Anyone know much about autoharps? - sorted, now NAD!

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ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
edited November 2020 in Other Instruments
Totally out of the blue, my daughter just asked me whether I knew anyone selling one... she's 13 and already plays guitar, ukelele and a bit of piano (and sings), so it's clearly something she's come across and thinks looks interesting, rather than 'a substitute for a proper instrument'.

I know very little about them, other than that they're mostly seen as 'a substitute for a proper instrument'... I had a quick look on Ebay and they seem to come in two varieties - antique ones in various states of disrepair with small numbers of strings and chord buttons for around £50 or less, or new ones with larger numbers of strings and chord buttons for around £500 or more! Which was something of a surprise - presumably there is a small but dedicated market for proper ones.

Anyway, I can't afford £500 and she doesn't want me to - although she would like something decent if possible. So the question is, is there anything worth having for around £100? I don't mind something old I have to do some work on if it can actually be fixed - some time ago I worked on an antique chord-zither ("no dad, that's not quite the same thing..." ) which wasn't repairable because the wood was just too fragile and no matter how many splits were glued, new ones appeared as soon as it was tuned up...

She's clearly done some research, so I don't want to appear too ignorant - she did mention 'three rows of buttons', which I think are major, minor and 7th chords, but I may be wrong. Of course that seems to only occur on the £500 ones .

"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

"Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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Comments

  • I have one, or at least I think I do as I'm now not sure what the difference between an auto harp and a chord zither. Sadly for you I can't sell it as I was given it as a gift but to be honest I do rather like it. Good fun to play and sing along to as long as you're happy in the three keys I think it was capable of playing in

    Mine is this kind of layout but different shape and colour



    I suppose it fits into the "antique" category you mention above - it needs a couple of dampers refitting i think but I've never had the guts to take it apart.

    I'm on holiday at the moment but I'll try and remember to take some photos of it in case it's of any curiosity value.

    Here's a video of me playing it in fact!




    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • steamabacussteamabacus Frets: 1258
    Can't really answer any of your questions but I can point you at this album from a friend of mine from SoundCloud, all autoharp and electonics. It won't have been an expensive one either - most of his varied instruments are sickly foundlings that he's breathed new life into.


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  • barnstormbarnstorm Frets: 618
    There's an old, basic-looking one on Gumtree for £40 that might be of interest as a do-you-actually-like-this introduction.

    One of those things that's easier to get hold of (cheaply) across the pond, I guess? Not so much of a tradition in popular music here. Sometimes regular auction houses are good places to find weird old instruments, so worth keeping an eye on places like the-saleroom and Barnebys.

    You could get a couple of Basia Bulat records to tide her over while you wait for a decent one to pop up. Don't blame me if she's wanting an Osborn Pianoette and a charango next, though.
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  • blobbblobb Frets: 2914
    We had one for a while, just asked MsBlobb apparently it's sat on a shelf in Mid Wales Music waiting for you to give them a call. :-) Think we were asking £75 but if you ask them to include postage out to you we'll go for it. That's if they haven't sold it recently which I doubt as they were covidised for a bit. (01686) 622161.

    All good, tuned up and working. They will give you the lowdown if you're interested.


    Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
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  • Shark_EyesShark_Eyes Frets: 374
    I've only ever played an 'antique' one in a store when I was looking (after I'd seen PJ Harvey with one, obvs) I hated it and it put me off for life.

    There's one here for £375 https://redcowmusic.co.uk/product/oscar-schmidt-os10021-autoharp/

    You might find it cheaper elsewhere
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    blobb said:
    We had one for a while, just asked MsBlobb apparently it's sat on a shelf in Mid Wales Music waiting for you to give them a call. :-) Think we were asking £75 but if you ask them to include postage out to you we'll go for it. That's if they haven't sold it recently which I doubt as they were covidised for a bit. (01686) 622161.

    All good, tuned up and working. They will give you the lowdown if you're interested.
    Thanks! I’ll check the details with them.


    There's one here for £375 https://redcowmusic.co.uk/product/oscar-schmidt-os10021-autoharp/

    You might find it cheaper elsewhere
    Sadly it would need to be unfeasibly cheaper :). But that does look like a pretty good one...

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • DiscoStuDiscoStu Frets: 5382
    They sound fantastic and if you can get a couple playing together it's magical.
    A couple of my friends play them at get-togethers.
    Here they are around 1:12 during our Speyside Sessions album recording:



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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    New Autoharp Day!

    blobb's one must have sold in the shop before I called them, but I finally found a nice one for a good price online, and it arrived today...



    It's an RBI ChromaHarp, made by Tokai Gakki (yes, that Tokai) in Japan in either the very late 60s or early 70s - the booklet it came with is dated 1968. It's in exceptional condition for its age, including all the original strings which are only very slightly tarnished, a couple of very nice booklets, and the remains of the original polystyrene box packing pieces - although sadly the box itself is missing. A really nice piece of history... my daughter is very happy!

