dust cover AND a transport cover. The Drake also has both a dust cover and a carrying case.
If you would appreciate having a smaller, lighter, more transportable harp, you would probably like the Ogden; just expect a smaller sound.
I haven’t tried Camac lever harps, but I do have a couple of harps with Camac levers (a Dusty Ravenna 34 and a Rees Aberdeen Meadows), and I agree with many other lever harp players who say that Camac levers are the best!
I hope this helps!
-Gregg
Yes, this looks like one of those Rawson Shield harps. Did this one get left outside for a long period of time or something?? Anyway, the player sits on one side in the normal manner, and the strings on the player’s half are the naturals, while the strings opposite the player are the sharps, if this is indeed a Rawson harp. I wonder if it’s either an earlier version or else perhaps someone else’s take on the concept, as the construction looks a little different from the Rawson ones, particularly the soundboards.
Did you ever find out any more about this, Philippa? Where was it advertised?
-Gregg
I have wondered, however, how it would be to put a 5A string in place of the 5G wire on pedal-tension harps like my Prelude, in part so that the G, A, and B in that octave would all look the same. Does Bow Brand even make pedal-tension gut for notes lower than 5A? Maybe a heavy-gauge 5A could work for 5G.?
-Gregg
I was wondering the same thing, Balfour, as I’ve never come across a harp model that has gut strings lower than 5A (except your homemade childhood harp!).
-Gregg
Hi, Sally,
Did my long post go through last night– the one in which I mentioned harp (dot) com, optional stringing choices for the Ana and Hermes, salviharps (dot) com, etc? I always worry my posts won’t go through whenever I supply website addresses.
-Gregg
I should also mention that the Salvi levers are a little noisier when raising them than the L&H levers are as far as making a “clack” sound when they reach the end of their travel.
-Gregg
Also, Harpwinkel De Singende Snaar on YouTube has video clips of the Ana (folk “lever” gauge), Hermes (folk “lever” gauge), and Prelude 40 (automatically pedal gauge) being demonstrated; just Google those or type into YouTube. Unfortunately, I’ve never come across any videos of the Ana or Hermes definitively in pedal stringing being demonstrated since the pedal stringing on those models is more of a special order.
Let me know if you can’t find those videos, and I can attempt to post the links here.
-Gregg
Hi, Sally (and Balfour),
If you visit harp.com and select the “Harp Strings” tab, you can scroll down and see exactly what the stringing choices are for each L&H and Salvi model. The Ana has two stringing choices: folk-gauge (“lever”) gut in the middle with folk-gauge bass wires, or pedal-gauge gut in the middle with pedal wires. The Hermes has three choices: the same two stringing choices for the Ana, as well as (folk-gauge) biocarbon in the mid and top. I actually wasn’t previously aware of the pedal stringing option for the Hermes; that’s very interesting! I see on salviharps.com that the Hermes weighs just a little less than the Ana and would be less expensive, being in the “student” category. I should also point out that when a folk-guage (“lever”) stringing is chosen for the Ana or Hermes, the bass wires go up one note higher (to 5A) before switching to non-wires, which means the 5A wire emerges out of a “dot” in the soundboard instead of an eyelet just like the rest of the bass wires.
Also, be aware that the Ana is available with either the pewter-colored levers and pins (less expensive) or as the Ana Deluxe with the gold-plated levers and pins (more expensive). I personally prefer the gold-plating. In fact, I even custom-ordered my Gaia with the gold-plated mechanics. You can see both the Ana and Ana Deluxe on salviharps.com .
The stringing of the L&H “Folk” harp is rather curious, as the bass wires were apparently folk gauge except for the bottom two which were concert pedal gauge!
As for levers, the Ana doesn’t have levers on the top D or E, just like the Prelude, but the Prelude also doesn’t have them on the bottom B or A. The Camac Madamoiselle 40, on the other hand, does have levers on every single string top-to-bottom, I believe.
I just looked up the current prices of the Hermes and Ana, and everything has gone WAY up since I last looked a couple of years ago!!! The Hermes is now $5,350, the Ana (basic) is $6,700, and the Ana Deluxe (gold-plated levers and pins) is $7,300. Wow!!! I think the Ana’s have gone up around $1,000 just in the last couple of years!!
I really like my Prelude 40 (now $5,950) as a large, elegant-looking pedal-style lever harp (no choice on lever plating, unfortunately), but I’ve also been quite curious about the Ana Deluxe in pedal stringing. However, I’ve wondered how I could be sure that they really strung it in pedal stringing if I were to ever get one since there’s a stringing choice (and since the folk-gauge stringing is the default), whereas the Prelude is ONLY available in pedal stringing. The main way to tell on the Ana, I suppose, would be to see whether the 5A is a wire or gut, as it’s wire in folk stringing but gut in pedal stringing.
I hope I haven’t thoroughly confused you now with all this info, Sally!
-Gregg
I should add that the bass wires on the Camac Madamoiselle, Korrigan, and Dusty Boulevard are all folk-tension wires, whereas the bass wires on the Prelude, Troubadour, Ogden, Gaia, and Ana in pedal stringing are all proper pedal wires.
-Gregg
Hi, Sally,
As far as pedal-tension lever harps, I have a L&H Prelude 40, Salvi Gaia 38, Dusty Boulevard 34, and preowned L&H Troubadour V. The Gaia and Boulevard are especially lightweight for pedal-tension harps. I actually find the tone of the Boulevard to be prettier than the Gaia, as the Gaia’s sound is much drier, and the Gaia’s bass wires are a little twangy, probably because they’re too short for what they’re trying to do. I wish I could compare it to a L&H Ogden. My Prelude is very nice, though I miss having levers on the bottom A and B. I will say, I don’t like the sound of the Camac Madamoiselle (in videos) as much as the Prelude because the wires go three notes higher before changing over to gut, so those upper bass notes sound more brassy. The Boulevard is similar in that regard, though I can forgive the higher wires on it because the overall sound is so pretty and it’s so lightweight and can even be played standing with a drop-down leg.
I’ve been trying to get John Pratt to make me one of his little Sprite harps for more than a year, but he’s had serious health problems that he has somewhat recovered from. It has been very difficult to try to get anywhere with him on ordering a Sprite harp, for some reason, especially getting him to price the gold-plating that I would want on the levers and pins. I have heard, however, that his large harps like the Empress are really spectacular! I think he’s still in business, but his website went defunct and he has yet to reboot it.
Anyway, I hope this helps!
-Gregg
