Let's talk about the history and music of the American Heartland

Visit our Sister Sites
CreekDontRise.com Home Page Visit our sister site, School of the Rock
Visit our Classic Train Songs Page
A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.
 

It is currently Sun Oct 13, 2024 2:32 am


To ask any question about the content on this site please use our Site Contact Page.

To sign up for this discussion forum, please use our Forum Signup Page.

Either way, we'll be very glad to hear from you - Paul Click to see Paul's music home page Click to contact Paul through this page. Click to see Paul's music page on Facebook Click to see Paul's music blog page Click to hear Paul's music on SoundCloud. Click to sign up for this discussion forum. Click to learn about our Momma Don't Low Newsletter. Click to see Paul's YouTube Channel. Click to see Paul's Twitter Page

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Thu Oct 31, 2019 9:32 am 
Offline
Site Admin
User avatar

Joined: Thu May 15, 2014 3:39 pm
Posts: 1004
A reader writes:

Thank you for writing and making sense of a bewildering plethora of harp styles. Do you know anybody who hand-crafts a wooden/beautiful bridge cover for a 21 chord Oscar Schmidt Autoharp? I have the ugliest harp with a yucky plastic bridge cover... but with the most beautiful tone I've heard out of an Autoharp (I play for patients in hospital in the Spiritual Care Department) I was a little raw from comments about it "only being an autoharp" and how ugly it was (which is true) and bought a really beautiful custom release wood-grained one, that sounds as tinny as a banjo. Sigh! I'd grab the bridge/cover off of it, but it too is a cheesy plastic (original) cover. What was Mr. Schmidt thinking? Oh Dear! A cheesy plastic replacement is $18. But I was hoping some artist would realize there are quite a lot of OS owners that dislike the cheesy plastic bridge, and if offered, would with great delight ditch our CPBs and plunk down large green bills for something that
looked
a little nicer. Any hope? Thanks for listening.

------------------------------------------

Thanks for getting in touch. Unfortunately I don't know anyone who makes custom wooden parts for existing autoharps. And Oscar Schmidt has been dead for about a century, so we can't blame him - the kind of plastic they use now is only about 75 years old. :-)

When you say "bridge cover" I assume you mean the bit with the holes in it that covers the chord bars so only the buttons with the key names stick through?

For a couple years sometime back, there was a tortoise-shell version that has long since been discontinued. I don't know if it would look any better, anyway, but you might keep your eye out for one. Or spray-painting yours to a color you like better. Or getting a local artist friend to paint something cool on it.

I do understand what you mean about autoharp tone. It has really gone downhill since production moved to China. But it have been uneven since the type B came out in the late 1960s. Two of the same model, produced a year apart, could have entirely different sound.

By the way, my banjos are "chimey," not "tinny."

Funny thing, as a singer-songwriter who plays banjo on some songs, there are a lot of smirks and dumb jokes when I show up with a banjo, but it only takes a few seconds to win people over. Most folks who make the snarky remarks have never heard a banjo played well live and that makes a lot of difference. Being good at what you do won't keep the dumb jokes out of your life altogether, but it helps keep you from hearing the same jokes more than once from the same people.

BTW, one of my favorite autoharps is a yellow Sears Roebuck 15-chorder made in the 1970s, with the old body style. My first 21-chorder was actually a ChromaHarp that I thought looked nicer and more traditional than the Oscar Schmidt 21s. Although you can get parts for the latter, and not the former. So I'm more likely to take an OS21 out of the house than the ChromaHarp.

I don't know if you'd be more satisfied with the appearance of the 21-chord Chromaharp. It doesn't have a plate over the chord bars at all.

Finally, I accumulated most of my more bizarre autoharps from ShopGoodwill.com.

Some come too damaged to ever restore, and some of the stores will charge $40 shipping for a $15 item, so ALWAYS check the shipping price before you bid. But you might find something there that you can cannibalize.

I'll check around and see if I can find a tortoise-shell piece, but don't hold your breath.

Best of luck,

Paul Race


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 1 post ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
cron




To ask any question about the content on this site please use our Site Contact Page.

To sign up for this discussion forum, please use our Forum Signup Page.


Paul Race playing a banjo. Click to go to Paul's music home page.Whatever else you get out of our pages, I hope you enjoy your music and figure out how to make enjoyable music for those around you as well.

And please stay in touch!

    - Paul Race Click to see Paul's music home page Click to contact Paul through this page. Click to see Paul's music page on Facebook Click to see Paul's music blog page Click to hear Paul's music on SoundCloud. Click to sign up for the Creek Don't Rise discussion forum. Click to learn about our Momma Don't Low Newsletter. Click to see Paul's Twitter Page Click to see Paul's YouTube Channel.



All material, illustrations, and content of this web site is copyrighted © 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006,
2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 by Paul D. Race. All rights reserved.

Note: Creek Don't Rise (tm) is Paul Race's name for his resources supporting the history and
music of the North American Heartland as well as additional kinds of acoustic and traditional music.

Creek Dont' Rise(tm) is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising
program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.



Visit related pages and affiliated sites:
- Music -
Heartland-inspired music, history, and acoustic instrument tips.
Best-loved railroad songs and the stories behind them.
Visit musings about music on our sister site, School of the Rock With a few tools and an hour or two of work, you can make your guitar, banjo, or mandolin much more responsive.  Instruments with movable bridges can have better-than-new intonation as well. The Independent Christian Musician. Check out our article on finding good used guitars.
Carols of many countries, including music, lyrics, and the story behind the songs. X and Y-generation Christians take Contemporary Christian music, including worship, for granted, but the first generation of Contemporary Christian musicians faced strong, and often bitter resistance. Different kinds of music call for different kinds of banjos.  Just trying to steer you in the right direction. New, used, or vintage - tips for whatever your needs and preferences. Wax recordings from the early 1900s, mostly collected by George Nelson.  Download them all for a 'period' album. Explains the various kinds of acoustic guitar and what to look for in each.
Look to Riverboat Music buyers' guide for descriptions of musical instruments by people who play musical instruments. Learn 5-string banjo at your own speed, with many examples and user-friendly explanations. Explains the various kinds of banjos and what each is good for. Learn more about our newsletter for roots-based and acoustic music. Folks with Bb or Eb instruments can contribute to worship services, but the WAY they do depends on the way the worship leader approaches the music. A page devoted to some of Paul's own music endeavors.
- Trains and Hobbies -
Free building projects for your vintage railroad or Christmas village.
Visit Lionel Trains. Click to see Thomas Kinkaded-inspired Holiday Trains and Villages. Big Christmas Train Primer: Choosing and using model trains with holiday themes Building temporary and permanent railroads with big model trains Click to see HO scale trains with your favorite team's colors.
- Christmas Memories and Collectibles -
Visit the FamilyChristmasOnline site. Visit Howard Lamey's glitterhouse gallery, with free project plans, graphics, and instructions. Click to return to the Old Christmas Tree Lights Table of Contents Page Click to sign up for Maria Cudequest's craft and collectibles blog.
Click to visit Fred's Noel-Kat store.
Visit the largest and most complete cardboard Christmas 'Putz' house resource on the Internet.
- Family Activities and Crafts -
Click to see reviews of our favorite family-friendly Christmas movies. Free, Family-Friendly Christmas Stories Decorate your tree the old-fashioned way with these kid-friendly projects. Free plans and instructions for starting a hobby building vintage-style cardboard Christmas houses. Click to find free, family-friendly Christmas poems and - in some cases - their stories. Traditional Home-Made Ornaments



Click to trains that commemorate your team!

Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group