Autoharp OS15B Summary
This 15-chord autoharp plays in seven different keys. The traditional button configuration makes it easy to learn and to continue to play for years to come. This is one of our most popular models...
Unique Design
The front honey-colored sunburst finish gives this autoharp an attractive look with a classic touch.
Gloss Finish
The gloss finish not only provides an added layer of protection, but it also affects the vibrations, creating a slightly lower sound.
High Quality Material
From the spruce top to the maple back, you can be assured that this autoharp will last. It is built for added strength. The select spruce, which is a laminated sheet of spruce wood, resists splitting and cracking. The lengthwise grains are straight, close and dense which provide excellent support.
Dual Tone Design
The back of the body is made with select maple wood, designed for strength and optimal support. The backside also features a beautiful sunburst design.
Incredible Strength
The pin blocks in many of the finest autoharps consist of hard rock maple for extra strength. The pin blocks are laminated 10 ply rock maple pin blocks meaning they are specially coated for extra strength. The purpose of the pin block is to firmly hold the tuning pins in place where the strings are attached. The added strength of the laminated rock maple ensures that everything will stay in the right place.
Multiple layers of maple laminations are cross-banded using a special high frequency, waterproof gluing process. Reversing the grain direction on each layer of lamination yields incredible strength and the high-frequency waterproof glue seals the laminations protecting the pin block from changes in the relative humidity.
The Autoharp, like the piano, is a tempered scale, so the same string is used in several chords, even when perfectly in tune in one chord may sound slightly sharp or flat in another. Over time as strings loosen, use fine tuning to tighten so it can reach its limits. The first twang of a string is higher and the tone settles in after a second. Turn the tuner to 442 and attach the clip to the middle peg.
Oscar Schmidt Original
What's in a name? Quality, history, and tradition. Our Autoharp is the original, with over 100 years of history behind it. A wide variety to choose from. Oscar Schmidt is truly the original and only complete source for the Autoharp. Premium woods, quality hardware, and modest prices create an ideal instrument. Each is inspected and adjusted in the USA by a skilled technician, your assurance for smooth fret ends, precision low action and resonant sound quality. Unequaled standards, easy playing comfort, and tone response create the perfect value.
Accessories Included
Tuning Wrench
Assortment of Picks
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History
“An American instrument of American invention.”
The Autoharp is one of the few musical instruments that can claim to be truly American in origin.
Invented in 1881 and patented in 1882, the Autoharp has had a remarkable hundred-year history. After being proclaimed “the nation’s favorite musical instrument” and then nearly fading into obscurity, the Autoharp has taken its manufactures on an endless roller coaster of ups and downs. As a nineteenth-century parlor room favorite, it was finally replaced in popularity by the phonograph. The Autoharp did not die. It retreated to the mountains where it underwent a metamorphosis from a parlor instrument to a folk instrument. From there it came out into our schools to become a classroom feature and finally has emerged as a popular instrument for the serious musician.
