Sale

Eric Herz 57-key Single Harpsichord (used)

Sale price $ 5,000.00 Regular price ~~$ 12,500.00~~

This item cannot be shipped. It is currently located at a private home in Olney, MD, and is available to be viewed and/or picked up after purchasing by appointment only. Please contact us with inquiries or to make an appointment. Delivery in the general MD/DC/Northern VA areas may also be available, please contact us for rates.

Priced reduced (originally $12,700)!

This harpsichord was acquired by HMT as part of a large estate collection from a local music teacher who specialized in Renaissance and Baroque music. As far as we know, it's a one-owner instrument, and some original service records are included. It was made by Eric Herz in Boston, MA, in 1967. Herz came to the US in 1952 and worked for Baldwin pianos, then later with Hubbard & Dowd. He started building under his own name in 1956, and built 456 harpsichord before retiring in 1995.

This is a 57-key Single harpsichord. We believe it may be a Model S German, but can't verify 100%. It is equipped with a buff stop and a coupler for its two 8-string ranks currently tuned to 440 equal temperament. There is a tuning key, screwdriver for adjustments, 3 propsticks, and a bench included with this instrument.

There is a pickup that is connected to the soundboard through a 1/8" cable jack, with an 1/8" - 1/4" cable adapter attached to it. We have not yet been able to test the pickup and at this time cannot verify its working condition.

The wooden body of the instrument is in very good cosmetic condition with some light wear around the rear lip of the rim. The soundboard does not have any cracks. The leg joints are in poor cosmetic condition with large chunks of dried glue around several now-repaired cracks. That being said, the legs are stable and the glue job is not visible from a standing or sitting perspective. The bench (non-matching) has a splash of white paint measuring about 4" on one of the legs and some light cosmetic wear on the top, but is otherwise in good condition given its age. There are three propsticks for the lid, although the mid-sized propstick which came with the instrument is slightly different in shape than its neighbors and looks to be non-original. All of these defects are pictured in the listing.

This instrument has been newly regulated by a local technician with the following work:

-Vacuumed and cleaned keybed

-Cleaned and polished keys
-Voiced, aligned, and adjusted plectrums
-Realigned front rail pins

-Leveled key height
-Replaced high E string
-Adjusted front rail bushings

-Adjusted damper timing

As you can hear in the demo video made by our technician, tuning is in good shape.

Overall, the harpsichord is in very good playing condition; we'd perhaps rate it "good" cosmetically.

Dimensions: 72.5 inches long, 35 in. wide at widest part, 35 in. tall (floor to top).

Eric Herz 57-key Single Harpsichord (used)

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