Mike Autorino was an autoharp and dulcimer luthier in the 1970s and early 80s.  His autoharps had a beautiful swooping design with the tuning pins on the bottom, hidden in a hinged compartment.  Drew Smith's main autoharp was an Autorino with 24 chord bars in Drew's 2 row setup.   Autorino is "A" in the luthier alphabet and one of the early innovators in autoharp design.

Gordon Baker was a delightful man whose Glad Morning Autoharps were both affordable and varied.  Gordon built everything from tall baritone and bass autoharps to small children's autoharps.  There wasn't a single Glad Morning design.  Each one was a product of Gordon's fertile imagination.  While experimenting with varied designs and keeping costs affordable, Gordon's autoharps never sacrificed on craftsmanship.  A Glad Morning autoharp today is likely to be a great find and addition to anyone's autoharp collection.

Glad Morning now owned by Bay Allen's son, Gavin

Soundhole of Glad Morning

Care Sheet from Gordon p1

Care Sheet from Gordon p2

Care Sheet from Gordon p3

Don Brinker and his wife Betty of Latrobe PA were regulars at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering.  As a woodworker and furntiure builder, Don first got interested in building mountain dulcimers after hearing one played in the Great Smokey Mts.  Using woods found in W. PA. he started building his Chestnut Ridge instruments.  Like George Orthey, he turned his interest from dulcimers to autoharps when his wife asked him to build one for her.  Don's autoharps were solid, like the man himself, with a big and sweet voice.

By now Ray Choi is known to most autoharp enthusiasts as an autoharp virtuoso.  A two time winner at both Mountain Laurel and Winfield, Ray has reached the highest heights of autoharp excellence.  But it is as a builder that Ray first came to the attention of the West Coast autoharp community when he started attended CAG on a regular basis.  Before that he had been building autoharps and teaching out of this music store in Orange County CA for a mostly Koerean and Japanese following.  Ray shares his passion for building instruments with his wife, who is a noted violin maker.  An early influence on Ray's building was fellow Californian Paul Cram.  A distinctive style of rounded rather than angular edges helps to identify their work.  Ray also uses an archtop.

Around the early 1990s when most of the autoharp luthier activity took place in Pennsylvania, Californian Paul Cram started advertising his "Harmony Harps" in AQ and elsewhere.  Paul offered a distinctive autoharp at an affordable price.  With rounded edges and a peace dove soundhole, it was an attractive instrument.  His chord bars were uniquely designed with laminates that allowed contrasting risers and buttons.  "Harmony Harps different than the rest."

Pete d'Aigle has been one of the most important and innovative autoharp luthiers for the past 25 years.  Ever since his Different Drummer autoharps came on the scene Pete has introduced his springless mylar "springs", in-line fine tuners, and a variety of autoharp builds to suit every need and pocketbook.   His top of the line Cascade model is a professional level autoharp made with fine woods and finishes.  His TLC and Desert Rose models are attractive alternatives.  Pete raised the bar by offering a full service autoharp business wth several employees and a music store.  Pete goes to just about every autoharp gathering tirelessly promoting the autoharp and finding new players.  One can spend a whole day exploring daigleharps.com.

Chuck and Karen Daniels have been involved with autoharps since the early days of the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering and the Mountain View Gathering.  Chuck is recognized as one of the most sought after autoharp technicians and repairmen.  For years he was Mr. Fix-it at Mountain Laurel with folks waiting all year for his services, which included expert re-stringing and chord bar felting and noise reduction.  In collaboration with Jim Woods at Mountain View, Chuck came out with his "Arkansas Autoharp" in the early 2000's.  At a depth of 1", the frame was narrower than most making it a nice light 'harp to hold and play in both A- and B-models.  Given that Chuck and Karen often play duets, having a narrower 'harp made it easier to reach around using 4 hands better than 2.

Ken spent 34 years of being a research engineer and scientist for aerospace companies before turning his aim at autoharp lutherie.  He took the skills and know-how of a scientist and engineer into the world of autoharp making where "every piece of wood is a work of art." and each one has its own voice.  Ken has written numerous articles for the Autoharp Quarterly when it was in publication, and has spent much research and exploration in making sure wood sounds the best it can.  His autoharp chordbars are also wonderfully and simplistically designed, bringing the worlds of beauty and functionality together in perfect harmony. Ken is the owner and luthier at Whippoorwill Acoustics, and also proudly creates the "Heartland" model which was designed in partnership with premier autoharpist, Jo Ann Smith.

A true genius of the autoharp, Mark Fackeldey was a brilliant player, exceptional builder and creative innovator.  With his close friend Marty Schuman, they found new ways to play the autoharp using ethereal chords and bare-fingered picking.  After winning Winfield in 1988, Mark turned his attention to luthering and started building his ZephryHill Autoharps.  They played "like a breeze" with their lightest springs in the business and smooth action chord bars.  Mark liked the old-timey bass wood sound, which he tried to duplicate using poplar as his primary tonewood.  The autoharp world lost Mark at much too young an age.

