by Andreas Spohn
© Meisterwerkstätte für Zither- und Gitarrenbau Andreas Spohn
www.zitherbau-spohn.de
Translated by Jane Curtis
This little troubleshooting manual for the zither, in table format, will be of much use to all zither players. This translation is published with the permission of the author and Saitenspiel.
| PROBLEM | POSSIBLE CAUSES | SOLUTION BY | ACTION |
| Zither sounds dull, muffled | Strings are old and worn out | Yourself | Change the strings |
| If the strings are relatively new, their undersides are dirty (verdigris etc.) | Yourself | Clean them with a cloth, wind the cloth around them, wipe lengthwise | |
| Frets are worn out | Professional | Adjust fingerboard | |
| Top surface braces have come loose | Professional | Repair | |
| Tuning is not true to frets | Fingrboard strings are worn out | Yourself | Change strings |
| If the strings are relatively new, their undersides are dirty (verdigris etc.) | Yourself | Clean them with a cloth, wind the cloth around them, wipe lengthwise | |
| Placement and length of string do not agree | Professional | Adjust string position | |
| Fingerboard curve not correct | Professional | Adjust fingerboard and string placement | |
| Frets are placed wrong | Professional | Replace fingerboard and all related parts | |
| Fingerboard strings rattle | Strings are worn out | Yourself | Change strings |
| If the strings are relatively new, their undersides are dirty (verdigris etc.) | Yourself | Clean them with a cloth, wind the cloth around them, wipe lengthwise | |
| Strings put on wrong, too small an angle from tuning peg to saddle | Yourself | Put strings on correctly | |
| Possible loose parts in the mechanism | Yourself | Check screws, mechanism turning buttons, and mechanism pegs | |
| Frets are worn | Professional | Adjust fingerboard | |
| Fingerboard curve not correct | Professional | Adjust fingerboard and string placement | |
| Frets are too low, can no longer be adjusted | Professional | Replace fingerboard and all related parts | |
| Fingerboard won't stay in tune | Strings put on wrong, string ends not wound firmly on mechanism pegs | Yourself | Put strings on correctly, attach string ends firmly |
| String loop on hitchpin pulls open | Yourself | Change string | |
| String is at end of life span and will soon break | Yourself | Change string | |
| Mechanism is no longer connected firmly with zither, screws are loose | Yourself | Tighten screws with appropriate screwdriver | |
| The zither pins on the pinblock are loose | Yourself | If possible, drive pins in somewhat deeper | |
| The hole for the pin has become enlarged | Yourself or Professional | Remove pin, fill hole with plug (toothpick), bore new hole, tap pin back in | |
| Mechanism pegs are loose | Yourself or Professional | Remove strings, take mechanism off, screw pegs back firmly | |
| A screw is broken off | Professional | Remove screw head, rebore hole, install new screw | |
| Gears are defective | Professional | Replace gears if possible, replace mechanism | |
| The wooden blocks on which the screws sit, between the turning buttons, are torn off or broken | Professional | Glue the wooden blocks, use longer screws | |
| Pins do not hold tuning | Pin does not sit deeply enough in hole | Yourself | Detach string, screw pin in deeper |
| Pin hole is worn loose | Yourself or Professional | Individual pins: replace with larger size | |
| Professional | Several pins: bore by hand to keep wood from splitting, replace with larger pins | ||
| Pin hole is enlarged | Professional | Fill pin hole, drill, install new pin | |
| Pin block is split | Professional | Clear out the split pin block, set in a new piece of wood (This can be done by only a few specially-equipped workshops) | |
| Pins cannot be tuned | Tuning key is worn out or doesn't fit tuning pin | Yourself | Get a key that fits |
| Pins are rusted | Yourself or Professional | Replace the pin | |
| Pins creak loudly when tuning | Over the years the wood of the pin block has changed (shrunken and/or swollen) | Professional | Rebore pin holes, replace with appropriate pins |
| Top or bottom is cracked | Relative humidity too low | Yourself | Keep relative humidity in house at 45-65% to prevent cracking (Note: small hairline cracks are normal in all instruments, but if damage is greater, take the instrument to a professional) |
| Mechanical cause | Professional | Glue the crack and/or insert a wood shaving and refinish | |
| Top/bottom separating from sides | Instrument exposed to high temperature and/or humidity | Yourself | Do not expose instrument to extreme variations |
| Gluing was poor or is fatigued | Professional | Glue the open places | |
| Instrument has tipped over or been dropped | Professional | Glue the open places | |
| Border inlays are loose | Gluing not well done | Professional | Glue loose inlays on (wood glue), secure with masking tape, remove glue residue with small amount of water |
| Synthetic inlays have shrunk | Professional | Glue loose inlays on, secure with masking tape (Note: Finish may be damaged. Replenish the shrunken material) | |
| Zither feet loose and not holding | Feet turned too far when screwing in, so windings worn flat | Yourself | Unscrew, cover winding with 1-2 layers of masking tape, or better: replace with larger feet |
| Hole is too large or winding on the feet is too small | Professional | See above: Fill bore hole, cut new screw threads | |
| Finish is unsightly, dirty | Over the years the varnish becomes dirty and dull | Yourself or Professional | A complete string change offers the best opportunity to clean the zither. Please do not use any harsh cleaning materials. |
| General cleaning: Spray with lukewarm water containing small amount of Pril or similar product, use a soft lint free rag. Rag should be damp, not wet. | |||
| Fine cleaning: Spray the polished surface with furniture polish and wipe with a lintfree rag. | |||
| The finish no longer shines | Professional | Polish finish with special polishes. Caution: It is not advisable to try this yourself, because only professionals know what kind of finish is there and what polishes to use | |
| The mechanism is hard to work | The mechanism is dry, not greased, rubbing from powdered rust is increased | Yourself or Professional | Remove mechanism, clean and grease the gears. As a rule, oil makes no sense here, since it will only drip down from the gears; but it is good for loosening rust. |
| The pins or the screws of the gears are wound too tight | Yourself or Professional | Loosen the screws, if possible set with fixative | |
| The mechanism shafts (holding the buttons) are bent | Professional | When possible, bend them straight. Caution: they can also break | |
| One or more of the mechanism buttons are damaged | Mechanical stress | Professional | Replace defective mechanism buttons |