|
Todd's Lever Harp We are offering for sale the finest lever harp I've ever seen. about five years ago Todd Holt, who does the woodwork on our harp restorations and repairs, decided to build himself a lever harp and to start taking lessons. The harp took nearly a year to build, and he used wood from his collection. The harp is a blazing success; his efforts to learn to play it were not, since he had no musical training at all before trying. The harp has 36 strings, spaced about 1/2mm wider than a typical concert grand harp. In this regard it is virtually identical to the wide-spaced pedal harps that L&H made before WWII.It plays with a firm, but not tight feel. The sound is medium bright, and is very similar to a really good, responsive straight-board pedal harp. The stave-back harp is constructed of some of the nicest quilted maple I've seen. It is not veneer, but 3/16 thick solid wood, with wild cherry heartwood accents. The construction is flawless, and the hand-carving is as nice as I have ever seen, including the carvings on some 18th C French harps. Hidden from view are the carbon-fiber reinforcements of the pillar and neck. This harp should never bend out of shape. The use of carbon fiber gives great strength with no weight penalty, for the carbon fiber replaces an equal volume of wood where it is used on this harp. I would recommend this instrument without reservation for someone with large hands, and for someone who wants a big sound with a firm feel to the strings. At 34 lbs it is not a super-lightweight instrument, but it is very stable and won't jump around while being played. It comes with two covers, a lightly padded flannel cover and a heavier transport cover with wheels for ease of moving it about. It is offered at $9600. Given the hours it took to build and carve this harp we could not duplicate it for $14k. |
|
