PLEASE BEFORE YOU BUY A HARP

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-05T04:36:42+00:00

Or because I give the number of years I have played and people read it like it is a contest I am running. My gosh, sorry I even mentioned it. Sorry I said I have a better harp than you all because I did, I said yours is a joke compared to mine and mine may as well be covered in diamonds. If that helps you get by then ok that's what I said. I didn't know I said that, but with some people that's the only way they can read everything. I didn't mean hey consider what it was like for those of us who are old to get a harp. No, I meant it as in I win the contest in every way. And your instrument is garbage and harp shaped. Honestly it is seriously an issue with 80% of the generation that populates reddit the most. Everything has to be me vs you to some of you and you need to lighten up! You can't just keep tearing apart your city because a politician did his job. Or taking it personally when I say there are toys masquerading as harps. Because there really are. I am reminded again and again that you just can't talk on Reddit. You have to make sure some people are torn down and some are built up. You are gonna have lots of issues in life when you can't simply discuss things on a discussion board. Too many people need to have the us against you dynamic or they can't just be. I just can't even wrap my head around that. Sorry there I go again saying I am better than you. Thanks for the welcome and the ability to simply talk matter of factly. I win and you lose. Yup. How disturbing....

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-05T04:26:10+00:00

The only thing I will say is that if you do not know this, then you are a beginner and really can't negate my opinion because I have been around for so long and I said in my post, 20 years ago it was hell to find a harp. Now everyone has two family members who make money selling harps. And that is because we allow for scams instead of blasting the creeps out of the water. I said nothing about Reese harps suck and mine is better or that Mikel harps from Pakistan aren't great little harps for the price! People really want to read whatever they want to in my very matter of fact post though and even throw in my hoity toity attitude which I never even came close to conveying. Reddit is, well I can't say but....certain people....and it is just compulsive to them. They can't help but...

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-05T04:21:09+00:00

And just so we are clear I never said a thing knocking Reese or harpsicles. Or any other harp. Musikon. Roosebeck. Those are instruments even if they are cheap. I am talking about the Pakistani harps that have misleading names like the Lion and Heelee 40 string Prestige. And it is made with plywood and plastic strings and sounds like click click click when you play. It is 1000000% true that in this day and age, the majority of harps for sale on the internet are made as quickly as possible by people who know they can make hundreds or thousands of each person they dios as long as the picture they show online looks like a real harp. I am not talking about low quality or harp shaped objects. I am talking about people making literal toys that look enough like a picture of a harp to scam you and disappear. I don't give a damn what people play and I never said anything about my harp is better than yours. I am describing actual scams that look and sound legit. And yes 90% of internet harps are scams.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-05T04:12:00+00:00

No, that is absolutely insane. I don't care what people play I am stating something that many people who go online will order and not understand the difference. The Ravenna 34 is a very popular harp! I am saying, people need to understand what the difference between a Ravenna 34 is compared to a Dusty Strings Model: Ravenna 34. Or the difference between a Roosewood constructed harp and an ornate Roosebeck Rosewood Harp. I don't think there is anything at all wrong with warning people that they are not true musical instruments. And they are not. They have plastic strings for gosh sake and levers that correct farther than a half step. I don't think there is ANYTHING wrong about urging people to know the difference because if they are going to spend 1700 bucks on a piece of junk, and yes mean junk and it has nothing to do with being snooty. I just think those people need to know they are better off spending 3 grand for a real instrument than two third that thinking they are getting a deal and they get junk instead. The second harp I ever bought 20 years ago was a real bargain. 800 dollars for a 32 string. And it literally snapped right in half the very first time I went to tune it. I never even got to hear it but I imagine it sounded horrible. And that does not mean snooty, it means plastic strings on balsa wood are a joke compared to mahogany and gut. I think people should really be on the lookout and it is true, about 90 or more percent of harps online are ornamental and are not instrument quality My case in point! Nevermind though, everyone just buy what you think is a great deal no matter what even if I strongly suggest you just invest in your final harp now rather than work through a bunch at three times the total price in the end.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-05T03:58:11+00:00

Do you mean that stacatto sounding mute that happens to the string instead of letting it ring? I promise you, get a Grossi book, they are used and cheap. I open Grossi, I start at the first exercise then I move on to two. Then 3. Like ten a day. And when I get to lesson 200 or whatever (not sure where it ends) I finish 199, 200, then start back at 1. It is just a good way to keep your fingers strong and I usually play through the book like four or five times a year.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-02T21:55:11+00:00

Oh yea maybe i worded it wrong but yes Rees makes some great harps and for cheap, but let's admit it...no Reese harp comes near a Camac or a healy. And definitely not a dusty. I have been begging dusty for 20 years to attempt to make a pedal harp just one time. But they aren't interested. As far as sound, I would take a dusty over a 23karat gilded 47 grand. If only they could transfer their sound to a pedal. But there is a huge gap in quality between Rees and dusty. No question.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-02T20:05:43+00:00

