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Hi Carl:
I purchased your book “A Guide For Harpists” before I went to look at this harp and the most obvious thing was where the body was separating from the base on the side of the “D” pedal. Even Walter Pfeil told me he couldn’t afford to fix it. The strings are ten years old. It does not have felts. Walter uses a different type of material. A few of the tuning pins are being held in with wood filler.
I went down to the pawn shop to look at it- the neck has some visible filler on a few tuning pins near the knee block along with some cracks-the top string is missing-not sure if the pin is there- there is also a crack in the baseboard- the worst part is the base which is separated from the body especially on the left side where the d pedal is- I spoke with Walter who said it was too expensive to fix, so he left it that way. Walter also told me he replaced the rods at some time with stainless ones, that according to him ,would have more resistance to rust and breakage.This harp will need a lot of work but might make a good practice instrument for a beginner who would be willing to save up for the inevitable expensive repairs ahead. The pawn shop told me Lyon & Healy and VA Harp Center told him it was worth $10,000 in any condition but neither of them offered to buy it!
does anyone have any experience with Riedel harps- I looked on their website and they have some nice designs and the prices aren’t outrageous
the neck looks extremely warped from the photo- and there is a large crack in the base-do you know what alterations he made-are they reversible?
I asked Lyon & Healy what an overhaul on an instrument like this would cost including replacing the neck, re-riveting, new soundboard, rebuilding the base, aligning the column, and re-gilding and their reply was from $19,500-22,500.-
So with their $15,000 asking price, I don’t think it would be worth it- There are several new instruments by Lyon & Healy and other manufacturers that are under $20,000 new. You get a warranty,etc. As most people know, a used harp, especially over 40 years old, can be a real gamble, unless it was rebuilt at some point.
I have been reading a lot of comments on harps regarding construction, watching YouTube videos of harp factory tours,etc. They are complex instruments, relatively expensive(not really if you think of the raw materials, length of time it takes to have the expertise to build them, the overhead of a shop,employees, insurance,etc.).
