new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
- robby
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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- Joined: Mon May 14, 2007 6:31 am
new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
so many of you might know of the omnichord, as i have for a while and liked the concept idea of this instrument but it always seemed like a cheap piece of 80s tech to me (but that is also the magic of it for some i guess) although they have risen in prices money wise in the past years since alot of indi and alternative bands have been picking them up.
heres a picture of the omnichord:
wel so long story short i was whatching a youtube video on the history of the omnichord and the guy said its based on an autoharp. so i looked it up and hadn't seen or heard of this instrument and since i was often wanting my guitar to sound lika a harp by using pichshifting delay and reverse reverb here i had a harp that was easy to learn to play and it didnt seem like a cheap piece of 80s tech but a high end instrument. so i picked one up! its so awsome! it has a pickup so i can run it through all my guitar effects, only down side is it doesnt have all the chords as an omnichord does, some are missing, but most of them are there so not a big issue.
so here it is, my new baby:
PS: maybe i should explain how it works as even if you might be familiar with the omnichord or not, it needs some explaining.
so it has 30 string (i think) almost all notes from 3 octaves, so you could play it like a harp, although im guessing its harder since the strings are closer together and thats not what it was intended for. Each button is a chord, there are minor, major and 7 chords. so if you press a button these felt pieces are pushed down on the strings and mute the strings that do not belong in the chord, so basically you are playing a lot of dead notes but its still enough notes to make it sound full and resonant, a very magical sound. and yeah its super easy to play. if you are a singer and have always wanted to acompany your voice but have struggled with learning basic chords on guitar this is the instrument for you.
heres a picture of the omnichord:
wel so long story short i was whatching a youtube video on the history of the omnichord and the guy said its based on an autoharp. so i looked it up and hadn't seen or heard of this instrument and since i was often wanting my guitar to sound lika a harp by using pichshifting delay and reverse reverb here i had a harp that was easy to learn to play and it didnt seem like a cheap piece of 80s tech but a high end instrument. so i picked one up! its so awsome! it has a pickup so i can run it through all my guitar effects, only down side is it doesnt have all the chords as an omnichord does, some are missing, but most of them are there so not a big issue.
so here it is, my new baby:
PS: maybe i should explain how it works as even if you might be familiar with the omnichord or not, it needs some explaining.
so it has 30 string (i think) almost all notes from 3 octaves, so you could play it like a harp, although im guessing its harder since the strings are closer together and thats not what it was intended for. Each button is a chord, there are minor, major and 7 chords. so if you press a button these felt pieces are pushed down on the strings and mute the strings that do not belong in the chord, so basically you are playing a lot of dead notes but its still enough notes to make it sound full and resonant, a very magical sound. and yeah its super easy to play. if you are a singer and have always wanted to acompany your voice but have struggled with learning basic chords on guitar this is the instrument for you.
- UlricvonCatalyst
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
John Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) is a famous auto-harp user, whereas the Omnichord will forever be associated with Beautify Junkyards in my book.
Both are interesting instruments, but I'd say the connection between them is pretty tenuous.
Both are interesting instruments, but I'd say the connection between them is pretty tenuous.
- Larry Mal
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
Yeah he is.UlricvonCatalyst wrote: ↑Wed Apr 27, 2022 10:58 pmJohn Sebastian (Lovin' Spoonful) is a famous auto-harp user...
Back in those days, everyone knew that if you were talking about Destiny's Child, you were talking about Beyonce, LaTavia, LeToya, and Larry.
- luau
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
Oh, fun. My mother's SO is a piano technician and the other day while he was showing me a hammered dulcimer he had just restrung, I spied an autoharp in his shop and had a quick go on it. Enjoy!
- JackFawkes
- PAT. # 2.972.923
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
Very neat! Weirdly, you reminded me of a distant and near forgotten childhood memory that my first grade teacher had an autoharp that she taught us about and played a couple times... I was probably around 8, so that was roughly 30 years ago!
Jack
Jack
- fuzzjunkie
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
My mom had an autoharp. I would play it as a child and always loved the sound.
Echo and the Bunnymen used an autoharp on Killing Moon, and REM used autoharp on a couple of songs back in the ‘80s.
Echo and the Bunnymen used an autoharp on Killing Moon, and REM used autoharp on a couple of songs back in the ‘80s.
- Steadyriot.
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
Way cool! I’m far from a country guy but somehow June Carter is the first thing that comes to mind when seeing autoharps. Would love to futz around with one some day.
"If someone duetted with a Bald Eagle, they could rule the Country charts from here to eternity." ~shadowplay
- Caddy65
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
I played mandolin and sang lead in a very good bluegrass band back in the late 70’s through the 80’s. We played festivals and shows that also included many big name bands and people (many in the bluegrass and/or the country music Halls Of Fame. There were a good number of them that had someone playing an autoharp. I think they sound great. Those and hammered dulcimers I think sound really nice.
- SignoftheDragon
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Re: new Instrument day! *AUTOPHARP*
My mom also played an Autoharp- I have it now, and will always treasure it.
The sound for me has generally been ruined by the '90s abomination band Third Eye Blind's master-radio-earworm-soulsuck track 'How's it gonna be?'
But I still dig it out now and then to try to get around that. Some 'Ana Ng' by They Might Be Giants can make me forget for a while.
Bought my daughter one for Christmas last year, but we're not on speaking terms at the moment so I haven't heard her play it.
The sound for me has generally been ruined by the '90s abomination band Third Eye Blind's master-radio-earworm-soulsuck track 'How's it gonna be?'
But I still dig it out now and then to try to get around that. Some 'Ana Ng' by They Might Be Giants can make me forget for a while.
Bought my daughter one for Christmas last year, but we're not on speaking terms at the moment so I haven't heard her play it.