Neuner & Hornsteiner Prime Zither

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rmt
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Neuner & Hornsteiner Prime Zither

Post by rmt »

A recently cleaned and re-strung Neuner & Hornsteiner prime zither in my collection. Unusual, in my limited experience, in having a full complement of 42 strings. The fretboard strings have a short "mensur", or speaking length, of 39cm. The lack of a raised handrest makes this instrument difficult to play. Using what little handrest there is causes unwanted damping of the free strings. To avoid this and still have right hand stability I must employ the obsolete technique of planting the 5th finger firmly along the right edge. Awkward for me as I have been using the 4th and 5th fingers together, as recommended by Tomy Temerson in Davenport, IA.
I'd welcome any further information or thoughts about this zither or its maker from others.
Richard
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Dave
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Re: Neuner & Hornsteiner Prime Zither

Post by Dave »

Richard, nice work! Now that it's cleaned and has new strings, how does it sound? I've noticed on very early zithers that the spacing of the open strings is greater than on newer models. How does your compare?

This entry for Mittenwald provides details regarding the maker of your instrument and was published in the 1911 edition of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians.

MITTENWALD. A small town in the southern part of the Bavarian Alps, standing almost midway between Munich and Innsbruck, and environed by Partenkirchen, Ammergau, and Bozen.

About the middle of the sixteenth century, Mittenwald, owing to its proximity to Italy, awoke to the developing art of violin-making, and later the Mittenwalders came under the spell of the strange Jacobus Stainer, who came wandering through the woods from Absam near Innsbruck in search of suitable timber for his violins. One boy, by name Matthias Klotz, was so greatly interested in all he heard of the art, that he persuaded his father—Urbino Klotz— to allow him to learn. Authorities differ as to who was Matthias Klotz's master. It is generally accepted that he studied with his countryman Jacobus Stainer, who was at the zenith of his career when Matthias Klotz was a boy. He is also stated to have been a pupil of Nicolas Amati in Cremona, but his relations with either of these masters are not very clearly defined. It is not improbable that he may have received some instruction from both of them; more probably from Jacobus Stainer. In 1684, the year Nicolas Amati died in Cremona, Matthias Klotz commenced work in his native town. He energetically taught his fellow-citizens, who were glad of work—now that the annual fair, which in 1487 had been transferred to Mittenwald, had returned to Bozen—and established an educational school for violin-making in imitation of the Italians. His three sons, George, Sebastian, and Joseph, all followed their father's footsteps, as did also fourteen other members of the Klotz family, extending over a period of more than 200 years. Sebastian— son of Matthias—was the best maker of the family. The industry which Matthias Klotz initiated has gradually grown from century to century, though its characteristics have utterly changed. The old days of individual makers who sallied forth with their packs on their backs, selling their productions at the nearest markets, have passed away, instead, these violin makers have become merged into the united body of men who work for the large wholesale manufacturing firms which constitute the Mittenwald industry of the present day. The two most important existing factories are those of J. A. Baader & Co., and Neuner & Hornsteiner, which has recently become Altenoder & Neuner.

The amalgamation of the houses of Hornsteiner k Neuner was most happy, for both families have been intimately connected with the violinmaking of the past. The Hornsteiners—who outnumbered the Klotz family—held an excellent position as individual makers for over a century. The best maker of the family was Matthias II., who worked between 1765 and 1793. The Neuners' connection dates as far back as the 18th century. Johann Neuner (Jl. 1760-64)—the first fiddle maker of the name—was amongst those pioneers who took their work as far as Russia for sale. After him came Matthias Neuner, who founded the manufacturing firm of Neuner & Co. in 1812. His son, who was Burgmeister of Mittenwald, became partner in the firm when it joined hands with the Hornsteiners. The factory now employs over 200 workmen, and yearly sends from 15,000 to 20,000 violins, guitars, and zithers to all parts of the world. The name of Baader has been not less intimately associated with violin-making than those of Hornsteiner & Neuner. The firm was founded by Johann Baader in 1770, he was himself an excellent maker, and gave Johann Baptists Reiter—one of Mittenwald's most distinguished makers—his first instruction in violin-making. Herr Reiter afterwards went to Wiirtemberg, where he became one of Jean Vauchel's best pupils. On his return to Mittenwald he was made director of the Mittenwald school, which instructs young students in the art of violin-making, and is under Government control. Medals and diplomas were awarded for the violins of Johann Reiter both in Paris and Vienna; he died January 22, 1899. His son is at present almost the only successful individual maker in Mittenwald. His work is of the most finished type, and he preserves the model and style of his father's master, Jean Vauchel. (A complete list of Mittenwald makers, past and present, is to be found in Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher, by W. L. von Lutgendorff. Frankfurt, 1904.) Out of eighteen hundred Mittenwalders quite five hundred are violin makers, chiefly working for the factories. Some of the workers make the different portions of the violins, etc., at their homes, and take them to the factories to be put together, but the greater number work in the factories entirely. The manner of procedure is to allot certain sections of the instrument to each workshop. After the wood has been sawn into planks and stored for drying purposes for about six years it is taken to the first workshop, where the outline of some famous Italian maker's model is marked with a pencil, and cut out with a mechanical fret-saw. From here it passes to the scooping room, where the necessary thicknesses of back and belly are scooped out; next the f holes are pierced. The ribs are planed to the exact thickness by one set of men, while others cut the strips into the proper lengths. Then comes the bending of the ribs by means of heated irons to the shape of the mould, and so on from one workshop to another until the completed instrument is sent out, ready for use, at the price of about 10s. or less. There has recently been introduced a new system for quickly drying the wood; this is done by means of dipping it in certain acids, but it is hardly a successful practice, as the violins so made rarely last any length of time, and as a rule acquire a most unpleasant smell. (Vom Fels zum Meer, Mittenwald und seine Geigenmacher; Emma Brewer's Mittenwald in the Girl's Own Paper, Nov., Dec. 1888, Feb. and March 1889; H. R. Haweis's Old Violins; Von Lutgendorff's Die Geigen- und Lautenmacher.) E. H-a.
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rmt
Posts: 2
Joined: Tue Oct 04, 2011 1:19 pm

Re: Neuner & Hornsteiner Prime Zither

Post by rmt »

Thanks! That's a lot of good information. The open strings are, as you suggest, slightly farther apart than with the modern zither. A small fraction of a millimeter, but it is noticeable when spanning wide-spaced chords. As to the sound, and of course this is subjective opinion, I find it sweet sounding if a bit tinkly in the mid-range, thin and strident in the higher fretboard area, and tubby in the contra-bass free strings.
Perhaps, given the fretboard dimensions, this instrument could be converted to a quint zither. I'll consider that if and when I reach the point of expanding my horizons to other members of the zither family.
Richard
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