WORKING CONDITION: Good. All button hammers work well and return to their home position quickly. The strings were changed before it arrived in our shop. See below for tuning tools and methodology.

PHYSICAL CONDITION: Good. The metal and wood parts are all functional with no major blemishes. The Oscar Schmidt label is missing in one of the sound holes.

INVENTORY #59033

BRAND: Oscar Schmidt International

MODEL: Mandolin Guitarophone

FUNCTION: Stringed Musical Instrument

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION: This listing is for a Vintage 1910's Oscar Schmidt International Mandolin Guitarophone. The Mandolin Guitarophone is a rare, vintage mechanical zither from the early 20th century, closely related to the more well-known Marxophone. While a standard mandolin is a lute-family instrument with a fretboard and eight strings tuned in pairs, the Mandolin Guitarophone is a "fretless" tabletop instrument that uses a unique key-and-hammer mechanism to strike doubled courses of strings.

SPECS:

• Keyed Hammer Mechanism: Unlike the Marxophone, where players press directly on spring-steel hammers, the Mandolin Guitarophone uses button-accordion-like keys to activate the hammers.
• Unique Tone: This mechanism produces a piano-like or harpsichord-like attack, often described as a "hammer swarm" effect when keys are hit repeatedly to mimic a mandolin's tremolo.
• Strings & Layout: It features two octaves of melody strings—typically tuned to a C-major scale—along with dedicated chord sections for the left hand.
• Historical Context: Most surviving examples were manufactured by the Oscar Schmidt Company in the 1910s and 1920s. They were marketed as "easy-to-play" variations of traditional German zithers.
• Instrument Type: Guitarophones often resemble zithers, featuring numerous strings that are tightened or loosened using zither pins (small square-headed pegs).
• Tuning Tools: A zither wrench, autoharp tuning wrench, or a 5mm socket is needed and not included.
• Tuning Procedure:
  • Use a chromatic electronic tuner to ensure each string is tuned to the correct note.
  • If the instrument has paired strings, tune each string in the pair to the same note (unison), sometimes using standard guitar wire.
  • Tuning is commonly done in chromatic steps (e.g., C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C)

ACCESSORIES INCLUDED: This item comes as seen in photos and does not include any accessories.

EXTRAS INCLUDED:

• None

UNPACKAGED WEIGHT: 7 lbs.

UNPACKAGED DIMENSIONS: 20" x 4" x 13"