That’s because I bought it

I Posted a question on the Eigenharp forum a few days ago asking why there are not much ‘super virtuoso’ demo videos of Eigenharp Players. Some great demo vids can be found on YouTube that display the Eigenharp potential, some are quite good in a musical way, but none of them have the ‘ultimate wow factor’. Even the demos by established musicians as Imogen Heap or Jordan Rudess are mere practise vids. Many demonstrate the power of the arpeggiator and the loop recording options, but none display great musical perfection.

I was happy with the many honest answers I received! Most pointed out that the instrument is only so old and achieving mastership on an instrument usually takes 4000 to 10.000 hours of practise. That’s slightly more than one year of continuous practise. No one could have been able to achieve that in the period the Alpha has been around.

The positive side of that is that nothing is set to stone yet. Since there are no ‘great examples’ it is yet unclear what the standard will be! Even the guys at Eigenlabs don’t quite know the full potential of this instrument yet. The software that drives the Eigenharp is still being developped, adding new features and options to it (figuratively speaking) every day. It’s an awsome adventure and I can’t wait to dive in.

Luckily I don’t have to wait much longer, I just recieved confirmation that my downpayment was received properly and my Alpha will be prepared for shipment around May 28. It should arrive on June 8 the latest, possibly earlier. Counting the days now. Attached to this post an edited version of the picture on the Eigenlabs website. My new Alpha should look something like this.

Turns out eventually I was able to pay the first half of my order by regular bank transfer. Which is great because right this very moment my credit card company decided it was time to give me a new piece of plastic. They made sure the old one doesn’t work anymore. Hence I’m currently credit card-less and would have to wait until the new card was activated. This is way easier! After some consideration I decided to add the leather strap and ball joint to my order so I’ll be able to carry the Eigenharp around on stage and a proper stand for it. They go for £99,- from Eigenlabs and for about €80,- with Bax Shop here in Holland, but then I would not be sure if the instrument would fit. I concluded I’m spending a ****load of money anyway, I might as well get the order complete now. Tomorrow my pecunia will arrive at Eigenlabs. I’m hoping they can get the thing checked and shipped quickly… Maybe I’ll be able to use it at some of the bigger Harmony Glen gigs this summer!

I‘ve just spoken with Neil McDougall, Sales Director at Eigenlabs. The Limited Edition Eigenharp is mine! It’s an awsomely beautiful instrument, there’s only 4 of them in the world! Now I have to arrange for my creditcard to temporarily allow a higher money transfer, get the invoice ready and in a few days the deal is sealed! Eigenlabs will check the unit (it has been used for demo purposes but is entirely refurbished and as-new again) so it will be sent to me in a few weeks. I’m thrilled! Whoehaha! Check it out here.

Up to the time of writing of this article I’ve never touched an Eigenharp in my life. The instrument has been in my view for about two years now and I’ve put it on my wishlist about a year ago. Just a few days back I cut the knot and decided to go and buy an Eigenharp Alpha. Right now I’m waiting for the call of the Sales Director of Eigenlabs to discuss my options.

I‘m plunging into this journey out of the blue, sort of. I have been looking for a demo Alpha to try, which I could not find. I’ve been looking for in-depth user experiences on how to master the Eigenharp, which I could not really find. There are some demos and tutorials and an excellent ‘review’ by Geert Bevin, but eventually it is not enough to really grasp what it means to buy an Eigenharp Alhpa. There’s some info on the Eigenlabs website and a very helpful  forum, but that’s about it.  I find the demo videos availble on the internet do not display the full potential of this instrument since none of the players are very virtuoso. No disrespect meant! It just makes it harder to make the choice… I presume there’s more people out there who want more in-depth experience-info about the Eigenharp, so I decided to start blogging about my exploration of the Eigenharp. I’ll start with this very article, the ordering of the instrument. Then eventually the unboxing, bits and pieces of how I develop my skills on the instrument, video and audio demos, setups, tutorials and so on. Hopefully this blog will be of interest to someone out there who wants to play an Eigenharp!