The first Zither I bought from ebay is still on its way.
It is a Saxon Musikinstrumenten Schuster and Co Markneuenkirchen.
I have got the Framus now but would like to know if the above is a good brand in general?
Pete

Hi Pete - mine is a Schuster also. I've had some very positive comments on it since I got it back in 2014.

If you use the Search feature on the forum, you'll find several references to Schuster. As Schuster was the name of a Markneukirchen company (a workshop), as well as a family of instrument makers, there's probably a wide variance in quality of "Schuster" instruments.

How 'bout posting some photos of the one you found on eBay? Even just a link to the old eBay auction page would help. Then we could make more detailed comments.

Tom M.

Wish I had this problem.

Treat 'em like a baby, covered lightly in a low dust, moderate environment, away from windows, drafts, direct sunlight, etc and they'll both serve you well. If you are in a dry climate, you may want to consider some kind of humidifier; I've never had rust/oxidation problems on the strings.

Anyone have more suggestions/comments on these thoughts?

Rudi

Now I have the problem.

Our daughter in Mainz purchased a Meinel and Herold Klingenthal (supposedly "top Zustand") for Father's Day, which her son should bring with him next Saturday (June 23), as our annual German invasion begins (6/23/18 to 8/14/18). Grand kids, Carl Schurz Park, Moose Lake, Stone Bank....Let the good times roll...

Good times for Oma and Opa. I'll check in as the time permits.

Rudi

Tom.
Sorry I did not get back to you.
This is what they sent me.
I demanded a full refund and with a lot of fuss eventually got one.
It is a disgrace.
They did not show pictures of the back of it.
Now i know why!
But now I also have my beautiful Meinel which makes up for all the ärger.
Pete
https://flic.kr/p/27htN9f
https://flic.kr/p/25C2iEf

The seller meant it when he/she said "Top Zustand"!

Rudi

What did you pay for this instrument , I presume you got from eBay? Is the fret board secure and the top secure, and all the pins in place and the mechanic working? Maybe it would be a handsome instrument after a professional refurbishment if you didn't spend too much on it initially.

Instrument certainly looks sad.

Dono.
I paid £100 for it including post from ebay.
All pins are there, the machines are all working and the fret board is attached.
In order to repair this, it would have to have the top completely removed and also the bridge.
The top ia badly warped and would take many hours of work with jigs to remove tge warps.
It would then have to be re glued back together.A new top would maybe be the answer.
It is impossible at the moment to bend it back to shape.
I would take a guess that this instrument has been hanging on a wall somewhere for decades.
I may, one day carefully strip it down to its basics.
Top and bottom off to see how a zither is made.
I could then use the hardware to make my own.
But I dont know at the moment where to get zither frets from.
Pete