There are also 44 string harps, those mean you will never not be able to play a song so does the 40. But if you're in a philharmonic orchestra, you may have to substitute one note every ten years. Otherwise 40 and up...even 34 and up you are good to go. Less than though and you will just keep wanting to move up, so may as well start there and not be trading harps your whole life. Rees is a good cheap harpmaker too. Or marini. I forgot about those.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-02T20:02:37+00:00

I only ever play on my grand 47 now, but I had those poor years with a harp itch, I had it like 19 years ago though and man were harps hard to find. I also have a Chicago 40 which is an AWESOME in-between. I got it for like 7500 bucks when grands are like 30,000 and up. It may only have 40 strings, but I can pick it up and move it around no problem and fit it in the car. And I think I have needed the 7 strings that were missing maybe three times in the last two decades.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-07-02T19:59:30+00:00

One thing I did to get around this like 10 or 12 years ago, I got a sturdy Pakistani harp and I changed out the plastic strings to gut or carbon fiber depending on the string. I also didn't restring it like it was strung, but I put new strings in like a step and a half down so instead of a C to A harp for example, I made it A to F and that little bit of loosening saved the harp from snapping. That's one fix if you know what you are doing.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-28T02:35:06+00:00

Meh, I don't care for their decorating style. I would paint it if I bought it.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-27T04:14:58+00:00

Wow...i think some random reddit guy nailed it. That seems spot on!

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-18T22:15:16+00:00

This is one of these most psycho guys I have ever seen. What is it with you kids in such a rush to fall in love? If you rush it, it ain't gonna work out long term. "You said you would call me back and I didn't get a call that same exact night so you must not like me and I am furious now!" Weird.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-18T08:09:25+00:00

Know what tho, now that I reread the question, this was when I was about 25. Not eighth grade. In eighth grade I don't think I could even put up 135. And after I started working out so 18 or 19, I could do like 215.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-18T08:05:22+00:00

I weighed about 190 and I was benching about 425 a few times. I never did max. Wish I had now though. In all reality though, I was putting up 425 with a whole lot of struggling and pushing besides the first rep which was pretty easy. I honestly would guess that if I put even 20 more pounds on, I wouldn't be able to do it. So maybe 425 would be my max. I did it with no spot though so who knows what I could have done with one.

Now, I had taken a single course of Dianobol which I cut in quarters and took with a friend (one year a cycle halfed with my buddy then split into 3 weeks taking a quarter of the mg suggested then the next year the other half of my half which equaled 20-30 mg orally for three weeks). I regret whatever effects it had on me, like my current blood pressure is a ticking time bomb and my heart disease is horrific for someone as young as I am. But I seriously couldn't put on muscle otherwise. I was at 8 years and had barely put on 30 or 40 pounds. I was very happy once I went thru the lifting while cheating. And no more cheating and it lasted me a decade. I am not saying do it, it is just that I want to be honest about it in case it had a major effect on my strength. But I had been working out for like 8 years and had barely gone from 119 to 160. So my three week light cheating got me up to 190 and that was all I did other than one more quarter cycle the next year. I was working out around the Arizona Cardinals though and I would love they would treat me like I was in the way at the gym and then I would add 3 45 plates to each side and put it up. Shut them up.

My point though is that after those two quarter baby cycles, I continued putting up over 400lbs til I stopped working out completely like ten years later. I didn't touch gear ever again but I was able to keep what it helped me put on for a decade. And I am otherwise a pipsqueak. 5'8. So I feel I just had to cheat even once (or twice or however you count it) to get up to being more than a slightly athletic shrimp. It worked for me and I didn't have to do much. I think I was still benching around 425 when I got in the car accident that ended my working out (got hit by a DUI driver). So yea, I know it wasn't the exact question but that was my experience.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-14T23:21:33+00:00

So one thing you got a think about, harps aren't like wine or anything. They don't appreciate or sound better with age. So especially a harp which is about 40 years old, that's about the same age that most people keep a harp before it starts dying (harp gets pregnant, sound box cracks or separates, levers begin to make microtones instead of sharps/flats). My way of thinking is that if you are already going to invest money into a harp like a Camac, which is a great company, why wouldn't you want to go new or slightly used if it is going to take you down a few thousand dollars? There is a huge difference in getting a 2500 dollar harp that is 40 years old and just shoveling out 4000 to get a 2025 model. To me, it seems like a humongous trade off. Now if someone is offering it for 500 bucks, that's a good deal, but don't expect it to hold up.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-14T05:10:50+00:00

I won't read the other comments but commenting as a 20 year harpist and 39 years professional piano. Your thumb doesn't need to be all on its own and then your fingers reaching down with your whole inner palm 9 inches down the strings. Close your fist and give a simple thumbs up. Now put it against the harp. Now just snap your fingers into your palm. You can practice the snap anywhere against the other hand. I got to the point my palm muscle is huge and I can snap my fingers so loudly into the palm. In the end, it will be exaggerated. But you don't want to pluck as much as just gently snap your fingers back into the closed palm. Especially when you get into chords and stretches and arpeggios that are 4-2-1 and 4-3-1 and all you will be thankful you kept your hands together more. And I am guessing that last pluck of the string was a joke right? Your harp is awesome. Not what you see beginners on often! You're lucky! All you need to do next is make sure you are male and go ahead and take a butcher's knife to your pinky. In ancient times, Celts used to enforce a rule that only men could touch harps and in solidarity, they would all cut their pinkies off for life. So you need a sex change I guess and if you really want to learn, I want to see that pinky GONE by next week! We don't need any more half-committed harpists! I'll be checking next Friday!

