collectors of unusual old instruments

Subject: collectors of unusual old instruments
From: Sharon
Date: 24 Jun 97 - 09:20 AM

I love scouring the antique shoppes and rummage sales looking for an instrument so obscure that nobody else wants it. Have found 100 year old hammered dulcimer, unknown one-stringer, zithers... and so on. What is your most interesting instrument that you have discovered?

Subject: RE: collectors of unusual old instruments
From: Bert Hansell
Date: 24 Jun 97 - 10:56 AM

I have a Santur which I bought in Shiraz Iran. Also, when I was in Bahrain I had an Oud custom made by on old guy who lived in Muharraq.
Problem is, I am renovating an old house and don't have any spare cash so I have to let a lot of stuff go.
Bert.

Subject: RE: collectors of unusual old instruments
From: Bill D
Date: 24 Jun 97 - 12:38 PM

well........I have 4 working autoharps...my wife plays zither (getting pretty good, too!)....I have a ukelin(needs a 'little' work)which is bowed for the tune and plucked for the chords...a Marx Pianophone (needs more work)(little hammer bars strike chords as you pluck simple tunes ala a zither)...one Autoharp is a model 2 1/2 Oscar Schmidt (small) and one is a genuine Zimmerman from the turn of the century! It has only a few chord bars, but they have 'shifters' on them to allow playing the minor & 7th on the same bar.It is in working condition and a real treasure! The guy in the antique shop told me it was a 'zither'-and he had to have $27 for it...*wink*

I knew someone years ago who had a working tremeloa...weird! And I know people with all sorts of Marxophones and related stuff....

Subject: RE: collectors of unusual old instruments
From: sharon
Date: 24 Jun 97 - 02:11 PM

I have one of the Marx pianophones. there were a bunch of instruments which came out at that time - all variations of the zither. Trouble is, the instruction manual says it is to be played with little spring hammer, but no hammer came with it. I just saw another in an antique shop yesterday, without the little hammer. Wish I could find one.