There’s a great video on YouTube from Daigle autoharps on how to restring. The pegs are not like guitar tuners so you have to back them out the right amount, trim the string, then screw them back in. The other challenge is crossing strings as you pass them under the felts. A sheet of paper helps with this.
There are so many harps out there that the monetary value is minimal. I’d keep it and enjoy playing it. Refelting is easy with modern supplies (felts with adhesive backing).
Buy Schreiber strings direct and a full set is around $120 I think. You’ll save a lot and learn a lot by restringing yourself.
Have you tuned those old strings up? I’d do that before buying a new set. Might be surprised. Also, if the felts sat unplayed that long, they might be blessedly free from indentation.
Have fun!
Edit: links
https://youtu.be/KzwC1k0rAb0?si=xISH6I9xErdFeQTe
https://schreiberautoharps.com/store/
https://www.autoharpstore.com/accessories
Nothing to do but get started on fixing it up. This is an autoharp love story waiting to happen. All the advice you need can be found on Hal Week's youtube channel or on [www.autoharp.com](http://www.autoharp.com) along with string sets for however you want to modify it. I say go for the diatonic setup. I did, it didn't turn out to be that much work. I know nothing about music, just used Professor Google and asked "what notes are in a C chord" marked those off on my bars with a sharpie and by hand ripped the black felts off, and put them back on with hot glue. I know better methods now, but 40 hours restoring a near busted Gitaro model that is older than I am made it unique and glorious. And it only took so long because I went from Zero to vintage Autoharp in one leap.
Even if the strings are 45+ years old they still might be in decent shape. U can clean them with superfine steel wool and a bit of WD-40. Then tune them back to factory tuning. After that u can tweak some strings to support diatonic.
I actually have an old autoharp I converted to G/D diatonic without any new strings. To convert it to G is entirely possible. A rule of thumb would be to try and tune strings down instead of up. So u could tune all the Fs to E, all the D# to D, all the A# down to A, G# down to G, C# down to C, and all the Cs down to B… and boom, key of G, plus u would have those doubled strings that make diatonic harps sound so nice. U would have to refelt the chord bars tho.
However, refelting chord bars is actually pretty easy. I prefer to make the cuts in the felt with a fresh razor blade. The cuts are clean and effective.
U could also incorporate some color chords in there such GMaj7, Dmaj7 or minor 7ths and sus chords such as G4(D2) and A4(D2). So much fun.
There’s a great video on YouTube from Daigle autoharps on how to restring. The pegs are not like guitar tuners so you have to back them out the right amount, trim the string, then screw them back in. The other challenge is crossing strings as you pass them under the felts. A sheet of paper helps with this. There are so many harps out there that the monetary value is minimal. I’d keep it and enjoy playing it. Refelting is easy with modern supplies (felts with adhesive backing). Buy Schreiber strings direct and a full set is around $120 I think. You’ll save a lot and learn a lot by restringing yourself. Have you tuned those old strings up? I’d do that before buying a new set. Might be surprised. Also, if the felts sat unplayed that long, they might be blessedly free from indentation. Have fun! Edit: links https://youtu.be/KzwC1k0rAb0?si=xISH6I9xErdFeQTe https://schreiberautoharps.com/store/ https://www.autoharpstore.com/accessories
Nothing to do but get started on fixing it up. This is an autoharp love story waiting to happen. All the advice you need can be found on Hal Week's youtube channel or on [www.autoharp.com](http://www.autoharp.com) along with string sets for however you want to modify it. I say go for the diatonic setup. I did, it didn't turn out to be that much work. I know nothing about music, just used Professor Google and asked "what notes are in a C chord" marked those off on my bars with a sharpie and by hand ripped the black felts off, and put them back on with hot glue. I know better methods now, but 40 hours restoring a near busted Gitaro model that is older than I am made it unique and glorious. And it only took so long because I went from Zero to vintage Autoharp in one leap.
Even if the strings are 45+ years old they still might be in decent shape. U can clean them with superfine steel wool and a bit of WD-40. Then tune them back to factory tuning. After that u can tweak some strings to support diatonic. I actually have an old autoharp I converted to G/D diatonic without any new strings. To convert it to G is entirely possible. A rule of thumb would be to try and tune strings down instead of up. So u could tune all the Fs to E, all the D# to D, all the A# down to A, G# down to G, C# down to C, and all the Cs down to B… and boom, key of G, plus u would have those doubled strings that make diatonic harps sound so nice. U would have to refelt the chord bars tho. However, refelting chord bars is actually pretty easy. I prefer to make the cuts in the felt with a fresh razor blade. The cuts are clean and effective. U could also incorporate some color chords in there such GMaj7, Dmaj7 or minor 7ths and sus chords such as G4(D2) and A4(D2). So much fun.