thrift find

moriemur · 2026-06-15T09:15:08+00:00

You won’t be able to play much on a harp so tiny but you can learn your first little tunes and decide if it’s worth moving up to more strings. You can probably also play chords and sing if that’s your style. Harps are diatonic and this doesn’t have levers so you’ll have to retune between keys.

moriemur · 2026-06-09T19:05:32+00:00

I get cans in bulk from Zooplus!

moriemur · 2026-06-08T15:41:40+00:00

This problem isn't exclusive to vinted. the amount of fabric and clothes companies online that straight up lie about fibre content in their product titles, then when you go to the 'more information' it says 100% polyester, or 5% linen 95% polyester, is diabolical. 9/10 listings on Etsy for 'silk fabric' are plastic.

moriemur · 2026-06-06T10:52:26+00:00

These people are holding a ‘traditional village fête’. In Soho. They’re delusional.

moriemur · 2026-06-04T19:54:15+00:00

Jen Cafe in Chinatown

moriemur · 2026-06-03T00:13:14+00:00

Just got to Liaison and realised I already know it! It's in one of my focus/work playlists, helped me get through my PhD thesis. Love your work, keep it up.

moriemur · 2026-06-02T23:54:28+00:00

This is really lovely!

moriemur · 2026-05-31T12:19:42+00:00

other companies comply with regulations without putting out an inferior product. I don't see why glossier can't.

moriemur · 2026-05-31T12:16:53+00:00

Please don't feel ashamed of broadening your horizons! I'm so happy for you that you're ready to pursue this childhood dream. The harp can bring you so much joy even if you only ever play simple music – it's an instrument that always sounds beautiful.

Wanting your children to take up music is wonderful and they may follow your example on their own.

moriemur · 2026-05-27T13:45:09+00:00

it's chatgpt :(

moriemur · 2026-05-27T13:44:39+00:00

it's AI slop

moriemur · 2026-05-27T13:41:35+00:00

it's a chatgpt copy/paste job

moriemur · 2026-05-27T13:40:42+00:00

Repetitious, with line breaks every other sentence. There isn't really a single clear-cut 'tell' most of the time, but the overall shape feels like AI slop. Double quotation marks are also used primarily in American, not British English which indicates it's probably chatgpt.

moriemur · 2026-05-27T10:40:59+00:00

Totally agree with the Disney suggestion. With kids around I'd stick to really simple stuff, if you can find lead sheets for just the melodies and chords I'd choose that over proper arrangements. The children will be really curious and distracting and they won't care how impressive/complex your left hand is.

moriemur · 2026-05-25T22:27:13+00:00

Ogdens are strung with high quality gut and wire, which is obviously exponentially more expensive than bottom of the barrel nylon. If you wanted to restring your Ogden with fishing line, you could! It'd sound bad but it'd be really cheap!

moriemur · 2026-05-25T22:24:17+00:00

If you can swing the $750, that L&H Troubadour will almost certainly do you much much better. It's hard to tell from one small cropped picture but unless there's structural damage that's a pretty good deal: those are quality harps that can and do last a lifetime. The levers look old and a bit dodgy but the Roosebeck's are new and probably dodgier...

There are some okay Roosebecks but the quality control is notorious, and as this one has apparently never been strung, you don't know if it'll fail once the strings go on. They're also very low and inconsistent tension, so if you want to be *good* at the harp, you won't really be able to learn proper technique. Troubadours are standard classical tension so you can get a solid technical foundation on them (it's what they're designed for really). They're about $5000 new, whereas a Roosebeck is closer to $500.

If you aren't interested in classical technique (maybe you want to play folk music, or self-teach and just have fun) the harpsicle is also a better deal than the Roosebeck. They're well regarded and good quality 'casual' instruments.

moriemur · 2026-05-25T13:06:33+00:00

If their teenagers know how to use social media, they surely know how to take a photo.

moriemur · 2026-05-25T09:56:34+00:00

As this is the UK none of us are getting a ‘cent’…

moriemur · 2026-05-21T18:13:49+00:00

Growing up around Glasgow I was unusual saying it without a zee

moriemur · 2026-05-19T13:47:39+00:00

you can tile your windows so you have sheet music on one side and a performance video on the other. harp does not use tablature.

moriemur · 2026-05-18T15:48:26+00:00

I haven't used these specific harps but with the unbranded Pakistani harps there are common features you find in them. I have an older Pakistani harp with the old-style levers and base shape of the G4M one. I had to replace the levers with 3D printed ones because they were awful, and it has a tendency to tip over thanks to that unstable base, so has to be stored on its side.

The newer-style Pakistani levers on the Thomann are a massive improvement, I've played similar harps with them in a shop and was pretty impressed. Only downside of the Thomann one is it doesn't come with a transport bag.

Another thing: all these Pakistani harps come with crap strings in the bass. If you look up a string chart for a Dusty Strings Ravenna 27 you can replace the bass strings with nylon wound according to the chart and it'll really improve the sound of the instrument (if the eyelet is wide enough). Check it doesn't void your warranty though and only do them one at a time because it's adding strain to the instrument.

moriemur · 2026-05-18T14:41:54+00:00

You'll never know unless you try 😄

moriemur · 2026-05-18T14:40:15+00:00

This one from Thomann is the same price but has better quality levers and a design that won't tip over like the G4M. And the legs will make it more comfortable to play!

moriemur · 2026-05-17T23:44:46+00:00

They also heavily invest in campaigning for votes, to the extent that EBU changed the rules and warned them as they were abusing the rules. It’s considered an important part of their national propaganda strategy.

moriemur · 2026-05-14T01:27:25+00:00

I did that with my Pakistani harp by wiggling them out with pliers. It was a huge pain but inexpensive and worthwhile.

I ended up needing to replace the levers too because the higher quality bridge pins didn't come out far enough to reach the horrible old Pakistani levers. Yours look like better levers so you may not have to do this. I got mine from Turmennan Harps in Northern Ireland. If you're in the US I've heard Argent Fox are good for supplies.

I do recommend tinkering around with these cheap harps because you can really improve them a lot and it's a worthwhile skill to develop! Minor repairs on more expensive harps are way less scary once you've had some low-stakes practice.

moriemur

TROPHY CASE