| Luthier's Staff Bowed Psalteries |
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 Luthier's Staff Bowed Psalteries This is somewhat of a mystery to me, even though the one I have has a sticker that says:
Bowed Psaltery Model BP300 Ser.# 514 Date: 12/95 Sydney Martin, Luthier 520A South Lincoln Avenue, Loveland, Colorado, 80537 (Earlier psalteries have the address as 1109 SW 31st St., Loveland.) One alert reader found a half-inch ad for "Luthier's Staff" in an old telephone book. Sorry, I've lost track of it. But the example I've seen that was apparently kit-built includes this information about the store on the label:
Handcrafted Instruments and Kits Stringed Instrument Repair Private Music Lessons and Group [something else that is too blurred to read in the photo] TBH, the example I own came from Goodwill. It's the one at the top of the page. I got it pretty cheap - my guess is that no one else wanted to bid on what was essentially an unknown quantity. I've since seen three for sale online, one dated 1994; I can't see the dates on the other two. All four I've seen or seen photos of have the same proportion and 25 strings. Mine has the strings for the "natural" notes labeled from F to D The "accidental" (sharp or flat) strings are not labeled. Others I've seen do not have the labels at all. Mine seems to have a solid cedar face and good craftsmanship overall, even it it's not "fancy." Size is 20.5" x 7 7/8" x 2 5/8" (counting the hitch pins and tuning pegs). Apparently there was also a shorter "soprano" version, with strings from C4 to D6, but I have not seen one. Tonehole shapes differ. The one with the decal below is the one that seems to be kit-built, based on a different label and the inclusion of an "assembly" instruction sheet.   
If you see a 25-string bowed psaltery that you think might be a Luthier's Staff instrument, look at the tuning pegs. There should be two rows - the top row has 12 and the bottom row has 13. This is a configuration you seldom see anywhere else. The bow that I've seen with them seems like a fairly standard bow.  Of course, any psaltery bow you're comfortable with will work just fine. I have not seen a case associated with any of these. One seller seems to have used an autoharp case, which is, frankly, much too large without padding.
Tuning - Tuning a bowed psaltery is a lot like tuning an autoharp or zither. The tuning wrench is similar and, in many cases, interchangeable. Many folks are addicted to digital tuners, but I tune to a piano first, because if your instrument is way out of tune, a digital tuner can get confused and cause you to, say, break strings trying to tune higher than you should. Then if I want to fine-tune, I use a digital tuner. Again, the "natural notes" on some factory-built Luthier's Staff psalteries are labeled, so it shouldn't be too hard to figure out the "sharps and flats." But in case it is, or in case you have one without the labels, the tuning chart that was apparently included in the kit version is shown here. Playing - One instruction sheet provided with the kit-built psaltery has instructions for rosining your bow and playing simple songs. It's very similar to most others I've encountered. Click here to see the page. Replacing Strings is much like replacing strings on any zither, psaltery, or autoharp. You anchor the string to the hole that is low on the "hitch pin," then bring it through the notch on top and feed it across the bridge into the hole on the tuning peg.
Dave Lucas' psalteries were undoubtedly a labor of love. For More Information
ConclusionLike most of the articles on our HarpersGuild and CreekDontRise pages, this article came as a result of reader inquiries, and discovering that much of the "information" on these things was either patchy or unreliable. So I've picked up a few different pieces to make certain what I was writing about them was correct and tracked down what seem to be the most reliable sources of information. That said, if you have a correction or a question, please contact me and I'll be glad to hear from you. Also, if you make or play bowed psalteries, and want to provide additional information, corrections, etc. we'd be glad to hear from you.
And please stay in touch! - Paul Race
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