autoharp by oscar schmidt identification

The United is simpler and more rough cut.It is also common especially on the less expensive models to find the tuners held in place by nails instead of screws. United guitars also tend to be clearly marked “Made In USA” either in all caps or a “Shield” stamp inside the sound hole. The heel of the neck is the most obvious difference, a United build looks very similar to Gibson and many Guild guitars with a wide gently curved heel that is as wide as the neck of the instrument. The braces are similar but not the same and the linings are of a more common sloped and notched variety in a Harmony while the United guitar has a thin strip of perfectly squared material, not sloped, and mounted around the outside with no notches. I have found no evidence to support this beyond appearances and now that I have a united guitar in hand I can say with confidence, the interior construction is very different and the heel is obviously and consistently different. There is also a rumour that because a few of the earliest United guitars can have a date stamp similar to Harmony guitars (an oval with a two digit date inside) and the “Steel Reinforced Neck” graphic often looks identical that Harmony must have made them. In fact, there is evidence that a part of the Oscar Schmidt company continued to operate after the bankruptcy and produced autoharps in the original facility until the 1960s. Probably the most widely held belief is that they were the remnants of the Oscar Schmidt Company still operating out of their Jersey City facility and, although there is some truth in the origin, I have found no direct evidence to support that they were in the original factory. I even for a short time thought I might have solved the mystery of who this company ultimately was until a fellow enthusiast named Kent pointed out to me that “Wabash” was simply a name brand owned by the David Wexler Company (instrument distributors) and was the name of the street they were located on.īefore we get into what I have been able to determine about the company, lets look at some of the rumours. They seemed to be consistently low quality builds with all stencilled markings right down to the “pickguard” that (as is often the case with vintage cheap parlour guitars) actually sounded quite good for blues and slide.

My introduction to the brand came about when I kept finding these parlour guitars branded “Telleno”.

One mystery wrapped in an enigma that seems to be almost legendary and yet there is so little known about is The United Guitar Company of New Jersey… also known as United-Code.

So, when hunting for catalogue guitars there are mysteries that arise from time to time, it being that these companies are often very old and also very gone.

Autoharp by oscar schmidt identification