    No tuning key included so I've had to order one (they're expensive!) and it currently sounds like a 'prepared instrument' avant-garde piece :), but it's not *that* far out and I think it will sound really nice when it's properly tuned.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    I've got a good mate who inherited one. They're good fun, I was surprised how often the sound came in handy on various songs - I won't link them because it'll be a bit self-promotey, but they're awesome for big long rakes into delay.

    Bugger to tune though.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    Cirrus said:

    Bugger to tune though.
    That's why I've ordered a proper key, although I winced at the price for a bit of metal and a bit of wood... I tried tuning it with a spanner but it's not as easy as it looks - it should be much easier with a proper grip and being able to rotate the peg on its own axis.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    ICBM said:
    Cirrus said:

    Bugger to tune though.
    That's why I've ordered a proper key, although I winced at the price for a bit of metal and a bit of wood... I tried tuning it with a spanner but it's not as easy as it looks - it should be much easier with a proper grip and being able to rotate the peg on its own axis.
    Yeah, I was using the original tuning key - it's just the amount of time it takes to go through all the strings in turn, and because they're not geared tuners, if you want to be bang on it's a game of fractions of a mm.

    To be fair, I was quite regularly tuning it into different keys.
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  • FunkfingersFunkfingers Frets: 14324
    I get the occasional urge to own a Suzuki Omnichord - probably the influences of Daniel Lanois and Flight Of The Conchords - but the secondhand prices have gorn maaaaaad. Easier to fake it with Spectrasonics Omninsphere.
    Be seeing you.
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  • CirrusCirrus Frets: 8481
    I get the occasional urge to own a Suzuki Omnichord - probably the influences of Daniel Lanois and Flight Of The Conchords - but the secondhand prices have gorn maaaaaad. Easier to fake it with Spectrasonics Omninsphere.
    Same, There's an app I used to use for my old Ipad that's pretty good for those sounds, used it quite often for recording.
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  • Also if you press a 7th chord you can get a beautiful descending arpeggio/broken chord like in Strawberry Fields Forever.

    Looks lovely, hopefully it's fun to set up and play
    Please note my communication is not very good, so please be patient with me
    soundcloud.com/thecolourbox-1
    youtube.com/@TheColourboxMusic
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    I get the occasional urge to own a Suzuki Omnichord - probably the influences of Daniel Lanois and Flight Of The Conchords - but the secondhand prices have gorn maaaaaad. Easier to fake it with Spectrasonics Omninsphere.
    I’d quite like one of those too - or in fact, I think a Q-Chord, which is an updated version - Heather Nova used one on the Storm album, which is one of my favourite records.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • blobbblobb Frets: 2914
    ICBM said:
    New Autoharp Day!

    blobb's one must have sold in the shop before I called them, but I finally found a nice one for a good price online, and it arrived today...
     

    ...... went in to see if they managed to sort you out. They told me it had already sold....

    ...in 2015!

    Honestly, I think time just passes me by sometimes.

    Glad you got one in the end.
    Feelin' Reelin' & Squeelin'
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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    Nice 3 colour sunburst! 
    ICBM said:
    New Autoharp Day!

    ... either the very late 60s or early 70s - the booklet it came with is dated 1968. It's in exceptional condition for its age, 
    ...
    I wonder if it thought the same thing about the guy that bought it. ;)

    Is the tuning key different from a drum key? I have a vague recollection of tuning some similar instrument for a friend and just using a drum key.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    mart said:
    Nice 3 colour sunburst!

    I wonder if it thought the same thing about the guy that bought it. ;)

    Is the tuning key different from a drum key? I have a vague recollection of tuning some similar instrument for a friend and just using a drum key.
    lol :)

    It’s a year younger than me even if it was actually made in ‘68 ;). It is a very nice-looking one though, also not like me!

    The key is a 4mm square section - drums are 1/4”. It needs a much bigger handle too, the tension on these pegs is pretty high and as Cirrus said you need extreme accuracy turning them - it’s basically like tuning a piano.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • martmart Frets: 5205
    Ok, sounds like you did the right thing by paying out for the proper tool. I'm guessing it doesn't need tuning as often as a guitar would.

    How is the body of the thing constructed to withstand the overall tension - has it got a steel frame like a piano?
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71963
    mart said:
    Ok, sounds like you did the right thing by paying out for the proper tool. I'm guessing it doesn't need tuning as often as a guitar would.
    Not often hopefully. Also, it’s really for my daughter - I want it to be easy for her to use rather than having to faff around with something like a spanner.

    mart said:

    How is the body of the thing constructed to withstand the overall tension - has it got a steel frame like a piano?
    No - all maple.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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