fretless zithers > bowed instruments

As may not necessarily be made evident by the term alone, bowed fretless zithers are those whose melody strings are played using a bow. In terms of design and function, the fretless zither bow is the same as a violin, viola, or cello bow, in that all essentially amount to a stick with horse hair affixed to it. However, the fretless zither bow is proportionately much shorter than those used for violin-family instruments. The ideal length of the fretless zither bow is 18 inches, exclusive of the frog screw. Proper replacements can be had. There is some variation between different suppliers, but the ideal length normally translates to a 1/8 or 1/10 size violin bow. Obviously, which of the fractional sizes a bow is called by a supplier is not important; only the length is.

In the story of the fretless zither, bowed instruments represent a later chapter, making their first appearance in the 1920s. Their creation was in answer to a wave of interest in Hawaiian music at the time. Though they were heralded, sometimes shamelessly, as being authentically Hawaiian in origin, the first bowed fretless zithers were in fact manufactured in Jersey City and Boston. Nonetheless, the creators of the bowed fretless zither actually gave the world a highly playable instrument with a unique sound, despite its amusingly blatant sales and marketing history.

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ukelin

The ukelin and ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violin are among the most often-encountered bowed instruments of this family. The only real difference between the two is the manner in which the melody (bowed) strings are supported: the ukelin has loops, whereas the ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violin has posts. For a look at this difference, click here.

There are two basic models of ukelins, one is guitar-shaped on one end, the other is simply rectangular. One special model, a semi-cylindrical variety, also exists.

Among other differences in their physical attributes, some have wooden "fenders" (hitch pin covers, on the sides of the instrument's body), while others have ones made of metal. Also, some have "jack rails", wooden strips affixed to the instrument's front, through which pass the loops (or posts; some ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violins have them too). Other ukelins and Hawaiian Art Violins have no jack rails, but have the loops/posts plugged directly into the instrument's front. Jack rails appear to have been an early design feature; they are absent from later instruments. Bosstone ukelins of both types, IMC Rectangular ukelins, and early Hawaiian Art Violins nearly always have them; the rest seldom do.

The ukelin first saw the light of day in the 1920's and enjoyed a production lifespan of about 40 years. Production was halted in 1964. (This information is from Bob Buzas's great ukelin website, "Bob's Ukelin Home". For a look at everything from ukelin patent information to "ukelin mail", check it out.)

Ukelins most normally appear to bear one of three trade names:

The Bosstone Company, East Boston, MA
(The address given is that of the Phonoharp Company)

International Musical Corporation, Hoboken, NJ

Manufacturers' Advertising Company, Jersey City, NJ
(Address given is that of the Oscar Schmidt Company)

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guitar-shaped ukelin

The guitar-shaped ukelin and Hawaiian Art Violin appear to be the first bowed fretless zithers to be mass-produced. They made their debut in the early 1920s.

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Bosstone Company

The first guitar-shaped ukelins were made by the Phonoharp Company of Boston, under the name of its ukelin-producing alter ego, the Bosstone Company. As became the standard, Bosstone guitar-shaped ukelins have two sound holes. The firm used at least three different decals for both the upper and lower sound holes. All are shown below.

Curiously, the melody string tuning pins are situated in two orderly rows on some instruments but in four rows (more or less) on others. The latter configuration seems somewhat randomly plotted and requires that the melody strings' bridge be off-center to the left. The chronology of the two configurations is not known. Examples of both are shown.

Bosstone Co. guitar-shaped ukelins, left to right:

1. "Bud" sound hole decals, jack rails, melody string tuning pins in two rows

sound clips of this instrument

2. "Morse Code" sound hole decals, jack rails, melody string tuning pins in two rows

3. "Bud" and "International" sound hole decals, jack rails, melody string tuning pins in two rows

4. "Bud" and "International" sound hole decals, no jack rails, melody string tuning pins in four rows

5. "Red Morse Code" and "International" sound hole decals, jack rails, melody string tuning pins in four rows

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International Musical Corporation

Next, chronologically, in the line of guitar-shaped ukelin producers was the International Musical Corporation of Hoboken, NJ. IMC was apparently only afloat for a few years in the 1920s before being absorbed by Oscar Schmidt around 1930. The fretless zither manufacturing company name that resulted was the well-known Oscar Schmidt-International. This was one of several company names under which OS produced fretless zithers.

