First time I saw an Autoharp - and why I wanted to learn

Growing up I found PJ Harvey's music very Interesting as it seemed to steer very clear of the mainstream and contained much talent and thought.

About a year or 2 ago she brought out a new album after being out of the public light for some time. The video above was one of the first songs of her recent album ('Let England Shake').

When I saw her playing this 'thing' in her hands I was mesmerised. From there on I knew I had to find out what that 'thing' she was holding was, and had to get one for myself - as I fell in love with the sound it made on this track.

A long time, but not forgotten...

It has been some time since my last post to this blog.

To be honest the restoration of an autoharp I was planning to base this blog on has come to a halt - partially due to lack of time and funds.

However...

I shall be returning to this project soon.

In the mean time here is an autoharp based story of persevering (something I need to take a lesson from to get my autoharp fixed up)

I love this story of Ray Choi. His want to learn the autoharp stems from the same reason I started. I just happened to see one being played on television and was like 'what the heck is that thing?' - next thing you know I happen to be given an old one through a conversation with a friend which I am now pulling apart and rebuilding in hopes to make it playable again.

Strings...

Sorry I have not posted for some time now.
I am having difficulty finding strings for my autoharp, the only strings I can find are 'ball-ended' and I need a loop ended strings, as the bottom of my autoharp has small, rather crude, metal pins for the strings.

Will grommet ended strings be ok? I have been tempted to try.

That or I have found an American website that sells string combs, so I could just modify my autoharp.
(http://www.elderly.com)

Now I have discovered this website I keep looking more and more at their autoharp items...
Looks like I need to save up some money and get on with repairing my instrument.

An Amazing and Rare Parlor Grand by Zimmerman

Upon one of my many eBay treggs I came across this, an amazing example of a Parlor Grand by Zimmerman.
Only a few still exist, mainly owing to the extremely high price tag of $170 in 1890's.

eBay c1895-PARLOR-GRAND-AUTOHARP-ZIMMERMAN
this example is darker than the one I have pictured, but still something to be cherished.






(Image taken from fretlesszithers.com)

Restoration Part I - Deconstruction, Clean & Buff

After the removal of the cord bars I proceeded to remove each string carefully (knowing the strings had been there for some decades with evident rusting). Foolishly I tried to do this using a pair of pliers, with no luck, so I purchased a tuning key for the Autoharp (I found one from Gremlin-Accessories @ Amazon.co.uk as shown in top of picture - right)

After a delicate clean with a mild soap and a lightly dampened cloth.
Buffed with a soft cloth and later a generous layer of furniture wax applied.
Result. A lovely shine and colour revived.