First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp

by First Act

Product Features

• Fun & easy to play right out of the box
• 10 play along song cards
• Tuning key for easy tuning included
• Handmade wood construction for great sound

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 10 x 12.5 inches ; 2.4 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000284W4K
• Item model number: FG5000000
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #33,737 in Musical Instruments (See Top 100 in Musical Instruments)
  • #28 in Musical Instruments > Band & Orchestra > Harps

Product Description

8 String Wooden Lap Harp

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars remember, it's a toy..., September 1, 2009

By 

Betty Turner "what can I shoot for you today?" (Myrtle Beach, SC USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp (Electronics)

It appears that this instrument has been redesigned by First Act and is a little improved over the past. I bought one to do some experimenting in pentatonics with - it's perfect for experimenting with fretless zither (it's a fretless zither, not a hognosed psaltery) tunings.

Don't expect it (or any other musical instrument) to come to you in tune - actually, stringed instruments should be shipped with the tension off the strings (out of tune). But this thing is a bear to tune up and I have a degree in music. I don't see how any 6 year old is going to have a lot of fun with it without help from mom and dad or a teacher.

Construction is durable and eight strings gives you one full octave and the song sheets work great if you tune it according to instructions. The strings are very sturdy and will tolerate a lot of movement in both directions from the intended key. That means, if you know about such things, you can use this little critter to teach modal and pentatonic scales. The strings on the one I bought are singles to the tone - not doubles as someone mentioned in another review. It's likely they've updated that too.

Because of the durable build - the tone quality isn't so hot. Best tone quality comes from very delicate strings and an incredibly thin top. That's not a recipe for a good toy. So this one meets the needs for a toy - it's much better than plastic with nylon strings.

For $20 this IS NOT a concert grade professional instrument. $20 won't buy you concert grade professional strings for it. It's a cheap toy that functions as intended. Anyone that is disappointed they didn't get a professional quality harp for $20 might want to buy a clue. A clue - those professional zithers and harps don't tune themselves either. Part of the educational/learning function of this toy is "how to tune a string."

If you want a real one, they're out there. They start up in the $100's not $20 and they won't last but a couple days in the hands of child.

13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars very disappointed, December 30, 2006

By 

Marsha L. Shorts "m_shorts" (Oak Harbor, Wa USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp (Electronics)

I bought this for my son for xmas. I was very dissappointed in it. Usually I love First Act instruments. But this one was seriously out of tune when we opened the package. After trying to tune it myself with their tool I took it to my local music store for them to tune. No matter what she did the instrument wouldn't stay in tune. She finally gave up trying to tune it to the notes they said it was supposed to be tuned to and just generally tuned it so at least it was in tune to itself. By the next day it was out of tune yet again. I was really disappointed and have since started looking for a better quality lap harp..which in case you decided to look else where, is also called a hog nosed psaltery.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Impossible to tune, March 29, 2008

By 

Corey Murata (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: First Act Discovery FG500 Lap Harp (Electronics)

This is unbelievably poorly designed. It uses a single string to span two notes making it impossible to tune and keep in tune. You can get a better sound out of some wooden mixing spoons and 99 cent buckets from the hardware store. It's such a waste, I don't even want to give it away.