I have a small harp that I am just not giving the attention it deserves, and none of my kids are interested, so I am thinking seriously about selling it. (It has absolutely nothing to do with recent whistle purchases, no… nothing at all… really… cough)
It is a Songbird, made by Chris Foss of Songbird Hammered Dulcimers, back in 2003. It has 22 strings. It was $300 new. No case.
Hmmm… after sitting here playing with it for this last half hour or so, I just don’t want to part with it… it is such a sweet sounding thing, and so easy to get lovely stuff out of…
It looks like a nice little harp. How does it sound? Does it hold tune well?
I’m curious because there aren’t many good, playable harps available in that price range. The only one I know of, in fact, is the Harpsicle…a lightweight travel harp made by the Wm. Rees Company, which starts at $295 (next step up is the Dusty Strings Ravenna, which starts at $595, and prices start soaring through the ceiling from there). Most harps in the $300 range are going to be Pakistanis, and they’re pretty awful. If he’s able to make nice harps in that price range, he’d have a market for sure, if that’s a niche he’d like to fill.
If you do decide to sell it, you might want to contact harp teachers and music stores in your area. They often know of students who are looking for a harp they can afford, or for a decent small harp to take with them when they travel.
I’ve seen a couple of those harps before and they do have a nice voice. The only disadvantage is getting sharping levers. Like the harpsicle, it doesn’t have string hitch pins.
There are a lot of 22 string harps around $500, (I make one myself) but Redwolf is right…at the $300 range they usually are the Pakistani ones. And those I wouldn’t pay any amount for.
I got an extra good deal on it from the maker. I think the reason he didn’t continue making them was that he felt he couldn’t compete with the other makers and still charge enough to make it worth the work.
