The autoharp was invented in the late 19th century by Charles F. Zimmermann, a German immigrant from Philadelphia. It is a stringed instrument, and despite its name, the autoharp is not a harp. In fact, this instrument is a chordal zither with 36 steel strings stretched over a resonator. It has a series of chord strips that, when pressed, will mute all the strings except those that form the desired chord. So you can easily play chords. It’s the perfect tool to give your music a subtle, understated shape.
VERSION 3 :
Our latest version of Autoharp version 3 is more than just an update to an older version. Instead, we’ve re-recorded almost everything, replaced old sounds, and implemented a whole host of new features in Autoharp 3. So now you can sound even more realistic and achieve more complex results. We recorded each of the 36 Autoharp strings in five different articulations to create different sound combinations. There are four plucked articulations (finger, hammer, muted, vintage), and we closed the Autoharp with a violin bow. Bowed articulation creates a distinct and unique sound, and you can, for example, add subdued sounds to bowed articulation. The main goal was to mimic the typical sound of an autoharp. For this purpose, we have specially developed a new strumming engine. In a step sequencer, you can decide, for each step, whether you want to play a note or not, or whether you want to play an autoharp with dead notes. Of course, all this can be programmed dynamically. But to achieve that typical autoharp feel, we have included a playing speed control that determines at what tempo the individual action should occur: from fully quantized to almost glissando. And this is what creates a very realistic impression of the autoharp accompaniment. In addition, we have also adopted the unique glissando function of our large harp and tremolo, known from Cinematique Instruments. at what tempo an individual action should take place: from fully quantized to almost glissando. And this is what creates a very realistic impression of the autoharp accompaniment. In addition, we have also adopted the unique glissando function of our large harp and tremolo, known from Cinematique Instruments. at what tempo an individual action should take place: from fully quantized to almost glissando. And this is what creates a very realistic impression of the autoharp accompaniment. In addition, we have also adopted the unique glissando function of our large harp and tremolo, known from Cinematique Instruments.
THIS IS WHAT YOU GET
Organic sound
We focused on recording the music in a very realistic and organic way. We recorded all the main articulations with a cold condenser in four circles and three speed layers.
Glissando
This glissando mode is unique and ideal for autoharp sounds.
Strumming Engine
This highly realistic strumming companion provides strumming notes and dead notes. A unique feature is the strike speed slider, which simulates the speed of the hand movement.
Eight Reverb Types
In addition to several different reverb sizes, you get special types such as “Infinite” and “Ghost”.
Lots of articulations
We have recorded many different and unique articulations to give you a wide range of sonic possibilities. Each one is useful for different styles of music:
- Finger: pluck the strings with your fingers.
- Hammer: plays with a pianoforte hammer.
- Vintage: Legacy of previous versions of Autoharp.
- Muted: muting the strings – very cool and pizzicato
-like – Bowed: playing the autoharp with a violin bow. - Strumming/dead notes: specially recorded for the feel of playing an autoharp.