Product Description
Harp. Origin Country: Pakistan. 50 lbs. Made by Mid-East.
Approximately 36" high. Featuring 22 DuPont hard nylon strings, a range from C an octave below Middle C to High C, 22 sharpening levers, engraved and inlaid rosewood frame and a birch soundboard for exceptional sound and strength. Includes tuning tool and extra string set. Wood coloring and variations may differ from photo.
Product Details
| Publisher | Mid-East |
| Features |
|
| EAN | 0844731007453 |
| MPN | HTHA |
| Country | pakistan |
| Brand | Mid-East |
| Material Type | rosewood |
| UPC | 844731007453 |
| Label | Mid-East |
| Studio | Mid-East |
| Address | None |
| Title | Heather Harp TM, 22 Strings |
| Material Type Set Element | rosewood |
| Manufacturer | Mid-East |
Customer Reviews
You'll be pleasantly surprised...Review by L. Bevins, 2009-11-05
Never dreamed I could afford to buy a harp but the price on this one plus the FREE shipping convinced me to give it a try. After buying an electronic chromatic tuner at a local music store I tuned up the harp and was astounded at the sound quality. Sure, it's not a concert/classical harp but for those of us just starting out, this folk harp is an excellent choice. The product arrived quicker than I expected; it was packed well, no damage. If you've always wanted to try playing the harp but didn't think you could afford to buy one, get this one. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the quality of sound and the attractive woodworking detail. It's a quality product, made in Pakistan, obviously with pride.
Good harp
Review by James Admans, 2009-09-24
I purchased this harp in May 2009. The price is shockingly low, especially for a harp that is so well made. I browsed other harp websites and found that folk harps with around 22 strings are usually more than $600. I think this is a bargain to remember.
I find myself very limited with what I can do with this harp. There aren't that many strings, so I don't recommend this harp for anyone with more experience. I definitely recommend going to the Harp Connection in Salem, MA if you're looking for something bigger and more professional.
Playing this harp with other instruments can be difficult. Because of the harp's small size, it does not produce enough sound to be heard with louder instruments. I think you're better off playing solo, with other folk harps, or with no more than a few instruments. The actual quality of the sound, however, is beautiful.
The strings on this harp are made of nylon, which is more of a newer thing for harps. Harp strings are usually made of a material called gut. One thing I don't like about the strings is that they can be moved very far, sometimes past other strings. I can squish the last five or six strings together without snapping them off. There is a lot of potential buzzing on the lower strings. Also, when playing the last string, if pulled too hard, it will hit the lever and buzz.
Overall, I think this is a very good instrument, but with its flaws. It is definitely worth the price.
EDIT: Why this harp was so inexpensive is becoming more and more apparent to me. The levers on this harp are poorly made--and the sharps are out of tune. This would have to be fixed by resetting the lever placement. Some of the levers make the harp's string vibrations dissonant. I had to play two A#s for a recital and it sounded awkward because they weren't the same. Along with that, I've been playing Greensleeves/What Child Is This in D major. Because I moved C and F levers up and down frequently, they went loose, and I had only practiced with them for about a month before they broke. I expected the levers to last longer. Along with that, the D lever broke too. I asked my harp teacher if it could be fixed, and she said that I would have to order new levers.
Right now I'm not pleased with this harp. It's given me a lot of disappointment since I purchased it. I don't plan on ordering new levers because at the rate they are breaking, I will have to buy new ones every few months, and pack of 4 is $10. I'd rather save my money for a $4,000 QUALITY harp than have to constantly fix it.
Amazing Harp for the Price
Review by Sparrow, 2006-08-24
Years ago, I bought a more expensive lap harp which was so unstable that after over a year of tuning it daily, it would never hold its tune for more than five minutes. Ultimately, I gave up on it.
I was nervous about buying this very inexpensive harp, but I really wanted to give it another shot. I am so glad that I did!!!! The harp is very well made, and the tuning stability has been great, pretty much from the day that I received it.
My husband, who is a professional musician, has commented several times about how well constructed the harp is, and how great it sounds.
I suspect that I will want to buy a larger harp in the fairly near future due to the somewhat limited range of this one, but I will still love this harp, nonetheless. I will definitely go back to Mid-East for my next harp!!!
It has its pros and cons
Review by D. Lam, 2006-03-20
This was the first harp I bought. For the price it's a very good deal. A decent student classical harp will run thousands of dollars. I'd recommend this harp for a beginner who is planning to play folk harp. I have moved on to a classical lever harp with concert tension, which is much different. This harp's strings are very loose compared to a pedal harp or classical lever harp. Beginners should note that because the strings are so loose, it's difficult to play without some buzzing, so don't be discouraged by that.
I outgrew this harp quickly because of the pieces I wanted to play. It has three full octaves, which is great for most folk pieces, it's difficult to play classical pieces (such as Pachelbel's Canon) given its limited lower range. It's generally recommended to buy a harp with as many strings as you can afford.
All the strings on this harp come with sharpening levers, which is fantastic. However, they're not exact and you may have to fool around with them to get the notes to sound right and this makes accidentals tricky. Many lever harpists tune their harps to E flat and unsharpen B, A and E to flatten when needed. This was not possible with my harp due to the unprecise nature of the levers.
Having said the above, I plan on keeping this harp around. It's great for travelling and is much more portable than my 5'5" harp. It's really quite nice to look at, with a nicely carved soundboard.
Good starter harp
Review by CRJ, 2006-02-05
I own 5 harps. This is the smallest and cheapest I own. It is a really good deal for this price. Most harps are very expensive. A harp of this size from a "good" manufacturer with full sharping levers would be over $1000. This one is made in Pakistan. It sounds fairly nice for the price. I like it as a nice portable harp to carry to classes. And, since it's cheaper, I don't need to worry as much if it gets bumped around during a class. I think it would also be a great harp to learn on, to see if you like it or are good at it before making the commitment to buy a more expensive harp.
At classes, this harp has a really bad reputation, probably due to its inexpensive price and the fact that most people who buy them know nothing about harps.
However, it really is a nice little harp. The string spacing and tension are excellent. I like the way they extended the top to give your hand room to reach the higher strings -- that is difficult in some small harps. This harp has broken fewer strings than some of my really expensive harps. After about 6 years, mine has no cracks or problems of any kind. The harp piller and harmonic curve are both laminated and pretty strong. However, I keep it out of direct sunlight and high heat, and make sure it doesn't dry out too much in our midwestern winters (when most homes get very, very dry and many wood things crack). You would need to do that with any wooden musical instrument. I also know how to take care of it -- like how to push in the tuning pins if they loosen up (which they will do on any Irish-style harp). If you take care of this harp, it will last a long time.
If you do buy it, buy an extra set of strings. And also buy Sylvia Woods book on learning to play the harp and how to correctly care for the harp.
Teach Yourself to Play the Folk Harp 30th Anniversary Edition
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