Does anyone have experience fixing up old autoharps? [View all]

[eShirl]

So I bought this used autoharp off a guy through Craigslist for $50. Oscar Schmidt, 15 chord. It's out of tune so I clip on my little ukulele electronic tuner and use that to tune each and every one of those goddamn strings. I hold down the button for C major, strum it, and some of the notes are in the c major scale but some are definitely not!

Are these things a big hassle to fix?
(With the felt pads and the whole chord mechanism.)

There's a good local luthier, who's worth what he charges in labor, but I'm cheap and feeling like I've spent as much as I want to on this already. Thinking, if nothing else I could use the body and make a rustic kalimba or something...

(I'm not really a musician, I just like to screw around with various musical instruments once in a while for my own amusement.)