Bowed Psaltery Black Walnut with Black Walnut top and 22 strings

I'm so glad I bought this beautifully made bowed psaltry. The bow it came with just had a nylon string rather than horse or synthetic hair, so I ordered some mongolian horse hair to restring it. I found to my surprise that the original string actually works nearly as well in producing a fine sound. Definitely a high quality instrument in appearance, sound and playability. Even without practice I think one can get a beautiful, violin like sound when using a well rosined bow. A very good price for such fine workmanship.

I was surprised by how quickly I received it and also how beautiful it was in person. While it's being played, the other strings will murmur in sympathy, giving it an ethereal sound. People come up to me in amazement to see what is making these sounds and are struck by the design of this lovely instrument. I let my 6 year olds play it and they become totally engrossed in creating music as they try out each string. Very pleasant to hear, so long as it's properly tuned.It arrived nearly in perfect tune, which was surprising considering the way packages get tossed around while on delivery. The bow is very basic, but gets the job done. Children often notice right away that it resembles a small bow like an archer would have and now I appreciate it for that reason. I also appreciate that rosin was included, as well as a small, tailored bag for the instrument. If there was an option to buy a case, then I could see myself buying a few more to teach with. Overall, I was very pleased.

The instrument is made of beautiful wood with a high gloss finish. The sound is perfect. It came tuned perfectly to my home. However, the bow does not come close to being of the same quality. It works, but it really is a cheap piece of wood and only has plastic strings.

For the people who claim the bow is no good, five or six strokes on the included rosin block should change your mind. I've been playing bowed instruments for 20 years and this is the first synthetic bow I have played. It is awesome! Yeah, it looks a little cheap but the sound is great! Overall, for $200 bucks this should provide you with months of great fun!

My first musical instrument and I love it. Sounds amazing and looks well made.

I purchased this because I have always wanted to learn the bowed Psaltery. This has a nice sound very well put together and very easy to tune. I have played lots of stringed instruments so this is right up my alley.

My wife loves it.

I don't like to leave reviews for durable goods that appear to be a bargain.Their flaws often don't appear for a few months. First the bow is an utter disaster, difficult to use and should have been better sanded. The soundbox is very shallow which is probably the reason that a substantial amount of hitch pin thread is above the soundboard. I don't know if this will make the pins more likely to slant some in the future. I like that the tuning pins are very tight. But if you are a beginner, always remember to let down a string--making it go more flat before turning the pin in the correct direction, bringing it up to the correct pitch. It is possible for a string to go sharp, but almost always strings go flat. It doesn't take much of a turn before breaking a string. Think of kids playing tug of war. Each side is pulling to an equal degree until one side begins to loosen its grip and let's go. Because the tuning pins are tight it feels natural to turn the tuning hammer with greater and greater force until all of a sudden the pin moves and the tuning hammer lurches forward and breaks the string. Also always tune your instrument in a well lit room. It is otherwise somewhat easy to place the tuning hammer on the wrong pin. That's another easy way to break a string. Now to the very strong points. Once it is properly tuned the highest note and the lowest note are very responsive and not much harder to play without scratching and squealing unless maybe you are a beginner on this instrument. It also can take awhile to get it to play softer. I recommend holding the bow as lightly as possible, even if it slips out of your hand occassionally, and then tighten your grip as you become better at playing softer. When you get to this point you will begin to really enjoy the sound. I sit in my livingroom playing and it often sounds as if I am playing in an empty stone cathedral. I love this sound. To get this sound the instrument must have the ability to sustain a sound after the bow is no longer on the string. However, it takes a lot of playing before the player or perhaps it is the instrument, can cut down some of the sustain. So overall my experience has been that at the beginning both the volume and the sustain were too great. But after playing it a lot both qualities have improved to the point of being what I was after. But neither improved using the bow that came with it. The sound hole is small, probably just a small amount larger than a US quarter, and it is located on the back. One thing I don't understand is that I can completely block the soundhole, whether by placing the instrument on a table or holding a piece of cardboard over it, and it sounds no different. I bought the model with the mostly black walnut top and sides. There is an inlay of another wood down the middle. I think it is cherry, but I don't know this for sure. I think it is attractive. The unstained back is, I think, probably a birch laminate, but again I am not sure. I think that the wood that is under the soundboard from the bridge to the back end, is curly maple, but again that is my best guess. All in all it is a very attractive instrument. It is strung in the way I dislike, which makes it much harder to replace a broken string. And if it is like my other bowed psaltrey, requires replacing two strings instead of one. I have broken two strings on my alto that is strung this way. I used four strings with a ball end, as opposed to making small knots, and each of the four strings sound exactly the same as the original strings I replaced. I don't understand this. It is probably a tiny, tiny bit less expensive, unless you don't value your time after you break a string. But I have seen recently made instruments that cost a great deal more that are strung this way. I see that the price has increased since I bought mine,but it is still less than other similar makes, all made in America. I hope this company in Rochester does very well. I wish my bowed psaltrey had 24 strings instead of 22, so that I would have two complete chromatic octives. In terms of length and maximum width, it is less than an inch different from my 30-string alto. As I said in the beginning, I don't like judging durable goods this soon after purchasing them. But if this bowed psaltrey remains as good as it is today, it is, in my opinion, a great value, even after I spent $25 or so to buy a better bow. Adding $25 to what I paid brings the price to $180. It comes with a soft cloth bag as opposed to a cordura case. I don't need a case. After an instrument is broken in well I think the greatest factor for why strings go out of tune is a difference in ambient temperature at night. I am not going to raise my gas bill so the strings stay in tune better, so the soft sock-of-sorts is fine.