Everyone should be aware that in the world of the autoharp - as in many other worlds - opinions differ on a lot of things, and very little is set in stone. So when people start saying things like
"the key purpose of the autoharp is to be a genuinely egalitarian
non-exclusive easy to play folk instrument" you have to wonder if they have ever heard the autoharp played by people like Patrick Couton or Mike Fenton. Everything is easy to play if you play easy music on it. Similarly with string changes. I have had my F/C D'Aigle restrung after four years and there is a VERY noticeable difference. Many luthiers will tell you this is about the time that you should play the same set of strings, but I do know good players who restring totally every six months. Yet the afore-mentioned Mike Fenton insists you should re-string a harp as often as you restring a piano. PLease - nobody can be prescriptive about the autoharp. If it works for you, then thats the way to do it.