Bob Lewis on Autoharp

02/24/2024

FB tells me this is our Group's 5th anniversary. Woo-hoo!

09/28/2022

I am in the process of converting Autoharp Works from a business to a hobby, some refurb work but no merchandise, no credit card service.

09/28/2022

Linda Fackeldey lives in Tampa, last I knew. I am thinking about her and hoping she and her home get through this storm safely.

Linda's late husband, Mark, was a champion player; autoharp and bass; and the builder of Zephyr Hill Autoharps.

To her own credit, Linda is a fine singer and accomplished guitar player.

06/03/2022

I don't sell them but I see some currently being offered following the auction after George Orthey's passing. His string sets are color coded, and red is what I see for sale now. The color refers to the print on the packaging.

Code Black - Most handmade autoharps scaled the same as Orthey instruments. (37 strings)
Code Red - Oscar Schmidt Model B. (36 strings)
Code Green - ChromAharp and Schmidt Model A Reissue (36 strings, grommet end, I believe)
Code Blue - Oscar Schmidt Old Model A (36 strings, including upgrade of 10A #-12C with wound strings)

These strings were made by American Windings before Tom Fladmark bought their equipment/supplies and started making strings to his own specs and with improvements to the machinery. We know them now as Schrieber after Tom's retirement from making strings.

02/14/2022

Since MLAG 2022 organizers have enough concern to require proof of vaccination, and since vaccinated individuals can still be infected or infectious, and given the spreader potential for the event, I may side with discretion and pass, hopefully to come another time or to enjoy an online version.

I am still watching for Super Bowl parties to have been reported as super spreaders. We would like it to be 2019 again, free to live our lives without concern pro or con, but times have changed, and caution should remain IMHO, certainly in my age bracket, north of 70 years old.

This may not be a supported topic on other autoharp outlets, so I will post this where I am the one to allow or disallow discussion. All productive comments are welcome.

12/05/2021

I have a like-new Oscar Schmidt Americana available. Adjusted and ready to go. Oscar Schmidt padded gig bag case, old style in nice shape. Contact off line.

10/11/2021

From past discussions in various venues, mostly Cyberpluckers I guess, we know that some people tune there highest strings a bit sharp, more to the tuner rather than the ear. The need to do so has been attributed to partial harmonics distorting the sound, but I had a palm-to-forehead moment recently, when I realized that some chords end on a third or especially a fifth interval, no octave note. That means that a trained ear is going to want to hear a pure fifth of 702 cents rather than the 700 cents of Equal Temperament (tuner default). There is also the natural tendency to want stretch the minor third from the third note to the ending fifth. When Equal Temperament stretches the Major third, it narrows the minor third that follows, leaving both intervals out of pure tuning.

For example using a G chord G-B-D-G, the G-B is a major third, B-D a minor third, and D-G a fourth. In the tuner's Equal Temperament mode, the major third is 14 cents wide, the minor third is 16 cents narrow, and the fourth is 2 cents narrow, all compared to a natural tuning in Just Intonation; what the ear would find naturally pleasing with no beating, while an impractical scheme for the majority of instruments. So what we do is flatten the top 35B note to make the G-B interval sound better, or we sharpen the top G note. The example of sharpening high notes also comes into play with chords like D Major, wherein that last D-A interval is going to beg to be improved by raising 33A slightly, yet not enough to sound really off compared to an octave lower. Another example is F Major wherein that high C finish is going to want to be raised to make a better fifth interval that stands out so clearly.

To summarize, if tuning to a tuner's default of Equal Temperament, or especially is using alternate temperaments that have an even flatter fifth interval, I would be looking to raise 32G, 33A, and 36C slightly, no more than 2 cents, probably only 1 cent. For those I would not be too critical of the octave notes sounded together, going more by how the chord sounds at the top end. The same thing can be accomplished by ear, but here I am trying to quantify it, so one can use a rule of thumb to apply to what a tuner tells us, no personal judgment or even ability to hear well involved.

The above is entirely in the context of an Oscar Schmidt chromatic. The same principles apply to other configurations, diatonic and such, but references to specific notes and positions would change while based on the same principles.

09/25/2021

In the off-the-trail instruments department, check out this harmonica quartet playing Amazing Grace. On my YT feed it was followed by Sounds of Silence played masterfully on the zither.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UKbyjY1vqk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3Z9XBAw4cU

If you like that tune (AG), check out Jo Ann Smith's version on diatonic autoharp.

www.muha.at

08/19/2021

The Tonal Energy app is the best I have used for programming and tuning to my own temperament settings. All my physical tuners are obsolete and unsupported, so I focus on low cost apps that do what I need. None of the popular apps except Tonal Energy are still supported and have active technical support.

Apps like the popular Cleartune are okay for Equal Temperament, but developers have walked away leaving no support. That is true for all the others I have tried.

I paid $4 for Tonal Energy (for iPhone off the AppStore)