[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

[Gregg Bailey]

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

• This reply was modified 2 years, 9 months ago by Gregg Bailey.

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Lily,

I was thinking–since we already know that Salvi can make a white harp (even though it’s not one of their standard colors), I was wondering what models of theirs you’ve tried.? Aside from their Gaia and Ana models, I think all of their other lever harp models are lower in tension.

Also, my understanding is that the tone of a harp model made in cherry wood is almost as dark as the tone of the same model made in walnut, while maple and bubinga would have a much brighter tone. Have you seen the following webpage on the Dusty Strings website? (Scroll down to the section about wood choices):

manufacturing.dustystrings.com/harps/about-harps/woods-anatomy

Also, have you given any thought to types of levers? Dusty Strings harps come with Loveland levers by default, but many people prefer to upgrade to Camac levers, which have better functionality but do cost more. In fact, many lever harp makers used to use Loveland levers, but Dusty Strings is apparently the only maker left who still uses Lovelands routinely.

Sorry to add more things for you to think about, haha!

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

I should’ve clarified that when I mentioned the “proper” string-winding procedure of 2 winds to the outside before crossing over to continue winding towards the neck, I was, of course, referring to the Brilliant harp.

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

I forgot to say, I’m surprised that the treble tension on the FH34 would be less than on the Ravenna; how interesting! If anything, I would almost expect it to be the other way around!

Have you tried any of the harps you mentioned–the Melusine or FH34S in cherry?

Are you using 8″ legs on your Ravenna? Mine just has the 5″ legs, though I’m considering ordering the 8″ ones. I would say that the shoulder part of my Brilliant is about the same height as my Ravenna on its 5″ legs.

I would think that an FH34 in black would usually be made of maple. Are you sure they offer black stain on cherry? It almost seems a shame to cover up gorgeous cherrywood with a black stain, but I can even think that about maple, as natural woods are just so pretty!

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Lily,

Sorry I’ve taken so long to respond. As to whether you should think about purchasing both the Ravenna 34 and the Brilliant or to instead get a Dusty FH, I’m not quite sure how to advise you. I haven’t tried a high-end Dusty FH in person, so I have no real frame of reference for how they compare to the Ravennas. If I had been able to try a Dusty FH or even Crescendo before purchasing my Ravenna 34, it’s possible I would’ve held out for a FH or a Crescendo, but I have no way to know. I also have no frame of reference for what a Ravenna is like with nylon strings in-person.

I can, however, compare my Ravenna 34 with folk gut strings to my Rees Brilliant 34 harp with its nylon strings. They’re so different from each other! The Brilliant is made of solid wood, whereas the Ravenna’s soundbox and soundboard are laminate wood. The Ravenna has a bigger sound, especially in the bass, which is to be expected since the Ravenna’s soundbox is bigger. The tone of the Brilliant is also a little mellower, though mine is made of walnut, so that may be playing a part in that. The string spacing is about the same, maybe just a tiny, tiny bit narrower in the Brilliant, but not really noticeable. The tension on the Brilliant’s strings is definitely less than on my Ravenna with its folk gut strings, but that may be at least partly due to folk gut being stiffer than nylon. The normally silver-colored bass wires of the Brilliant are much more prone to tarnishing, but I don’t know how much of the tarnish is due to the H2S in the air where I live (West Texas). The Ravenna has a choice of height depending on which legs you choose, or even the ability to play without legs at all, whereas the Brilliant’s height is fixed with no choice. The tuning pins on the Brilliant are zither pins and are tuned on the lever side of the neck and use a zither tuning key. One thing that is somewhat more of a pain on the Brilliant (and all models in the Harpsicle line) is that the way the strings are wound on the pins is different from any other sort of harp, and I find changing strings on the Harpsicles to be a little trickier as a result. The “proper” procedure is to thread two winds to the outside and then cross over and thread about two more winds on the neck side of the pin. One thing that is nice about the Brilliant is that it comes with a pickup installed for amplification ability, whereas, on the Ravenna, it either has to be added later or ordered when the harp is made. Of course, the biggest advantage of the Brilliant is its much lighter weight. The Ravenna has the option of folk gut vs nylon strings, while the Brilliant has no choice (nylon only). The string material changeover in the bass is different. On the Ravenna, of course, the bottom 8 strings are wires, but only the bottom 5 of the Brilliant are wires. The changeover from wound nylon to monofilmant also happens farther down on the Brilliant, as the wound nylons only go up to 5E. So, the Brilliant has 5 wires and 5 wound nylons, then the rest are monofilament from 4F up.

