For those who love changing strings

A harp mandolin on Ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/40373506620...Cclp%3A2047675

Not the highest workmanship if I can tell from the photos. Also hard to tell but it looks like purfling might be painted on or even drawn with a Sharpie. Then again, kind of cool in an insane way.

Less than half an hour to go and not up to the cost of just the tuners. Obviously posted by the builder, who’s too modest to put his or her name on this mutliply-innovative creature.. Wouldn’t call the craftsmanship very primitive, but it does appear to have a double top at least around the ‘f’ holes. Description shows familiarity with the known elements of lutherie so I’m reminded of the famous Musical Joke - something one might do when cynical about one’s audience.
Personally, FWIW, I think it’s amazingly clumsy in overall design, and likely to miss the mark on the sympathetic strings for lack of resonator volume, but a high mark for novelty.

There have been precursors to this design primarily Chris Knutsen: https://www.harpguitars.net/knutsen/mandolins.htm. A d also the Larson Brothers Dyer harp in struments.

Many of these did not have the harp strings but there are a few examples that did.

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Here’s the eBay one:

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lt does look like it has a double top.

I have an earlier eBay harp mandolin by the same builder. It's sort of the MidMo/Big Muddy of harp mandolins: good quality build with an emphasis on simplicity. The tone is all right although I haven't worked with it enough to figure out what to do with the bass strings. I put in a snipe bid on this latest one but I guess it wasn't high enough.

There might be one or two ballo liscio pieces in my mandolin/guitar duo's repertoire that could use a little embellishment from the harp side of the instrument.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jim Garber

There have been precursors to this design primarily Chris Knutsen: https://www.harpguitars.net/knutsen/mandolins.htm. A d also the Larson Brothers Dyer harp in struments.

Many of these did not have the harp strings but there are a few examples that did.

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I remember seeing 2 of the Gibson variety of this type of harp guitar hanging on the wall of Eldon Stutzman’s basement in the early 70’s. Monstrosities.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Bill McCall

I remember seeing 2 of the Gibson variety of this type of harp guitar hanging on the wall of Eldon Stutzman’s basement in the early 70’s. Monstrosities.

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One of them's still there, displayed over the fireplace in Eldon's son Dave's showroom. Run through the opening website slide show and you'll see it.

I owned a modern harp mandolin made by British luthier Stephen Sedgwick that was just a blast to play (even if - or maybe because - I was never quite sure what to do with it!). I've lost contact with the fellow I sold it to ... would love to know where it's residing these days.

-Chris

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