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Hi Margot,
As to ‘First Harp Book’ of Betty Paret, it’s available from The Bookdepository and that shop has usually nice prices and has free delivery worldwide and yes, even when you buy the cheapest book.
Have a look at: https://www.bookdepository.com/First-Harp-Book/9780793555239
I order regularly from The Bookdepository and I am a satisfied customer, though, when I need a book fast, I order it somewhere else.
I like this book.Yet, I think I prefer to start with ‘Play the Harp Beautifully’ volume 1 of Pamela Bruner. More information: http://pamelabrunermusic.com/harp_books.php
I just wonder what the OP means with ‘is due to be regulated’.
Does the owner want the harp to be regulated, perhaps because of her maintenance subscription?
Or does the OP want it to be regulated while the owner has the opinion that regulating could wait for another year, perhaps because the harp had been regulated just a year ago?
I consider regulating the harp being part of the normal service paid for by the owner and when this requires changing the strings, this is what the owner should pay for too. (Of course, this is different from the OP having to change and pay for or false strings because of the regular wear and tear.)
It would be a different situation when the owner considers the harp to be in a well enough playing condition while the OP disagrees. In that case, I think it would be justifiable that the OP pays part of the costs.
I can’t help you with your questions, but I think you may like to know that the sound of a harp is depending on much more things than the kind of wood used for the soundboard.
I haven’t got a clue about the woods used for Paraguayan harps, but as to pedal harps and lever harps, the sound also depends significantly on the kind of wood used for the soundbox (e.g. walnut being warm and mellow and maple being bright), also the thickness of the used wood and the design of the model. And, of course, on the kind of strings being used, even within nylon there are different tensions varying from harps with very low tension (like on the Camac Llanera harp or the Camac TKadiou or the Dusty Serrana) to middle string tension or even rather strong tension.
Also, the way the soundboard is designed is important for the sound of the harp. So, in addition to what I wrote above, listening to soundclips of a harp with a soundboard of one special kind of wood would not say much.
Besides, every piece of wood is unique and therefore every harp is unique. Therefore when you’ve got five of ‘exactly the same harps’ in front of you, they will all sound a bit or even significantly different.
I am not technically qualified to answer this question, but as part of the fun of playing the double harp is the (quiet) sounding along of the ‘sister’ strings, I would definitely replace the missing C string as soon as possible.
As to your question of having spare strings, I do have them for my single row harps, simply because I want to be able to play every day. And because I think that a harp loves being fully stringed.
I don’t know your situation, but it would not hurt to ask Ray Mooers of Dusty Strings
at https://manufacturing.dustystrings.com/harps about what would be wisdom in your case.Donna, I think it’s important to decide for what situations you would like a real stable music standard. For travelling you may like a lightweight standard which is a bit better balanced than the one you have now, and for playing at home, you may like a more heavy one.
I get the impression that the market for second hand harps from harpbuilders with a fine reputation is completely different than from industrially made harps.
It may also differ from where one lives. In the Netherlands, e.g. second hand harps tend to be significantly cheaper than in Germany.By the way, when the Salvi Ana’s went from 38 to 40 strings, the last old models (perfectly new harps) went very nicely back in price in the US. The offer is still there (though I don’t know whether there are any old models left).
Have a look at: http://salviharpsinc.com/detail_harps_on_sale.pdf@Jerusha, I think I used ‘investment’ in another meaning than a pure economical one (English is a second language for me and sometimes meanings of words are not exactly the same after translation).
I meant investment as paying a substantial amount of money for an instrument one hopes it will bring joy for many years. Not as paying for an instrument that will keep (much of) its economical worth on the market. Sorry for my lack of clarity.I very much agree with Biagio on the point of having a teacher. As to the great yahoo group Virtual Harpcircle, I think that both beginners as more advanced players of the harp find something to their liking there.
The Salvi Ana with 40 strings and the Salvi Hermes have lever gut tension. (Yes, older Salvi Ana’s had pedal gut tension).
If one really wants pedal gut tension, it comes to a Lyon & Healy Prelude (40 strings) or Troubadour (36 strings).
Then there’s the Camac Mademoiselle (40 strings) strung with pedal gut tension. Also interesting may be the Camac Excalibur (38 strings) with carbon strings and tension between ‘celtic’ and ‘classic’ tension.
Hi Gail, for many moons now I have been on the same quest… Except that I don’t have any plans to move to a pedal harp (yes, I don’t believe it would be a question of upgrading, just like no violinist would ever say he is upgrading to a cello, it’s just a different kind of instrument).
The following is what I have come to believe.
Beauty is partly a question of taste. Some people like a warm and full tone (like me). Other prefer or more clear and transparant tone. Others something in between.
To start with your idea of pedal harp tension, I firmly believe that it won’t make too much of a difference in technique when you would go from a firm middle tension lever harp or a high tension lever harp to a pedal harp. I am not talking about low tension harps, as these might well tolerate techniques that are less suitable for playing the pedal harp.
As to ‘breaking the budget’: this is a personal thing. See buying a harp as an investment which will bring you joy for many years. When right now, you don’t have the money burning in your pocket for the harp you love, you may consider hiring one for the time being.