Warren Fisher didn't set out to be a professional autoharp luthier.  He mainly wanted to a build a couple of autoharps for his family and friends.  But as an MLAG board member from Selinsgrove PA he was well situated between George Orthey and Tom Fladmark to learn from the best.  Once his Penns Valley autoharps with their finely crafted inlays and heart shaped soundholes got out there, Warren started getting more and more requests for his custom built autoharps.   His name belongs in the school of Eastern PA autoharp luthiers.

When the story of the modern luthier autoharp is written, Tom Fladmark will have his own chapter near the beginning.  After serving an apprenticeship with George Orthey, Tom opened his own Fladmark Woodworks shop in Sunbury PA.  Using exotic woods like koa and a professional grade gloss finish, Fladmark autoharps soon stood out and became in high demand.  Professional folk musicians like John McCutcheon and Tom Chapin started playing Fladmark autoharps gaining wider exposure for the autoharp in general.  For 25 years or more Tom Fladmark built special award models which he generously donated to contest finalists in the Mountain Laurel Autoharp contest.  And when Tom retired from building he entered and won the contest himself.  Tom meticulously built each autoharp from start to finish.  As orders backed up, the wait might take a year or more but was well worth it.  Each Fladmark autoharp is now a treasure heirloom.

John Hollandsworth literally learned to play the autoharp at his grandmother's knee in SW Virginia.  As a builder and a player John has kept up the tradition of passing on his love of the autoharp.  The first MLAG champion in 1991, John has taught at the Augusta Heritage and John C. Campbell Folk school.  He and his wife Kathie are a populaf old time duet with Kathie on bass and vocals and John on autoharp.  John lets his autoharp sing for him.  In the early 2000s John started his Blue Ridge Autoharp custom line.  Each autoharp is meticulously handcrafted using John's lifetime of autoharp experience.

Ricky Levitan's "Paw Print Autoharps" may not be abundant but they have a quirky appeal all their own.  Each year Ricky builds an autoharp to compete in the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Contest.  His autoharps are readily identifiable by their paw print soundholes and robust sound.  He may tbe the only competitor who builds his own autoharp before the contest and then sells it in the 'Harpers Bazaar or donates it to Open Stage Favorite Winner.  Elizabeth Devlin won her Pawprint Autoharp on the open stage and then traveled with it all across Europe.  The late Rick Sanderson also bought a Pawprint in the Bazaar and enjoyed playing it for several years.  These are high quality autoharps Ricky Levitan could easily sell for quite a bit more, but his challenge is to win Mountain Laurel playing an autoharp he built himself.

As Buck Lumbert remembered, he was sitting in the auditorium while his wife Lois was attending an Augusta Heritage autoharp workshop up on stage.  It was in the late 1970s.  He and a gentleman he later identified as Mike Seeger stuck up a conversation about autoharp building.  Buck was a machinist by trade, but he thought maybe he could build an autoharp better than the one Lois was playing.  Through some reverse engineering and trial & error, Buck started building autoharps first for his wife and later through Lumbert Mountain Music.  He first started advertising in the Autoharpoholic early on before a lot of other luthiers got started.  Over the years Lois got a new autoharp every couple of years, but according to Buck, their autoharp building was a true husband and wife endeavor.  Lois could do anything Buck could do in their shop and so it was an able partnership.  Later on Buck and Lois filled a much needed niche for custom chord bars.  An Oscar Schmidt autoharp with a set of Lumbert bars could easily double in value and play just as well as an expensive luthier autoharp.  Retired now in their home in Traverse City MI, Buck and Lois Lumbert have been valued members of the autoharp community for over 40 years.

Scott Morgan grew up in Morgan Springs Tennessee with old time music playing all around him.  His father Tom Morgan was a founding member of the bluegrass band The Country Gentlemen.  Tom Morgan was also a noted luthier who built one of Mike Seeger's first custom built autoharps.  Scott moved to Takoma Park MD where he continued the family tradition of building and playing traditional instruments.  When he saw that Todd's Musical Petting Zoo lacked a Morgan autoharp he offered to build one.  Like his father's autoharp, Scott built an archtop with f holes using his father's design upgraded with modern chord bars and fine tuners.  Scott Morgan passed away must too soon with many autoharps, madolins and guitars still to be built.

Next to Oscar Schmidt, George Orthey is probably the best known name in the history of autoharp building.  In the early 1980s Dr. Orthey began a resurgence in the building of high quality, handcrafted autoharps.  With wife Mary Lou, George not only built luthier-level autoharps, he also promoted the modern autoharp with their Mountain Laurel Autoharp Gathering and Autoharp Quarterly magazine.  Professional players, like Bryan Bowers, the Carter Family, Ivan Stiles, Lindsay Haisley were soon playing Orthey autoharps.  The annual Mountain Laurel Autoharp Contest brought out the best players around the world and pushed the autoharp to new heights musically.  George Orthey insured that fine autoharps would last after him by taking on Tom Fladmark and later Greg Schreiber as apprentices.  By the time he was finished George Orthey had built over 1500 autoharps in his woodworking shop in Newport PA.  Everyone who loves the autoharp owes a debt of gratitude to George Orthey.