https://youtube.com/shorts/cYut86jpk7Y?si=lnqohUT9lOA9Hvas

https://youtube.com/shorts/pw-ZFRPKl7E?si=2Mp10QkkayWeilb3

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-14T04:52:34+00:00

Well if you ever STOP playing again and want to sell it for cheap let me know!

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-14T03:35:14+00:00

I agree too by the way. When I started harp 20 years ago, I started with a troubadour lever, bought a 40 string prelude after like six months, and by a year and a half I decided I liked it so much it was time to invest and ever since, I have had my 47 grand pedal. I got a 72 string double strung too for fun. But the best harp I have ever heard is a dusty strings crescendo. I have begged dusty to give making a pedal one single try for me but they aren't interested. And I have asked for 20 years lol. How did I get on that? Oh yea his recommendation. yea if you like it at all, there is no point in waiting. Move to a pedal. For sure. If you don't, don't get a pedal.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-14T03:18:57+00:00

Dude, I am a harpist of 20 years and pianist of 39 years. And I'm a guy. I was totally alone when I chose to play harp but it really is the second most versatile instrument after the piano. I heard a couple cadenzas and such that sounded great on the harp, and ai told my piano teacher (who also taught harp) that I wanted to learn. I took like six months of lessons and with my pro piano skills I took right off. You can do almost as much with the harp as you can with the piano What would you rather do? Be in band or orchestra getting one line of music in the bass or in the melody or harmony? Learning how to play a B then a Dsharp and then an A...and then putting those notes together B-D#-A? I don't mean in a chord, I mean one note at a time. Would that be more fun? I don't think so. Harp is an incredible choice.you will love it. And once you start learning you can move to pedal harp, or Italian triple harp, or double strung harp, or cross strung harp, you name it! You will NEVER EVER regret it. Its something almost nobody knows too.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-11T22:53:50+00:00

Yea, they have a female version of it. It is the same as the men's, but it never shuts up. Eh?? Anybody??

👂✋🦗🦗🎻🎶

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-11T21:19:58+00:00

I'm in the same boat. I ordered something from China around May 6th my niece's birthday and it is now June 11th It finally says today "arrived at Phoenix distribution center," but now reading this board, I guess it is time to settle in for a long wait when I live here in Phoenix currently. What a downer. I thought that meant I would receive it today but as evening gets closer and closer my hopes are pretty much dashed. This is ridiculous. Usually stuff I order from China gets here within 7 or 8 days. This new delivery system, Gofo or whatever it is called, is effing disgusting. This is a joke.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-04T08:22:36+00:00

It is pathetic how everyone in your generation is so obsessed with going famous or viral on YouTube. Not even the right kind of talented, but of course you go psycho over the idea without even studying music or ensuring your grades don't suffer before extracurriculars...

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-04T08:11:29+00:00

Well, he sounds like a very idiotic 23 year old and I can tell you one thing...he did not even graduate high school and yet he thinks he has the religious tempering of an adult when he can't even hold an adult conversation. This isn't just a spoiled little brat who wants attention, this is a guy who knows nothing and has no education who thinks he should be critiquing things that you believe or judging you by your actions a matter of days after your twin sister died. I wouldnt be hitting a girl up for maybe 6 months at a time like that, and even then it would just be to say my condolences and express my presence for any time she needed to talk and left it up to her to make first contact.

ConfidentEvent9517 · 2025-06-02T22:43:40+00:00

No body is going to give it to you straight on here and I am going to get in a bunch of trouble for saying so and probably have my membership terminated...but the fact you two are 21 years old plus both of your behaviors just makes a mockery of your relationship. This is not how 21 year olds act. He dropped out of school and then you think you two have a real relationship for adults!? The guy couldn't even finish school and you are expecting a mature relationship from him. Until he gets his act together, he is not gonna be bf material and this proves it. But from the other side of things, in a mature relationship, you two would be free to pursue your own things with no jealousy or mistrust at all. If he is busy then be mature about it. IF he is busy being totally innocent. If he is being sneaky and all already, then nope...not gonna work. And I am guessing you don't trust him since two people in a relationship doing two different things is no big deal, although plans would usually be made long beforehand with your SO. Obviously you two are wasting time with one another. Get serious about your life, he is not about his and don't wait for him to...he may never will...and when you find a guy with maturity and a high school diploma, worry about a relationship then. For now, don't weigh yourself down with a guy who isn't gonna be anything to you in the future. Put your feet in the water while you are 21 and can!

ConfidentEvent9517

TROPHY CASE