Post by twangmeister on Aug 6, 2020 10:23:25 GMT -5
Today I decided to channel my inner John Sebastian and took the autoharp out of its chipboard case.
Of course like any other autoharp not recently tuned it was about a semitone out of whach on every string. With changes in humidity and temperature aggravating tuning stability it is like a hillbilly's upright piano. At least pianos have a heavy metal frame to help stabilizing the tuning. The lack of a stable string platform is why the vast majority of autoharps in pawnshops and at yard sales are grossly out of tune. Quite a few times I've "enjoyed" the out-of-tune rendition of Judy Collins songs performed by spinsterish amateurs.
Mine is from the late '70s and the seller was able to give me the provenance. I'm the third owner. It did first belong to a woman who is currently in her sixties and then was sold to her neighbor's son during his college days. He fooled around with it a bit but apparently never got it in tune. Then it stayed in a closet until I bought it a few years ago.
Thirty-six strings each with hair-trigger tuning and the tuner itself being a sloppy fit on the friction pegs just adds to the pleasure.
Today wasn't the worst--it only took me 45 minutes. I once considered replacing the 40+ year old strings but won't unless one breaks.
Of course like any other autoharp not recently tuned it was about a semitone out of whach on every string. With changes in humidity and temperature aggravating tuning stability it is like a hillbilly's upright piano. At least pianos have a heavy metal frame to help stabilizing the tuning. The lack of a stable string platform is why the vast majority of autoharps in pawnshops and at yard sales are grossly out of tune. Quite a few times I've "enjoyed" the out-of-tune rendition of Judy Collins songs performed by spinsterish amateurs.
Mine is from the late '70s and the seller was able to give me the provenance. I'm the third owner. It did first belong to a woman who is currently in her sixties and then was sold to her neighbor's son during his college days. He fooled around with it a bit but apparently never got it in tune. Then it stayed in a closet until I bought it a few years ago.
Thirty-six strings each with hair-trigger tuning and the tuner itself being a sloppy fit on the friction pegs just adds to the pleasure.
Today wasn't the worst--it only took me 45 minutes. I once considered replacing the 40+ year old strings but won't unless one breaks.
