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Autoharp (center) by C.F. Zimmermann Co. in 1896–99; (left is a marxophone, right is a dolceola) Charles F. Zimmermann, a German immigrant in Philadelphia, was awarded a patent in 1882 for a “ Harp ” fitted with a mechanism that muted strings selectively during play. [3] He called a zither-sized instrument using this mechanism an ...
Oscar Schmidt was a musical instrument manufacturing company established in 1871. During its long existence, Oscar Schmidt has produced a wide range of string instruments, not only guitars but also numerous models of parlour instruments such as autoharps, celtic harps, guitar zithers, the "guitarophone" (a zither/metal-disc playing hybrid), [3] marxophones [4] and bowed psalteries (or "ukelins").
A Guitaro is a brand of autoharp constructed to be held like a guitar. Oscar Schmidt-International, Inc. manufactured the Guitaro in the mid-1960s through the early 70s to take advantage of the guitar's popularity in the folk music revival of that era. (See Guitaro's US Patent #3,237,503, filed with the USPTO on June 17, 1963 and issued March 1 ...
Vibrato systems for guitar. A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. It adds vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece of an electric guitar using a controlling lever, which is alternately referred to as a whammy bar, vibrato ...
Fretted Industries acquired other lines as well, such as Oscar Schmidt autoharps. Schlacher bought out Johnstone in 1987, and changed the company name to Washburn International. A stateside manufacturing operation was opened in 1991 for higher-end, short-run, and one-off instruments, as well as development and prototyping.
The invention of the autoharp, which uses bars with felt pads attached underneath placed across and above the strings, is probably the most successful adaptation. However, the absence of a fretboard makes the autoharp a closer relative of the chord zither than the concert zither. Presence of the concert zither in classical music remains sparse.
The guitar zither (also chord zither, fretless zither, [1] [2] mandolin zither [3] or harp zither [4]) is a musical instrument consisting of a sound-box with two sets of unstopped strings. One set of strings is tuned to the diatonic , chromatic , or partially chromatic scale and the other set is tuned to make the various chords in the principal ...
Harmony Company (1939-1974) Stella was an American guitar brand owned by the Oscar Schmidt Company. It was founded around 1899. [1] The Stella brand consists of low and mid-level stringed instruments. Stella guitars were played by notable artists, including Robert Johnson, Lead Belly, Charley Patton, Doc Watson and Willie Nelson [2] who learned ...