We make a bunch of different harps, and knowing where to start looking can be tricky, so the Harp Finder page is designed to help you narrow things down. At the top is the finder itself, in which you can filter the harp models by price and features. Below that are explanations of the different features, what they mean, and why they might be important. Click here to jump to the explanations.
We build harps in three different sizes. The 26-string harps have a 3½ octave range and are the most portable, with detachable legs and weights up to about 17 pounds. It frequently surprises people how much sound comes out of these little harps, but for certain purposes, the small range can be limiting. The 34-string harps have a 4¾ octave range and produce a bigger, deeper sound because of the larger soundbox. They also have removable stands, which makes them as compact as possible when packed away in the case. They weigh up to about 21 pounds. The 36-string harps have a full 5 octave range and produce the biggest sound. They are still portable, but they're about 54" high and can weigh up to 30 pounds, so are not quite as easy to transport.
We offer three different price levels, which are primarily based on the materials the harps are made out of. All of the hardware and strings are the same, and the necks are all made of solid wood, but the way the soundboxes are constructed is different.
Our most economical harps have a unique soundbox design that saves a lot of time in the building process without sacrificing sturdiness or quality. The design is based on using laminated wood (high-grade plywood) that has a thin vinyl veneer over it. The sound is clear, bright and pleasing, but doesn't have as much of the subtle depth and complexity that solid wood can produce. There are some fun color choices available, but because of the materials, it is not possible to make one of these harps with a natural wood-toned body.
At the other end of the spectrum are the all-solid-wood harps, which are the most time-consuming to build and thus the most expensive. Solid wood tends to produce the most depth and richness of tone, which develops and matures over the years as the instrument is played. These harps come in a choice of different hardwoods, which allows you to tailor the visual appearance and the subtle character of the tone to your liking.
In between the two, our mid-priced harps are mostly solid wood, but have laminated wood soundboards. They provide a great balance between affordability and tonal depth. They also sometimes appeal to people who don't have the budget for a solid wood harp, but still want some of the solid wood appearance. They are made of sapele with laminated birch soundboards, and we do not currently offer them in different woods or colors.
A square back harp is the least complicated soundbox shape. That's what we started with on our first harp model, the FH26, and the sound was so fantastic that we've stuck with basically the same design for over thirty years. A square back works really well on a small harp, but some people find it uncomfortable or difficult to reach their arms around on a larger harp, so we developed two other options.
The stave back has five facets, for a very comfortable rounded soundbox. It is also slightly curved from top to bottom, making it a complex shape to design and build. Our FH36S is built this way, and is our most time-consuming and expensive harp, but the Ravennas actually incorporate the stave-back feature as well, which is a rare thing to find in a lower-priced harp. (You can read more about how this is accomplished here.)
We also designed what we call the hybrid stave back, which has a mostly square shape, but with five facets up at the top. This makes it comfortable to rest against your shoulder, but not as complicated and expensive to make as the full stave back.
