Music: Re: [oddmusic] Found cheap, old diatonic zither....

On Feb 15, 2012, at 4:09 PM, Mats Ã–ljare wrote:
> And i'm not sure what to do with it. First off, what exactly am i supposed to use to tune it? The tuning pegs are square, but a regular drum key is not the right size, i've been using a adjustable wretch which works to some extent but it's still very tricky, and it's even harder by the fact that only part of the pegs are square shaped.

Mats, the pins look like standard zither pins. In the US, at least, these are 5mm, and wedged into a 3/16in (4.75mm) hole. You can find wrenches online for pretty cheap, e.g.

http://windworld.com/products-page/hardware-for-acoustic/zither-pin-turning-wrench/
http://www.harpkit.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=supplies

There are some alternate/non-standard zither pin sizes -- so you might want to check the diameter...

> I'd really prefer not having to get purpose made strings with the "noose" on them just to be able to insert them like that.....

Loop-end strings are pretty common on some instruments, e.g. dulcimers and mandolins. Sites lie Music Makers Kits sell them ready made in various gauges:

http://www.harpkit.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=MK&Category_Code=loopend

Frank Ford's fantastic "Frets.com" talks about how to make them from scratch, or by modifying a ball-end guitar string:

http://www.frets.com/fretspages/musician/Strings/Loops/loops.html

I just found this site, which has a real DIY approach to making loops, and seems to have some good info in general on zithers:

http://www.fretlesszithers.com/loops.html

-g

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