Svaritanum workshop produces a wide range of crystal instruments and many people find it difficult to choose the best one.
This article explains how the models differ and how to choose the most suitable one for you.
First, let’s briefly describe what types of instruments we have and then go into more detail about each one.
- The crystal harp section takes up a significant amount of space on our website.
These instruments have a limited number of notes and are tuned in a specific musical scale.
They are good for sound therapy, stage performance, and also nice as a first instrument.
- The next section represents crystalophones and chromatic harps.
These professional concert instruments are well-suited for composing and performing music,
due to their full chromatic scale and wide range of up to three octaves.
- You can also see a section with alchemical instruments.
It’s a more expensive range with a special coating, which gives the instrument a unique look and adds treble to the sound.
- Svaritanum Workshop also makes quartz wind chimes, micro harps, and chimes bars.
These instruments have a different sound than crystal harps, complement them well, and sound great on their own.
Now we will focus on each type of instrument separately.
Crystal harps
Crystal harps make up a large part of the model line. These instruments have from 6 to 11 notes. Usually, crystal harps are tuned in a diatonic scale, such as C major or D minor.
These instruments are well suited for sound therapy, beautiful stage performances, or even dancing with the instrument. The crystal harp is also a wonderful instrument for home meditation and self-soothing.
Svaritanum workshop can make the instrument tuned to any scale, key and frequency such as 440, 432, or 444 Hz. The choice of these parameters depends on your objectives, for example if you already have some instruments and you want to complement them with a crystal harp, it’s better that they are tuned equally and sound harmonious together.
If this is your first instrument, standard tunings are a very good choice. We have selected the optimal range of notes to bring out the sound of the resonators in the best possible way.
If you have a set of singing bowls and want to add a new beautiful and unusual sound to them, this is a good choice. Crystal harp sounds great on its own or with singing bowls.
If you’re just beginning your journey in music or sound therapy, the crystal harp is also a good choice. This instrument is easy to play and you can enjoy performing it from the very first minutes.
The harp will appeal to musicians looking for new and unusual sounds, but for the full range of musical possibilities, it’s better to look at a crystalophone or a chromatic harp model.
It’s also a wonderful instrument for recreation and relaxation, calming the nerves.
- A special place is given to instruments tuned to a pentatonic scale. They sound harmonious with any combination of notes.
You can just relax and improvise on the instrument without worrying about playing the wrong note. Pentatonic Harps with a large number of notes will create a deep melodic drone, which will have a harmonizing effect on the listeners. Pentatonics are also comfortable when playing the crystal harp with another instrument, such as a hangdrum, at the same time.
- However, a full diatonic scale, such as the regular C major, gives much more room for musical expression. Unlike pentatonic, you can play many chords on such an instrument; each is a great basis for improvisation with your voice or other instruments.
If you find it difficult to choose a scale and you want to play a variety of scales on one instrument,
Svaritanum workshop produces a 13-note chromatic version of the crystal harp with a full octave,
as well as crystalophones. These instruments will be described a little later.
Crystal harps differ by the size of the resonators.
The sound gets louder, richer, and deeper as the tube’s diameter increases.
- If you want a no-compromise instrument with a deep, ambient sound the Extra crystal harp range is your choice.
These instruments have resonators with a diameter of 30mm.
- If you travel a lot and compact size is a priority for you, it’s better to go with the mini model.
Due to the 20mm tube diameter, this variety is lightweight and has a small size.
The mini harp will also suit people with a small palm. This instrument is easy and comfortable to hold in the hand for a long time.
Mini harp can also be additionally equipped with a soft bag for the tubes, so it is very convenient to transport it in the cabin of an airplane.
- If you can’t decide between the extra and mini harp models, there’s also the Midi model with 25mm resonators.
This is something in between the extra and mini models in terms of size and sound.
If you do not accept compromises, you can always get two instruments,
a big one for the studio and a small one for traveling.
Chromatic crystal instruments
If you want to play different musical scales or perform compositions –
your choice is chromatic quartz instruments which are a 13-note chromatic crystal harp, and a 2- or 3-octave crystalophone.
These models allow you to play many musical scales.
This certainly increases the artistic expression of the instrument.
You can create delicate shades of mood, going from major to minor, and add mysticism,
by playing ancient Indian tunes.
This model is well-suited for musicians, composers, and those
who want to take their sound therapy sessions to the next level.
The chromatic model can be optionally equipped with a sustain pedal,
which can be operated by hand or foot.
Crystalophones
The jewel of our model line is the crystalophone.
These are large concert instruments with maximum sound control possibilities.
You can play in all the ways that a crystal harp can, while using a sustain pedal like with a piano.
Almost anything from classical music to contemporary, jazz and pop music can be played on this instrument. We have a two-octave and a three-octave model, and they differ in size and price.
The crystalophone has a patented design with crossed notes, similar to the Doppia harp.
This makes the instrument compact and note navigation easy and does not require re-learning.
Crystalophone will be very interesting for professional musicians and composers, it’s a special chance for aspiring percussionists to establish themselves, performing with a very unusual instrument while using the vibraphone technique. For a performer of marimba, vibraphone and similar instruments it is not difficult to quickly switch to the crystalophone.
Alchemic crystal instruments
Alchemical Harps are our premium line of instruments with high quality colored plasma coating.
If you want to make your instrument unique, we can coat any model, whether it’s a crystal harp, chimes bar or crystalophone with a special coating.
The coating is applied in a special chamber using the plasma method.
As a result, a thin layer of metal oxide is formed, which is resistant to abrasion and has unusual colors.
The coating can be iridescent, silver, gold, blue and other colors. Examples of such instruments can be seen in the alchemical harps section.
Micro crystal harps and chimes bars
In the chimes section, you will find unusual quartz wind bells and chime bars.
These instruments are usually tuned to a pentatonic scale and have a melodic celestial timbre, shimmering and tinkling.
They sound higher than crystal harps due to the smaller 10mm diameter resonators.
The wind chime can be held in the hand or suspended.
The chimes bar is also equipped with a convenient folding stand, thanks to which you can play with one hand.
Also in this section you can find micro harps, the size of which are similar to a kalimba.
These are very compact and affordable, almost pocket-sized instruments made of quartz, which will perfectly complement the bigger crystal harps or become a great gift.
If you haven’t found your dream instrument in our assortment, we can try to create it for you. Contact us and describe your idea.
Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
