[For Parts or Restoration] Vintage Oscar Schmidt Guitaro Model 55B Autoharp

This item is preowned / used, but tested in shop to be fully functional unless otherwise noted in the description. Any case, box, manuals, or accessories included will be either shown in the photos or mentioned specifically in the description. Otherwise, you can assume they are not included.

This item is being sold AS-IS for parts or restoration. No returns will be accepted, so please ask any and all questions you may have before buying or making an offer. Happy to do an in-hand run through over the phone if helpful.

Description:
Up for sale is a very cool old autoharp in search of a new lease on life. We took this in on trade a while back with big plans of fixing it up, but there's too many projects to tackle at the moment.

This is a model 55B Guitaro autoharp, made by Oscar Schmidt ... probably 1960's. 24 strings, with posts for a strap that allow for playing in a guitar type posture.

Condition is clearly in need of repair, but all of the parts are present. Several mute felts need adjusting, several key springs need adjusting or replacing. And the strings are shot. But all of the tuning posts are present, and they work (no tuner wrench included). Some finish wear, and maybe some slight moisture damage, but the body is solid and holds the string tension no problem.

Here's some history we tracked down:

A Guitaro is a brand of autoharp constructed to be held like a guitar. Oscar Schmidt-International, Inc. manufactured the Guitaro in the mid-1960s through the early 70s to take advantage of the guitar's popularity in the folk music revival of that era. Other sellers commonly sold it under their own brand names but most or all resellers still called it Guitaro.

The Guitaro design allows use of a shoulder strap, much like a guitar. Due to Guitaro's long body, its 24 strings are necessarily longer than the 36 strings found on Oscar Schmidt-International's chromatic autoharps. Guitaro's resulting lower tones render it suitable for accompaniment, although playing melody with the help of its 15 chord bars may also be possible. Like the autoharp, either finger picks or a flat pick may be used to play Guitaro.

The Guitaro was introduced by Oscar Schmidt-International, Inc., along with the book "Make Wonderful Music with the Guitaro" (registered by the US Copyright Office on June 10, 1964). Designed by Glen Peterson and Henry Ruckner, Guitaro came in two models. The first, model #55, sports a resonator with a soundhole in back. Model #55B having a soundhole in front without a resonator, continued to be manufactured after #55 was discontinued in the early 1970s. Maybelle Carter released a single called Strumming My Guitaro in 1964. The song was written by Harlan Howard and recorded in Oct. 1964 in Nashville TN.