Finding Your Harp’s Voice: Comparing  Levers

If you’ve ever flipped a harp lever and thought, “Wow, that was smooth,” you already know that levers can shape your playing experience. The right lever changes how your harp feels, how it sounds, and even how heavy it is to carry to a gig.

Here’s a side-by-side look at four of today’s most popular lever types—Forte, Truitt, Rees, and Camac—plus a quick peek at where levers came from.

A Quick History of Harp Levers

• • 1960s–70s – Robinson Era
    Solid brass, functional, and the standard for years. They got the job done, but felt clunky by today’s standards.
  • 1980s–2000s – Loveland Takes Over
    Plastic cams with brass bases became the new normal. Easier to use than Robinsons, but they could dampen tone.
  • 2000s–2010s – The Modern Makeover
    Truitt, and Camac levers raised the bar with cleaner tone, smoother action, and better consistency. Harpists finally had high-end, reliable options that didn’t mess with the sound.
  • 2020s – The Forte Arrival
    A fresh contender built for today’s players: ultra-lightweight, corrosion-resistant, and easy to adjust. Designed for both performance and convenience, Forte levers quickly made their way into the “next generation” of harp hardware.

Lever-by-Lever Overview

Forte

Forte levers are amongst the newest bunch, designed with modern harpists in mind. They’re made from anodized high strength aluminum with stainless hardware, and a brass cam, which means they’re tough enough to handle frequent gigging and climate changes without rusting or sticking. The design is all about being quick, light, and intuitive—optional color-coded handles (red for C, blue for F) make fast key changes easy even under stage lights. Players who like a light-touch feel and minimal weight love them, and appreciate how much they reduce overall harp weight.

• Sound Quality: Excellent sound transfer — lets the harp’s natural tone shine.
• Price: $26 per lever-installed, with optional color-coded handles for easy string ID.
• Weight: Just 4 g each—often half (or less) the weight of older styles.
• Install & Regulation: Smooth action; regulation is straightforward with basic tools. The action is adjustable for a customized feel.

Truitt

Truitt levers are built from solid brass with 24k gold plating, giving them a refined, professional look. The action is smooth and deliberate, with a longer throw than some levers, which many players find gives them more control. They’re known for their tonal transparency—engaging the lever doesn’t rob the string of sustain or clarity.

• Sound Quality: Excellent clarity and sustain, no deadening of tone when engaged.
• Price: $30 per lever- installed added to a base harp price.
• Weight: Mid-weight—lighter than vintage brass but not ultra-light.
• Install & Regulation: Smooth action; regulation is straightforward with basic tools.

Rees

Rees levers are all about affordability. Even though the design is similar to Forte and Truitt, they’re a step down in quality, making them a choice for players who prioritize value over sound. Sometime in early 2025 Rees came out with an updated design, increasing the quality and consistency of their levers substantially, making them a good choice on lower end harps.

• Sound Quality: Much improved for sound transfer and consistency, making them a viable option for smaller, and less expensive harps.
• Price: $18 per lever- installed, Making them by far the cheapest usable option.
• Weight: Mid-weight, offering a good balance between sturdiness and portability.
• Install & Regulation: Similar regulation to Forte and Truitt. Don’t work well with strings longer than 32 inches.

Camac

Camac levers are often described as the most precise and smoothest-operating levers available. They have a unique cam system that grips the string cleanly from both sides, keeping it centered and minimizing any tonal change. The feel is sturdy and smooth. The install and regulation can be time consuming unless the harp is designed for them.

• Sound Quality: Excellent Sound Transfer all the way to the longest strings.
• Price: $34 per lever-installed.
• Weight: Heavy. These levers are for large harps where weight is not an issue.
• Install & Regulation: Install and regulation is ok on harps designed for Camac. Otherwise they are a royal pain.

At a Glance

Wrapping It Up

Choosing amongst these levers isn’t about “winner vs. loser”—it’s about how they fit your preferences, playing style, and your harp. These four levers are all winners in their own way. There are other levers out there, but they didn’t make the list.

• Forte  perfect tone at a fraction of the weight
• Truitt excellent tone, 24k gold finish
• Rees delivers tone at a low price.
• Camac offers heavy duty precision

The right choice is the one that lets you focus on the music instead of the mechanics.

Interesting note: Forte came out with permanently colored handles as an option.

And just for laughs… I asked Chat GPT to paint a picture comparing all 4 levers, and this is what it gave me:

All that intelligence! By the way, the other AI’s fared much worse.