We had the opportunity to spend some time with Andreas Waldschütz during Easter week of April 2013. Andreas' shop is just off of Bavarian state highway 472 (which runs from Bad Tölz to Miesbach), at "Thalmühl 1", Warngau, east of Tegernsee. "Thalmühl" street is what we Americans would call a farmer's lane, off of 472, about 3-4 km west of Miesbach. The entrance to his facility is around the back of a large building, on the lower level. GPS was helpful.

Andreas was a gracious host, taking time to explain his entire operation, from new violin construction to zither restoration. Those are about 25 restored zithers on the rack in the accompanying photo. In addition and not shown, there were also two stacks of zithers in cases, including a Kerschensteiner, and a Schwarzer Perfecta, both beautifully restored.

With no problems at all, Andreas was able to provide two stimmschlüsseln, one 4.5, and the other 4.8 mm, both carefully checked by micrometer. See photo. These ended up in Scotland, at the home of a daughter of a Wisconsin zither player. Andreas has notes (Zither 1,2,3) and CD's available, as well all kinds of accessories and strings.

If you are traveling to Bavaria and get to the Miesbach area, this would be a very worth while visit to consider. Call ahead though to confirm; we were lucky to find his shop open during Easter week, when many German businesses are closed for the holiday. The drive around the Tegernsee, just to the west, was quintessential.

Andreas' website is http://www.der-geigenmacher.de.

Rudy Mueller