The cover is easily removed and replaced for changing out the bars. Inlaid in the underside of the cover are two strong magnets for attachment. The fixture can hold one or two bars at once and also serves as a hand rest. The swarmandal’s lock bars will be swapped in and out as needed and seated, without springs, against the strings by a magnetic cover. The lock bars of an autoharp function much like their adjoining chord bars… held aloft by springs when not in use and locked down by some sort of a wedge. To change the instrument’s setup between ragas, we arrived at the idea of a combination of fine tuners and lock bars. He does this on-the-fly (imagine doing this between autoharp tunes!). According to the musician, for a given raga he will mute some notes and re-tune some strings. They are described as improvisations on a construct of modes, scales, and notes, each to affect the emotions of the listener…. I am only familiar with western musical concepts as they apply to folk and old time music. Raagaharp has a diatonic tuning schedule in the key of Eb for for his vocal range, and a combination of specially constructed lock bars for the deletion of specific notes within the immense variety of ragas he performs. We have combined our ideas to reinvent the swarmandal and build a hybrid that he has named “Raagaharp”. These past few months I have been working with Purnash, a popular musician and multi-instrumentalist who performs in venues across Asia, the subcontinent, and beyond. In fact, autoharps with the chord bars removed are sometimes used as an equivalent instrument in India today. Modern swarmandals are similar to western zithers in shape and construction. Ray Choi Autoharps: Of all the custom autoharps I've heard, Ray's seem to be the closest ones to meet my needs.The swarmandal is a plucked box zither of Indian origin and used as an accompanying instrument for the vocal classical music of Northern India.If you want a quality instrument that will last you for many years to come, consider having a custom-designed autoharp. You can also create your own Autoharp Repair Kit quite easily to fix any problems you have with your autoharp. I still love it ten years later!īob Lewis also does similar work as Chuck and is an expert on Diatonic autoharps. It greatly reduced the amount of noise from the keys. * I had Chuck add his custom-action hold down system to one of my autoharps. Services include: Custom Action Hold Down System, Refelting, Restringing, and diatonic conversions. Outstanding customization of Oscar Schmidt autoharps. Autoharp repair, customization, & supplies Good $50, so if you're just starting out, giveĪn autoharp. They are not my first preference, buying a chromaharp will save a The Appalachian has the best sound to my ear, but it still doesn't compare to those 70s and 80s autoharps. While it's a great starter instrument, it feels poorly made, and I don't care for the sound of it at all. The 15-chord autoharp I mentioned above is not the best made instrument. Then I customize with a 1/4" pickup and Chuck Daniels' custom action bar which suits my needs perfectly. I search far and wide to find autoharps that meet those specs. I don't know how they were made, but they have a warmer sound that I love. I found that my favorite autoharp bodies were made in the late 70s and 80s. Personal Note: As I said before, everyone has a preference of sound. Looking to go professional or you just want to be heard among the Oscar Schmidt OS45CE The Appalachian Electric Autoharp Tuning wrench, tuning tips & picks included. Pro Series instrument with fine tuning system. Oscar Schmidt - OS120CNĢ1 CHORD ADIRONDACK MODEL - natural solid spruce top, sunburst birdseye maple back (laminated), imitation abalone inlay around top & soundhole, cream binding, high gloss finish. Not the best-constructed instrument, but it is the Best It plays in 7 keys, has traditional button configuration,Ī laminated rock maple pin block, and tobacco sunburst finish. I've found that Amazon usually offers the best deal on new autoharps, but feel free to look around. So I may earn a commission through anything you purchase. Love to try out a better autoharp, but for right now, Oscar Schmidtĭisclosure: These links go to my amazon affiliate. I'veīeen playing my OS since I started in 1998, and I love it. Some like homemade autoharps, othersĬan only afford the standard-Oscar Schmidt. Has their own preference when it comes to autoharps.
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