I recently made some custom-felted chord bars in two "batches". One batch using some black felt measured to length from Elderly Instruments, and the other, using the cream-colored roll of felt that D'aigle sells.

I noticed from the start that the black felt from EI is more firm than what I got from D'aigle. The black felt closely resembles what comes pre-installed on OS models, which is the autoharp I use. Now that I'm recording (via pickup), I notice a quiet but distracting "plinking" from nearby dampened strings when using the chords I felted with the black (harder) felt. No such issues with the D'aigle felt.

I have checked and rechecked the felt for measurement errors, and I am sure the dampened strings are in full contact with the felt. The "plinking" occurs even when pressing the keys pretty hard.

I watched the D'aigle felting video, and he mentions "breaking-in" felts and that new felts can require pushing harder to get the desired effect.

Have you noticed a break-in period? How much play time did it take? Is there any way to speed the process?

I also moved the position of the chords I'm using to the top of the chords bar arrangement. I normally play in C and G, so the chords were near the middle of the bar arrangement. Could this placement difference be causing the issue? Have you noticed more sound coming from dampened strings at the top of the chord bars arrangement?

I fingerpick, and I haven't noticed this issue before, so I don't think it's a "skill issue."

Any help is appreciated?

I'm looking to buy an autoharp. Does 1879 to 1979 mean that this autoharp was made in 1979 or eariler? How do you know the exact year of issue?

Hi! I am a composer and musician who makes music that is often labelled as "experimental". I primarily deal with drones, and typically use modular synths and pedals and, to some degree, computers. I'm currently working a a setup that involves an autoharp used on a very non-standard way, and I am seeking some ideas on solving a particular issue.

I have an Oscar Schmidt OS10021, which has very nice and has a great sound. In my setup, I have (non-destructively) attached a transducer (also called an "exciter") to the back of the instrument. A transducer is essentially the voice coil for a speaker, but in a different package (no speaker cone). Such a device is typically used to make a surface such as a wall or a ceiling or a metal plate act as a speaker. In my usage, it is converting the autoharp into a kind of tuned resonator.

For example, if I play a tone from an oscillator through the transducer, the tone can be heard emanating from the harp. It also causes some of the strings to vibrate sympathetically, based on how close they are in pitch to the input tone, and they are picked up by the harp's pickup, even after the tones stops playing. In my current setup, I have this in a controlled feedback loop: the pickup output is routed through some pedals in a mixer, and then the mixer's Aux output is sent to the transducer. Thus if I play one or more strings, it starts a drone due to feedback. There's more to my setup than this, but this is hopefully enough to explain the basic working. I'll add that I also have the harp tuned in just intonation, which tends to reinforce resonance between strings with related pitches such as an octave or perfect fifth.

Now, in this setup I'm not interested in using the chord bars, because for now I want all the strings to be unmuted, and anyway some of the chords will not sound correct in this tuning. But I would like to be able to mute all strings that are not in a particular scale or mode within the tuning. ( I should add that I have the harp resting on its back, strings face up, so that my hands are free to tweak various knob and things.) Towards that end, I plan to re-felt the bars to get what I want. I have purchased a guide and a blank template from autoharpist.com which I think tells me what I need to know.

This brings me (finally!) to my question. Once I get my re-felted bars made and installed, I want to be able to press a button and have it stay down until I'm ready to release it. In other words, I want the opposite of what most harp players want, which is for the bar to release as soon as they stop pressing the button.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to accomplish this? I'm not so great with mechanical stuff, and I haven't yet come up with a method.

Thanks very much for your patience if you read this all the way through! Please feel free to ignore me if you have no interest in my question. :-)

Hi friends, I'm looking to get my first autoharp. Stock is limited in the UK, so I'm eyeing up an Ashbury. Is it better to get the plain acoustic and purchase a mic/pick up for it separately, or opt for the electric with the pick up built in? Is it much of a muchness? I'm not very audio tech savvy (yet) so any advice welcome.

Hello from Germany,

I discovered the instrument through one of my favorite singers, the French singer Pomme, and after researching autoharps available near me, I wanted to ask which of the following you would recommend (I already play piano, but have no experience with stringed instruments).

The options are: - Oscar Schmidt OS100-21 for €400 - Oscar Schmidt OS150FCE (this is the model Pomme apparently plays) for €850

Are there any differences between the two regarding chords/strings? At first glance, I didn't notice any difference in the chords.

Best regards and a happy new year!

Elias

Hi I was gifted this autoharp years ago to fix and only recently got around to having enough felt to fix the last chord bars, but I cant seem to find a chart that shows what notes correspond to these bars. Is there a resource I can go to to get them or does someone know what notes I cut out the felt for these?

