One of the last letters from Schwarzer Zither factory

Do you have an item of historical interest to share with the zither community? Did you have an ancestor that played the zither? This is the place to share your stories.

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DanSymonds
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Joined: Wed Mar 04, 2015 12:19 pm

One of the last letters from Schwarzer Zither factory

Post by DanSymonds »

I posted this before but the link to the Fretboard Journal doesn't open this anymore. I find it fascinating.
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kenbloom
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Re: One of the last letters from Schwarzer Zither factory

Post by kenbloom »

What a great insight into a bygone era. I think it's really remarkable that the company lasted as long as it did, through two world wars. Pays great hommage to to Franz Shwarzer's original idea and energy. Thanks for posting.

Ken Bloom
http://www.bpweddulcimer.org
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Dave
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Re: One of the last letters from Schwarzer Zither factory

Post by Dave »

Thanks for posting this. I have two of Albert Hesses's letters, dated ten years prior, but only one side of the conversation.
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We do not take humor seriously enough. —Konrad Lorenz
DanSymonds
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Re: One of the last letters from Schwarzer Zither factory

Post by DanSymonds »

An interesting aside, $36 worth of strings in 1951 would be $361 in 2019. Not everything was cheaper "back in the day". Schwarzer (or Albert as the case may be) did make beautiful strings. I have been able to obtain some of their vintage strings (unused) and they have a wonderful bright tone, but of course they are metal wound with a different timbre than today's nylon wound and don't mix (at least in the begleit). Their old bass strings still have a wonderful sound on the old instruments and I still use these after cleaning them with steel wool wherever possible. Many of their bass strings were much lower than today's strings in pitch, and I rather like this, but it would not be to everyone's taste.
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