Pickups

Oscar Schmidt makes a pickup for their 21-bar autoharps. The chord bar holders on the 21-bar models are made with a recess on their underside to take the pickup and the installation is not difficult. The pickup can be used on 15-bar autoharps, but some adaptations will have to be made. (See section 3.4 for the installation istructions.)

There are also a few models available with pre-installed pickups. The basic pickup element is the same as the retrofit version, but the electronics are installed in a recess in the side of the instrument and include a rudimentary EQ. Care must be used in handling these instruments because the volume control pot is easily broken by a moderate blow to the knob. Be sure to include some padding in your case on either side of the controls in order to protect this knob from riding on the side of the case with the full weight of the instrument on top of it. Oscar Schmidt is coming out with a new case designed with this in mind.

Straps & Strap Buttons

Many autoharp players cradle the instrument in their arms and do not use a strap at all. For those who do use a strap, there are two basic styles, the traditional simple strap and the ``slider'' strap. This latter is a more recent design, intended to equalize the distribution of weight on the player's back. It is a little more complicated to put on, but does indeed accomplish a more even weight distribution.

Different autoharp players have different preferences for their strap button locations, and we do not have a universal reccomendation for them. The most common setup is with the buttons either on the top or the side at the locations indicated by the arrows in the following illustration:

Another setup we saw recently that makes a lot of sense is to replace the two lower rubber feet on the bottom of the instrument with straplocks. This usage requires an arm to be always in use, but makes for a very stable holding position that seems to work quite well, and if you are not going to lay the instrument flat on a table, it is not necessary for the feet to be of rubber.

In the end, each player must decide where they want their strap buttons and we will be happy to install them for you.

Arnold M.J. Hennig
Elderly Instruments Repair Dept.
April, 2003