Harp-cation, Part 1

I recently took a three week vacation to hike the Appalachian trail, but the trip also turned into a quest for a new harp! So today's post will be about a Pakistani harp and my first visit to a harp store, Virginia Harp Center. Since I had never played any other harps other than my own, it was quite an eyeopening experience.

First, I want to mention one other harp that I had the opportunity to play (and tune, repeatedly). My nephew's family has a small Pakistani harp, and unfortunately, all the rumors I have heard about them are true. Based on my experience, I could not recommend them other than as toys or decorations. It actually was quite a pretty little harp, but makes a plinking type of sound, like a child's plastic guitar, if you know what I mean. I had brought my little cardboard Waring harp with me, and it sounded much, much better than this Pakistani harp to my surprise. Besides the sound quality, the other clear issue was that it could not hold its tuning. It needed to be retuned after every song, basically. I would like to say hourly, but that's optimistic. I am not a picky tuner either, and tuned the harp too sharp hoping it would hold up a little longer, but it was no use, going flat in minutes.

I don't think I've done a post on my cardboard harp, which I'll do at a later time. It's a sweet little harp, but is a bit limited due to number of strings. I have the Mini 16 string model:  https://waringmusic.com/product/mini-harp/. It's perfect for traveling and fits in a standard suitcase! The sound is clear and it holds it tuning quite well after the first week or so of building it. The tension is slightly looser than my Harpsicle (which is also on the loose side) and it's sound quality is not as good, but its comparable. For the price, and the fun experience of building your own harp, it's a great buy. So, let me just suggest that if you have a budget of under $200, order Dr. Waring's larger harp kit, which has 19 strings and is $175 plus shipping currently, not a Pakistani harp. 

One more note on the Paki harps, I have read that the brand called Mikel is of higher quality. It could be that others will spring up that are worthwhile owning, but I haven't been to a harp festival yet and have not heard one in person. My experience is limited, but confirms the reviews I've read online.

Now on to the harp store!  I had the good fortune to be staying in South Jersey, near the quaint town of Haddonfield. So, I was able to visit the Virginia Harp Center three times during my trip!  I probably drove them a bit batty, but they were extremely patient with me, tuning harp after harp for me to try. They treated me with kindness and respect, even though they knew my budget was tiny by harp standards (and there were harps there in the $50,000 range). I must admit that in the beginning I wasn't sure I would actually purchase a harp on this trip, but as I got to know the staff and read reviews (all of which were glowing), I decided that I would buy one if I could find a harp that I could love for a price that I could pay.

The first time I went into the store, there was a harpist trying out pedal harps in their showroom. They brought several harps back to their office for me to try (so I wouldn't be distracted by hearing the pedal harps). The first time I heard one of the Dusty Strings 34 string models, I actually began to cry. The sound spoke so clearly to me - I was truly moved by the experience! This is not to say that the Harpsicle is not a good harp in its own right, but it is a softer sound that didn't evoke emotion in me. I had mainly focused on the Dusty Strings Crescendo and Boulevard models. I briefly tried many other models, some smaller like the Ravenna 26, and some which were used. I even had the opportunity to try two different Boulevards, both identical in appearance and age, but actually different in sound quality. I began to think I might buy a Boulevard on that first day...

But I wasn't done searching just yet. I wanted to see all that I could, and I knew that Marini Made Harps' shop and showroom was nearby in the Dutch Country of Pennsylvania. Before I left Florida, I had made an appointment with the very lovely Marini family to try their harps as well. Read about this experience in Part 2!