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Thumbnail Filmstrip of Jolie Harp: Christy-Lyn Edition Images
The Jolie Harp: Christy-Lyn Edition
Note: Harp above shown with quilted maple soundboard upgrade.
We designed this custom model Jolie Harp in collaboration with Christy-Lyn at Learning the Harp. It's the same harp you'll see featured in many of her videos on her fabulous YouTube channel.
The Christy-Lyn edition is built off our Jolie harp model. It starts with the same compact, modern design and is available both in an all wood model and an ultra-light carbon fiber/wood hybrid model. In addition, the follwing upgrades make the Christy-Lyn edition unique:
- We use premium curly maple for the sides, back, neck, and pillar. This is the best of the best. We set aside our most striking pieces of curly maple for use in this model.
- We use curly maple binding around the edge of the body.
- We apply an antique blonde stain to the wood which accentuates the grain patterns and warms up the tone of the maple.
- The harp is finished with a high gloss sheen that is smooth, inviting, and begs to be touched.
Harpist Christy-Lyn compares the hybrid version of this harp to an Ogden.
The height, balance, tone, and overall feel of the Musicmakers Jolie Harp is captivating. Gorgeous woods and clean design elements have made this a very popular model.
33 strings provide a range suitable for a wide variety of music. The tension is just on the high side of medium - not too hard on the hands but tight enough to allow for some agressive playing and broad dynamics.
This Musicmakers Jolie Hybrid Harp is the holy grail of harp-making. The Christy-Lyn Edition weighs about 15 pounds, produces a full, rich tone, and withstands the tension of all the strings.
Until now, this seemed like an unachievable goal. In recent years we have seen the introduction of carbon fiber harps and have been very impressed! We are amazed at how light they can be and how much abuse they can withstand. But working with wood is where our heart is. The depth of beauty and the warm, inviting tone of wood lever harps are qualities we were not willing to give up. So we began to consider how we might combine the ultra light weight and durability of carbon fiber with the natural beauty and depth of tone you get with wood.
Enter the Jolie Hybrid - a carbon fiber and wood hybrid lever harp.
What's Included:
- Finished Jolie Harp - Christy-Lyn Edition
- Camac levers
- Padded Gig Bag
- Tuning Wrench
- Free Shipping within the Continental US
Owner's Manual
Key Specs
| Strings | 33 |
| Range | C2 to G6 (String Chart) |
| Weight - All Wood Model | 22 pounds |
| Weight - Hybrid Model | 15 pounds |
| String Spacing | Concert Medium |
| String Tension | high |
| Sharping Levers | Camac |
| Gig Bag | Included |
| Size | 52" tall, 24" deep, 14" wide |
| Soundboard | Aircraft Birch |
| Body, Neck, Pillar, Back | Premium Curly Maple and Carbon Fiber |
| Warranty | Musicmakers 5 Year Warranty |
Frequently Asked Questions
Christy-Lyn is a harp teacher based in South Africa. She and her team at Learning the Harp are known for their high quality harp teaching videos on YouTube. They also offer online courses and a vibrant harp learning community through their website - Learning the Harp.
The Christy-Lyn edition includes a high gloss, Antique Blonde finish. The Antique Blonde color was chosen to add warmth and definition to the maple as well as highlight the curly maple grain pattern.
The most notable difference is the weight. The hybrid model weighs just 15 pounds. The all-wood model weighs 22 pounds. The hybrid model looks the same on the outside but much of the wood on the inside has been removed and reinforced with carbon fiber.
The hybrid model tends to sound slighly brighter than the the all-wood model.
All our harp soundboards are made of aircraft birch, a 6 layer laminate that can withstand the string tension of a harp without breaking. For this upgrade we laminate a very thin piece of quilted maple with a stunning grain pattern over the soundboard. It elevates the visual appeal and also has a very slight effect on the tone making the harp sound slightly warmer.
We consider the string tension to be high. It's stiff enough to allow for dynamic playing but not so stiff that it is hard to play.
This is a tricky question. We don't stock other makers harps here so it's best if we don't answer that directly. String tension on folk harps doesn't vary all that widely so it isn't likely to feel vastly different than anything you might be used to unless you are coming from a very low tension harp.
Well - "Concert String Spacing" is the term you hear about in the harp world. It doesn't really reference a specific distance between strings but refers to the fact that the spacing between the strings gets slightly narrower as the strings get shorter and higher in pitch.
To establish a standard, we measured the span between C4 (middle C) and the C5 the C above middle C) on harps from several different makers. We found that the average spacing across this octave was 98mm. So this is what we consider Standard Concert String Spacing.
The distance across that span on the Jolie Harp is 100mm, just ever so slightly wider than Standard Concert String Spacing.
If you want the answer to this question - you can measure the distance between C4 and C5 on the harp to which you would like to make the comparison.
You can order a complete set of replacement strings or individual strings here.