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Johann Jobst Zither Restored

Posted: Thu Sep 01, 2011 9:12 pm
by Dave
This zither was once owned by a member of the Baltimore Zither Club. It had been unplayed and in storage for decades. The maker is Johann Jobst, an early zither maker in Graz, Austria. As well as being a zither maker, he was an innovator and is credited with introducing the "luft resonance" port to the zither. This feature can be seen to the left of the instrument's saddle.

To be restored, I sent this instrument to Sasha Radicic, a zither and guitar builder in St. Louis, Missouri. After so many years of neglect, the instrument suffered from a number of condition issues. There were over 30" of cracks on the instrument's surface, the saddle was cracked, tuning pins were loose, etc.

The before and after photos shown below illustrate how Sasha was able to transform this zither. After so many years of neglect, it certainly is a joy to bring this zither back to the table. For your zither repair needs, I highly recommend Sasha. His work is first-rate and his stated policy is "promise silver, but deliver gold."

Sasha's web site is located at http://www.radicic-guitar-zither.com/