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On second thought, I looked at the Lorraine stringing chart, since the C (the one that broke), B, and A strings have the same diameter, would it be possible to use one of those until I get another replacement for the C string? Or is better to just go without the C string for a while?
I figured it was the climate change… No other strings have broken, so that’s good. And now I’m really frustrated because I’ve been trying for hours to replace this C string. I’ve been doing research and following the videos on the Harp Center website. It took me a while to get the knot right, and then some more time to get it on the tuning pin correctly. I first left too much slack and started over. I left a little less slack, and then when I tried to tune the string so I would get it to wind around the pin, it broke! And now I have no another string to replace it with except for the other ones in the pack, so I’m kind of at my wit’s end here. This is even harder than I thought it would be. 🙁
So, my harp arrived today, and I’ve been positively ecstatic about it. It looks and sounds beautiful! I’m in love with it; I took tons of pictures and brought it up to pitch. I also bought Sylvia Woods’ “Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp” book and am already working hard. However, there has been one unfortunate occurrence.
My highest C string broke a few minutes ago, and now I’m paranoid about the other ones breaking in that area. I’m thinking the temperature change or something might have caused it to break. Is it normal for that to happen when a harp is shipped a long distance (it was shipped from Montana over a week)? I usually keep my AC between 65-70 degrees because Miami has very muggy weather, but I worry that this could affect my harp. Does that have anything to do with it, or am I just worrying too much? I’m about to tackle replacing my first string. Scary.
Yeah, but this harp seems to have different levers. If you look at the eBay page and the pictures you’ll see what I mean: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=150432860671&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_1937wt_1165. Hopefully that link works.
I’m not really sure what kind they are, but they do kind of look like Camacs. I know Lovelands have that plastic handle and those don’t look like they’re made of plastic. Hmm.
Oh, and yeah, it’s G to G. I kind of wish it was F to F like the Sara harp, but I can definitely manage. I’ve already started imagining how I would arrange some pieces for it, haha. Speaking of which, is it even possible to get one extra low note (like an F) on the harp via tuning or something? I’m not sure what my options would be there.
And thanks, Karen. I love the look of it too. 🙂
Okay, so I haven’t posted about this in a while, so here’s an update!
Well, as you might have seen from my earlier posts, I was pretty set on a Triplett Briggs 34 I saw on eBay, and I was going to pay the deposit for it (the seller told me to let them know that day), but I couldn’t get to it until later in the night since I was at class all day, and as it turns out, they rejected my deposit because apparently just that day after all this time of the harp sitting there, someone went in and bought the harp and paid in full. So you can imagine how disappointed/irked that made me. My second choice was that Lyon & Healy Folk Harp they briefly had on their CPO website, but literally right after that episode with the Triplett, I went to check and it was gone too. So you can imagine how baffled I was at this. I had also posted this thread at Yahoo Harplist, and some people responded to me and thought (like me) that someone had seen my posts and bought the harps from underneath to snatch them before I could. And I thought I was just being paranoid in suspecting that at first, haha.
So, after all that drama, I found something better. I won a 29 string, fully-levered Stoney End Lorraine harp for only $710. It is in excellent condition, came with a case, replacement strings, a tuner, and a tuning key. As I type this it is currently on its way to me and should arrive at my dorm at University of Miami on Thursday, May 6th. I also ordered Sylvia Woods’s “Teach Yourself To Play the Folk Harp,” which came in the mail today. I can’t wait to finally start learning! Yay! Thanks for your help, everyone.
The seller thinks the levers are Camac, but she wasn’t sure since there wasn’t any coding on them. I guess I’ll see for myself when the harp gets here. I’ll take pictures! 😀
Well, the original post is pretty old, but I did some research and I can’t find the Celestial Wind harp web site anywhere. Is it just me or is it gone? Does he still make harps? What a curious thing. Would anyone happen to know about any of this?
Yay, congratulations! It makes me happy to see another person fulfilling their dream of playing the harp. I more or less just finished a harp search myself. I’m happy for you! I wish you all the best. 🙂
Well, I e-mailed L&H earlier today, so hopefully they’ll answer my questions really soon. That issue about the neck separating does seem a bit complicated – it turns me away just a little bit. I wonder how that would be fixed, and how much it would cost.
I’ve thought about renting, and it seems like a good idea, but I’m not sure if it’s right for me. I’m still learning towards the Triplett harp I linked to in an earlier post. I really think it’s a great deal and once I fix a couple of things, I could be very happy with it. The seller is willing to let me have it for $550 and hold it for me until May – I’d just have to pay a $200 deposit through PayPal and pay the rest before I go pick it up.
I’d like to know, what does everyone think about this particular harp, the Briggs? I’m pretty close to deciding on that one, so thoughts on it would be great.
Oh, wow. That’s an extraordinary price for a L&H harp. Seems like a rare deal too, judging from the other ones on the page. I could also consider that one. However, since that price doesn’t include shipping and it doesn’t come with levers, I fear how much it would cost me in total for the harp… How much would it really cost me to get the L&H harp, including shipping to either FL or TN and a set of levers or at least a partial set? I don’t need to get really expensive levers. As long as the levers sound good and aren’t too difficult to deal with I’m happy. It looks like it once had levers but they were removed. How would it work if I wanted to have them (or myself) install levers?
The Triplett Briggs I referred to in my other post would be picked-up, so that’s zero shipping charge, and it has levers. The L&H harp is an attractive deal, too, though.
Hmm. Tough. I don’t know. What does everyone else think?
Thanks for the insight, Holly! 🙂
Last night a nice lady from Yahoo Harplist referred me to some eBay listings on good used harps (I have no issue with used musical instruments; all of mine are used, even my recording interface), and the one that really fascinated me the most is this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=120552877222&Category=16223&_trkparms=algo%3DLVI%26its%3DI%26otn%3D1#ht_2692wt_939. If that link doesn’t work, the item number is: 120552877222
I did some research on this older model (a Triplett Briggs with 34 strings and blade levers) and asked the seller (a music store in Louisville, KY that specializes in used gear) some questions. I would have to pick it up around mid-May since I live in Miami, FL and will be in Tennessee in the summer (four hour drive, but it’ll be worth it), and the seller was willing to hold it for me until then. The harp comes with a tuning key, replacement strings, and a manual. I sent Triplett an e-mail earlier today asking about this specific harp and got a very encouraging response from Deb. She told me it did have some structural damage (a slight lift in one board in the soundboard and a crack around the soundhole area in the back), but it wasn’t really a problem. Here’s the message from her copy-pasted:
“Dear Natalya,
Playing the harp is so much fun! This harp could sound like a million bucks! It does have some structural damage, but it is also probably about 28 years old. The soundboard could stay like that for years and so could the back of the harp. It has old blade levers and yes, we can make a case for the harp. I would buy it as long as you can get it under $1000.00. Good luck! Deb”
Some more good news: the harp is going for $599 OBO. So you can imagine my excitement, especially at receiving Deb Triplett’s approval. As long as I can learn to replace the strings (it is missing a couple), regulate the levers, and nurse it to perfect health, I think this will be a rare, wonderful opportunity for me.
So, thoughts? I’m very much leaning towards this particular harp and will happily accept second opinions as I let this one marinate. Thanks!