Another thing to consider: pedal tension lever harps are smaller than pedal harps. Gut strings sound better when they are long enough for their diameter. This is especially the case with the lower strings.
Tell us a bit more about the kind of music you love and whether you already know for sure that you really need a pedal harp and we could help you better.
As you live in Australia, I would search for harps that don’t need to come from the other end of the world, as shipping costs, VAT and duties may make the price of the harp much higher than one would guess at first glance.
The first question, though would be, why would you buy a 26 strings harp for your daughter right now? If she is having harp lessons, her teacher may have an idea of where to get a decent and affordable harp. Or advise her to hire first before investing in a good harp (probably with at least 34 strings).
When your daughter wants a travel harp, I would be inclined to choose a Camac 27 string Troubadour or a Dusty string 26 string Ravenna. Both these harps, as well as others with more strings can be bought from
http://www.harps.com.au/ . Branddon Lassells has a good reputation and he also builds nice harps himpself.In your case, I would find out the possibilities of buying (or renting) a harp in Australia. I don’t know about the Australian situation, but in Europe one usually can hire a harp and get a very nice discount when one buys that (or another) harp later at the same shop. It’s a great way of learning the harp and finding out in the mean time which kind of harp one likes best.
Frankly, why would you do all the trouble to learn a piece you are not even interested in? In the best case you would not gain anything from it. In the worst case, it would cost only you money and time and it wouldn’t bring you any joy now or later.
I wonder why you haven’t been able to raise your prices in a long time. If you’re scared of losing gigs, you could start by raising them just a little bit and see how that works out.
I would gladly pay for the person I knew would play music wonderfully even if the other local harpists would charge a little bit less than her.
Brides pay lots of money for flowers, the wedding cake and much more. Why would they be petty on the cost of life music?
As this bride starts arguing about 10 dollars, what else would she be willing to argue about? She may be expecting to get a lot more without having to pay extra costs, or having to pay less as something was not quite to her liking…
I just discovered your latest mail about a year and a half later. I am sorry.
I do hope your problem has been solved a long time ago. If not, any local harp technician would probably be able to solve this for you.As to your question:”Anyone know what the difference is between the strings on the Bardic and the ones on the Excalibur? It looks as if they’re the same but different brands. Has anyone ever dealt with this particular brand.”
The Camac Bardic 27 string harp has strong nylon strings with the lowest (I think 5) strings made of Alliance carbon strings. They’ve got a rather high tension.
The strings on the Camac Excalibur 38 string harps are made of Kürschner carbon strings (and the bass strings are made of wire). They are supposed to have intermediate tension.As to brands. Camac harps are well-known in Europe (where I live) for their sturdyness and the willingness of the manufacturer to listen to the wishes of harp players.
I hope to be able to try the Camac Excalibur in the foreseeable future and find out whether the tension is strong enough for me (being used to a pedal harp tension harp).
Today, I discovered that Josh Layne’s newest lever harp is a Camac Excalibur. Have a look at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_MzyWYLB_U
By the way, I love Josh Layne’s ‘Harp Tuesdays’.I am sorry for your sad situation.
I wonder whether you spoke to a random employee (like the technician) of that company or to the highest approachable person in the hierarchy of that company. This could make all the difference.
If that doesn’t work, you could try and send a letter addressed to the highest person of that company personally and explain the situation.
There must be several other ways to get an adequate solution for your problem.
I would refrain from exposing them (like you have been doing in this thread and in another thread) before you have tried any other means to make them do the right thing.
In addition to what I wrote above in this thread, Sarah, what are you missing in your current Camac Korrigan? Do you have a very old one with the stiff plastic levers? Or one with the very nice modern metal levers?
Would you like to have a bigger harp in order to get a more pedal harp like sound? Or for another reason?I would pay attention to the overall balance of sound of the harp. How do the bass strings sound, how the middle strings and how the upper strings? Are there sudden changes in (almost) adjacent sounds?
Many moons ago I tried several harps and was astonished how even harps of the same model and wood sounded rather differently, as, of course, each piece of wood is unique.
Great question, as I am more or less wrestling with the same question. In my case: I am considering trading in my old predecessor of the Camac Mademoiselle (38 strings, still with the stiff red, white and blue levers) to a new Camac Mademoiselle, a Salvi Ana or, at the moment very intriguing for me, as I never heard it being next to it: a L&H Prelude.
What can I say? Perhaps it depends partly on where you live. In Europe the Camac Mademoiselle is a lot cheaper than the Salvi Ana or the L&H Prelude. The difference in prices may be quite different elsewhere.
I discovered Salvi has a new, large lever harp. The Salvi Hermes. It has the new Salvi levers which are supposedly better than the old ones. I wonder whether they are the same as the L&H ‘performance levers’
I think the string tension may be a bit less, but perhaps I am mistaken and I could not find more documentation on the internet.New Salvi Ana harps may have the new levers as well. Anyway, if I would chose for a Salvi Ana, I would find out about the levers. I saw that in the US Salvi Ana’s with the old levers were very much lowered in price, so that would be a consideration too.
I am very interested in your experiences on your exciting journey to a new harp!
