zither repair

Is your zither in need of repair? Do you have questions on how to best maintain your zither, or have advice? Post your questions and advice here.

Moderator: Dave

henrylrjr
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Re: zither repair

Post by henrylrjr »

HI Tom,

Great break down picture. Hope someone adds names of the parts.

Thanks,
henrylrjr
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Dave
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Joined: Tue Aug 30, 2011 10:55 pm
Location: Chestertown, Maryland
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Re: zither repair

Post by Dave »

Tom, thank you for posting the exploded view of the zither. This topic is worthy of a separate thread so, Henry, please see the following link.

viewtopic.php?f=16&t=323

Dave
We do not take humor seriously enough. —Konrad Lorenz
henrylrjr
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Re: zither repair

Post by henrylrjr »

Dave thanks for the link. It is a big help for me in communicating my thoughts since I am totally new to zithers.

best regards,
henry
henrylrjr
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Re: zither repair

Post by henrylrjr »

Hi all,
The restorartion is finally completed and, as soon as I get answers to a post about putting strings on, I'll put on the new Fisoma strings. The reason for this post is a question about Glier zithers. I submitted a post about a year ago asking if my zither is a Glier because it has a carved shell decoration and at that time had only seen the Glier catalog which showed his zithers with a carved shell decoration. Since then I've looked at hundreds of zither pics and none had a shell decoration except for ones identified as Gliers. Can I now safely assume mine is a Glier?

Thanks,
henryrljr
henrylrjr
Posts: 30
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 8:25 pm

Re: zither repair

Post by henrylrjr »

Hi all,
I've posted some pics on a post titled "string replacement".

Regards,
henrylrjr
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: zither repair

Post by Rudy Mueller »

Comments and questions:

Acoustically, is there a difference between having the top of the zither finished (a) high gloss (b) semi-gloss, or (c) matte??

Acoustically, is there an advantage to finishing the bottom, the sounding board at all? i.e., does the bottom surface, spruce or cedar, or whatever, have better resonance "au naturel", or with a finish of ???

Comment: In the Middle Ages, linseed oil gained favor for (because of) its ability to hold pigments in suspension. Hmm.

What is a good finish for the underside of the zither, considering it is the sounding board, the "vocal chord" of the instrument?

Are we restorers in a vacuum?? Please comment.

Rudi
Rudy Mueller
Posts: 603
Joined: Thu Sep 08, 2011 8:33 am
Location: Grafton WI 53024 RMUELLERMKE@GMAIL.COM

Re: zither repair

Post by Rudy Mueller »

The Seith is starting to look pretty good. The Förg, the primary, looks like it it could use a little TLC.

Any comments on care of an acoustic instrument approaching its 100th birthday??

Rudi
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