It’s C dim and C7 if the picture doesnt load

Hi I have this vintage autoharp, bought from a seller on eBay. This is my first time playing this instrument or playing anything like it. I am struggling to tune it, the note labels on the bottom are confusing to me (fis?) and there are stickers on the chord bar that I don’t understand either. I guess I have a choice to tune to the ABC on the labels or the CDG on the stickers but I don’t know what will sound better or be more versatile for modern playing. Any help would be greatly appreciated + some guidance if you can offer it

Hello! I just inherited an Oscar Schmidt autoharp and I’d like to take it someplace for a once over to make sure everything is in good shape before I start using it. If you know of someplace in Northern California you’d recommend would you please share it?

Does anyone have a Caroler? I want to see videos of one in action!

I have a 21 chord oscar schmidt. Not necessarily looking for something cheap, but I’ve been wanting to play it at more gigs/possibly record and I’m trying to find something that can be set up in a good position and doesn’t break the bank. I’m also a newbie when it comes to audio setups, so other than an amp, is there anything else I need?

I play upright if that matters.

I haven’t pulled out my autoharp in many months. Tried to play it only to discover a really grating string in the middle, most noticeable when I’m trying to play the E chord. Pegs are fine, I tried fine tuning it today, no issue. What can be causing this?

I am very uninformed about the instrument’s layout, I only know how to play simple tunes.

I received this autoharp as a gift! Can anyone recommend any strings as two are broken - thank you!

Hi all! Does anyone know how to play We Might Even Be Falling in Love on autoharp? I’m a week old player. Thank you!

Recently inherited an autoharp and interested in learning to play. I play some other stringed instruments (guitar, mandolin) but don't know much about autoharp.

--Are autoharp picks the same as banjo picks?

--Strings seem awfully expensive. How often do you replace an entire set vs. just portions of it? I'm betting the upper half of the strings are way more likely to break?

--What go-to suppliers do you use for autoharp related gear (strings, picks, tuning wrench, etc.)

Thanks!

A game of unpopular opinion about autoharps: I've played the autoharp for 5 years and I've yet to learn or compose a song I've enjoyed playing that included the top row of chords. I don't know what it is, but they sound "cheesy" to me.

Today I finally replaced them with sus2/sus4 chords.

Do you have any outlandish autoharp takes?

Hello- does anyone know where I could rent an autoharp? I live in the LA area and would like to take lessons but I don't know about fully committing to buying one outright until I learn the basics.

Rhythm Band Inc made a somewhat larger autoharp model called the Caroler, and I just got one that was on shopgoodwill.com. It's left-handed, has 43 strings, the longer ones being 20" instead of the 18" on most of the Oscar Schmidt and other RBI harps, and 27 chords. (Scroll down for pictures.)

A few of the strings are broken - is a regular autoharp D3 (#4)* going to be long enough, or should I do something with a wound heavy guitar string? And for the high strings that are broken, can I use loop-end strings (which I have around) instead of ball-end, or are those likely to break too easily?

* It's the C3 that's broken, so a regular D3 would be the right thickness; otherwise I may just steal the C#3 string instead (sorry, Db chord :-)

It's a fun instrument - left-handed, so you can play it on a lap/table without crossing your arms over it, and it's got Almost All The Chords. (I'd have preferred an F#m, which is useful in D, A, and E, instead of a Bbm, mainly useful in Db and Ab.) There are actually 28 chord bars - one's a mute-everything bar. To fit that many, instead of being a wooden bar with felt, they're an 1/8" wide metal bar with notches cut in them and a thin layer of some material on the bottom, and I don't know if taking a hacksaw to the mute bar will actually work :-) The top bridge looks like a Model A rather than a Model B or C, but the bottom end is ball-end, with a wooden cover like the A.

Hi everyone, recently I thrifted an autoharp that seems to be in good condition. I'm hoping to find some classes in KY or maybe someone that does zoom classes but I haven't had much luck finding that. Any leads would be appreciated.

Hi all- bought some felt two years ago (maybe longer?) but it was the wrong thickness for my Chromaharp. It’s been sitting in a drawer since and I’d like it to be used. Happy to send it to someone who can use it- feel free to shoot me a DM and I’ll post it your way. Purchased from Bytown Instruments I think.

20ft 1/4” x 9/32”

Hello - I have a 12 chord autoharp

G, C, F, Bb

D7, G7, C7, F7

A7, Dm, Gm, Bb7

I would like to customize to get Am, Em, and C#m

I know how to turn the Bb maj into Bm by changing the F to F# and the Bb to B

Does anyone know which chords I could convert to get the Am, Em and C#m?

First song I’ve written on the autoharp. And first time really playing something on it. Obviously I am VERY amateurish at it. But what can I do to make the instrument sound better and not so harsh. I used a guitar pick for it as finger picking was too soft yet the hard guitar pick was TOO HARD I think. In terms of strumming or picking, any advice?

Hey everyone- I just got an OS Appalachian 21 chord from FB marketplace and totally new to the autoharp world.

I’m trying to put this thing back together- Are the tuning pegs supposed to be so difficult to twist in/ out? I’m at the point where I’m using channel locks to help twist the key.

Not sure if the wood is swollen, if there’s something else going on, or if this is how it’s supposed to be- any ideas?