Here are the above points listed for each harp:

Brilliant:

-lighter weight
-can now be ordered in white again (ha!)
-has a built-in pickup
-string tension is possibly a little lighter, but I haven’t compared to a nylon-strung Ravenna
-made entirely of solid wood
-fewer strings are wire
-overall sound output is a little smaller, esp. in the bass
-mellower tone (thought haven’t tried a maple Brilliant, which a white one would be; tone would probably be a bit brighter than walnut)
-silver bass wires more prone to tarnish (D, E, and G), though I don’t know if that would be as much of a problem where you live
-no choice of height or of string type
-zither tuning pins tuned on lever side
-unusual string thread procedure on the tuning pins when replacing strings

Ravenna:

-bigger sound
-brighter tone (probably)
-bass wires not as prone to tarnishing
-choice of height and string type
-normal type of tuning pins tuned on the side opposite the levers
-usual procedure for changing strings as far as how the strings are to be wound on the pins
-bass wires go higher up before changing over to wound nylon
-soundbox and soundboard made of laminate wood rather than solid wood
-possibly a bit higher in string tension
-doesn’t come with a pickup by default, but can be added
-heavier than Brilliant
-can’t be ordered in white!

I’m not sure how much any of this information helps, but I thought I’d try my best to compare these. I’m sure a Dusty FH or Crescendo are much more refined than either of these models, even though I haven’t tried any.

Keep us posted on what you decide to do!

-Gregg

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Lily,

Did you ever get a white harp? I have some news you may find interesting. I just learned that Rees Harps is in the process of making a special Brilliant 34-string harp in pearl white finish (basically white but with an added iridescence that gives off some lavender-type hues when certain light hits it). I reminded them that you had inquired about a white Brilliant, and they tell me they can actually do that now, as well. So, if you’re still in the market for one, you could either get the one in white pearl finish that they are in the process of making, or you could order one in the standard white color, as well! It’s amazing how lightweight the Brilliant is for its size; every time I pick mine up, it’s still almost a surprise just how easy it is to lift! You would have to get used to tuning on the lever side of the neck, however. I also feel that mine has a sweet, lovely tone, though mine is made of walnut, whereas the painted ones are maple and may be a bit brighter in tone than mine is.

[Gregg Bailey]

Hi, Lily,

I just want to be sure you know I’m referring to the Grand Harpsicle model, which is one of the floor harp models in the Harpsicle line, NOT a lap harp. It has a full octave below the lowest string of the lap models. It IS quite light, however, and does sit a little lower than, say, the Ravenna 34 even with the Ravenna on the lower default legs. The MusicMakers Ballad 34 is probably somewhere between the Grand Harpsicle and the Ravenna 34 in size, tension, weight, etc. The Brilliant Harpsicle is even larger than the Grand Harpsicle and is perhaps between the MusicMakers Ballad and the DS Ravenna in terms of string tension.

I know what you mean about wanting the harp to be higher, and I think it’s a shame that many harp models don’t offer different height setups. I’m actually thinking about ordering the mid-length legs for my Ravenna 34 and Boulevard. My legs are fairly short, but I have a tall torso.

I hope someone will answer your questions about Camac lever harps. I think a separate thread for that would be a good idea. And I, too, would like to know about why a certain harp would be able to handle changes in temperature and humidity better without being an all-out carbon fiber harp. Maybe it’s a hybrid harp, which would perhaps explain it.

I’ll be so curious to know what you and your teacher work out as a solution to all this!

-Gregg

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