BEaWARE before you buy your 1st AUTOHARP. Hal Weeks Stalking the Wild Autoharp
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- Опубликовано: 16 фев 2024
- Let the Buyer Beware
This is a remake of my 2016 classic "Buying an Autoharp for Beginners" updated for 2024.
What are your basic buying choices and how to avoid pitfalls.
Different options available:
The Luthier harp
The Refurbished Vintage harp
The New Harp
The old black Antique
For my Patreon: / halweeks
For Lessons: www.halweeks.com/lessons 
Видеоклипы
![Finesse2Tymes - Pretty Ricky [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/xIoP_mhYRT0/mqdefault.jpg)
You can hear it in the first part of the first strum.
A couple of weeks ago I found a Korean-made "Chromaharp" 21-chord in immaculate condition for $120 out-the-door at a local thrift shop. Not a scratch on the thing! Plus, a hardshell case. While I'm already a lifelong professional bar-room musician, playing fiddle and harmonica in dance bands since the early 1970's, I took a chance on this instrument on an impulse purchase. I've been studying RUclips autoharp videos ever since. I've got lots of questions for you! Stand by!
Thanks for watching! Glad to help.
I have a nice luthier made autoharp with a built-in pickup. I recently found that I could use a Katana Go headphone amp with it. So cool, and lots of presets to play with.
I bought my first autoharp for $175 on consignment. A 15 bar harp with no pickup but I was hooked. Within a week I was playing all kinds of music. My next harp was a second hand Oscar Schmidt with 21 chord bars and a pickup and still under $300. As an ex-guitar player I can only say it is very hard to get decent playable electric guitar for under $300. My final harp would be custom made for me by d'Aigle and that was over $2000, which sounds like a lot but guitarists will tell you that a high-end Gibson Les Paul or Fender Stratocaster will easily run way over that. Autoharps are great value for your money and Oscar Schmidt makes very playable harps for much less than what you would pay for a guitar with similar features.
Did you play something before that? I did. It helped a lot.
Thanks I was wondering about the choices. I have a little ol harp from an attic and it serves me all enough but ill be saving for one of my dreams!
I hope you get one!
A great video!! I started out with a pre owned OS 21C Chromatic and within a year purchased a d'Aigle Tahoma and no comparison in sound, the d'Aigle aces it!! My plan is to do some work on the OS, lowering the action etc. It had new strings when I got it, I'll replace the felts and recut them to convert it to a diatonic F key harp. The anchor appears to be fine but I'll take the cover off before I start doing anything....Thanks for another terrific & informative video Hal!!
Thanks for checking it out
I have an Autoharp like the one you're showing at 9:21, only mine has a fine tuner on the front. I have been playing it since 2011 when I bought it new. I really enjoyed playing it. Until a few weeks ago when the 'passive pickup' broke! i would love to get that repaired.
It might need replacing. They often do. The wires are so tiny.
The Oscar ones I only seen on Amazon. They don't sell any different ones.
My mom has an OS That looks like the one at 9:21 but without a pickup. she's lost the tuning tool... Is there anything she can use as a replacement? Where would she get it?
Hi! Hal, I have question. I live in Canada but
I'm not good at English. Can I buy only chordbuttoms what made of wood?
I realy want it and need it! Help me, please! 🙏
I am considering the beginner package but can’t decide between a right or left handed harp
That's fantastic! You'll love it either way!
@@wildautoharp I really like playing on my lap. I will call when I finally decide
Can I get more information about the bottom line luthier autoharp please ?
Http://www.autoharp.com feel free to contact via phone or email we'd be glad to discuss!
my OS 100 autoharp (right handed) is too much for me to play vertically. I have no idea how old it is as it has no serial number. I want a laptop harp. Do you all take trade ins?
More often consignments.
how do I know how old my Schmidt zither is
If it's an autoharp you coud send photos to us at daigle autoharps and maybe we could tell you. If it's some kind of chord zither we couldn't tell you. If you are attempting to determine value I can tell you that even the most rare and most well preserved are worth almost nothing. They are worth less than the time it would take to do the research. Somewhere there is an online archive of all these zither family varieties so you can know what they are and where from but seriously...no value.
My new Tahoma doesn't sound like that. A lot of the strings that should be resonating sound muted. Don't understand why.
I had to work with the fine tuners to get mine sounding better. Make sure they aren’t sitting too high.
@user-il9oc5tc9i tha k you. I've tuned 3 or 4 times already with the fine tuners, which I understand is needful for new strings settling in, and there seems to have been a little improvement so that may very well be the problem. Thanks so much.
@@geniesmith7319 I just replaced all my strings over Christmas.
Sorry. Finger slipped! They are well stretched by now, but I still do some tuning on the pins. Just make sure there is some pressure on the strings with the fine tuners. It’ll improve.
@@user-il9oc5tc9i thanks so much!
Are you pressing more than one button at a time on that 21-chord autoharp?
No just one. I have another that requires two for every chord. More chords that way but a lot more challenging.