ZITHER: stringing help needed please !

Subject: ZITHER: stringing help needed please !
From: GUEST,soliloquise
Date: 16 Oct 08 - 08:43 PM

hello

i picked up a zither on ebay and have cleaned it up. i know nothing of zithers although i have just started playing autoharp. i have restored and played violins amongst other things for years so the wood side of restoration isnt a problem.

some pics below:

the issue i have is strings and guages. can i make my own using piano wire and guitar strings? the sets i have seen are really expensive. i understand that this is a concert zither? do you happen to know the string guages i need? i understand it will be munich tuning i use?

before restoration:

pic

after:

after restoration

isnt it a beauty? german, rosewood veneered, golden oak base, brass inlays all round the body and soundhole.

can you help at all? i really want to learn about these instruments and would welcome contact from any zither players/ autoharp restorers

sam :)

Subject: RE: ZITHER: stringing help needed please !
From: Jack Blandiver
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 04:24 AM

Any amount of info on line. For a flavour of the thing, start with Lotte Landl on You Tube - Here.

Subject: RE: ZITHER: stringing help needed please !
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 11:52 AM

I've decided that if you have spent all those years restoring instruments, then you are probably not that experienced with using the Internet. So I googled 'zither string gauges' and found this site:

http://www.fretlesszithers.com/gauges.html

Copy it and paste it into your URL box and see if it helps. If it doesn't, start over at Google.

You might also talk to somebody at the Chicago Zither Club.

I hope you enjoy your delightful new instrument.

Subject: RE: ZITHER: stringing help needed please !
From: GUEST,leeneia
Date: 17 Oct 08 - 12:31 PM

Well! Insane Beard's link got me started on zither videos at YouTube. The name zither seems to apply to quite a variety of instruments. Look for one with 'Meine Grossmutter' in the title. Her instrument is quite different from the other German-sounding videos.

Soliloquise, your first step must be to figure out which kind you have.