IMC guitar-shaped ukelins, left to right:

1. "Bud" and "International" sound hole decals, golden brown finish This is one of the most common forms of the guitar-shaped ukelin.

2. "Bud" and "Cherubs" sound hole decals, golden brown finish

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Manufacturers' Advertising Company

Another of the names under which Schmidt produced fretless zithers was Manufacturers' Advertising Company. From the beginning of its use around 1930, this name and no other appeared on the labels of Schmidt ukelins until ukelin production ceased in 1964.

MAC guitar-shaped ukelins, left to right:

1. 1934 (by receipt), "Bud" and "International" sound hole decals, sunburst finish, round bottom, metal fenders, plain loops

2. Same as Number 1 above, but with the "Red Morse Code" upper soundhole decal

3. Schmidt decals, brown finish, round bottom, metal fenders, plain loops

4. 1949 (by batch number), Schmidt decals, brown sunburst finish, black/white decals, round bottom, wooden fenders, plain loops

5. 1959 (by batch number), Schmidt decals, burgundy sunburst finish, black/white/red decals, square bottom, wooden fenders, wavy loops (Sometime in the 1950's, they went to this type of loops.)

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rectangular ukelin

The rectangular ukelin also originated in the 1920s. It may have been introduced for the purpose of using up wood that was slightly too narrow for the guitar-shaped models, or to spare a bit of labor in production. It normally has only one centrally located sound hole, as opposed to the guitar-shaped ukelin's two.

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Bosstone Company

The Phonoharp Company appears to have been the first producer of rectangular ukelins, and as with their guitar-shaped ukelins the instruments bore the Bosstone identity. The company seems to have made relatively few of them; their guitar-shaped ukelins are far more plentiful. The example pictured is an early one, having the Phonoharp "Morse code" sound hole decal and unusual extra-long jack rails.

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International Musical Corporation

International Musical Corporation was the most prolific producer of rectangular ukelins; the vast majority of them encountered are by the company. Examples of their guitar-shaped ukelins are abundant as well. They nearly always used the golden-brown finish and either of the two sound hole decals pictured. The company also employed two varieties of bridges, one of a wide, rounded cross-section and a narrower, more squarish type.

IMC rectangular ukelins, left to right:

1. "Bud" sound hole decal, golden brown finish

2. "International" sound hole decal, golden brown finish

3. "Bud" sound hole decal, dark brown finish

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Manufacturers' Advertising Company

As mentioned above, Manufacturers' Advertising Company was an Oscar Schmidt pseudonym. Like the Phonoharp Company, MAC produced relatively few rectangular ukelins. It appears that they had phased them out altogether in favor of the guitar-shaped model by about 1940. The company normally used a sunburst finish of slightly variable hues and usually the "International" sound hole decal.

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semi-cylindrical ukelin

The semi-cylindrical ukelin represents a very unusual form. This instrument required some real craftsmanship and joinery skills to produce. The semi-cylindrical part accommodates the melody section, and this physical form allows for some interesting bowed glissando effects not offered by the regular flat forms of the ukelin.

The unmistakable eagle decal marks this as an Oscar Schmidt Co. product. It probably dates from right around 1930.

The thumbnail image is linked to a page that gives a close-up look at how it works.

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guitar-o-lin/banjolin

One of the many bowed instrument design twists is represented by an instrument most commonly called a "guitar-o-lin" or "banjolin". These amount to bowed fretless zithers with the melody strings supported by posts rather than loops like the ukelin. Some instruments bearing these names are simply shaped like rectangular ukelins, while some have one end shaped in any of a number of different profiles. There are other variations of form as well, but all are functionally identical 4/16 bowed fretless zithers.

guitarolins/banjolins, left to right:

viola-fone

Yet another packaging variation for the standard 4/16 bowed fretless zither is the viola-fone. It's outline incorporates two body "points" at the waist. Another interesting feature is that the tuning information is printed on thin metal shim stock.

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Hawaiian Art Violin (ukelin type)

Like the many instruments of this family whose names contain references to Hawaii, there is nothing authentically Hawaiian about the "Hawaiian Art Violin". These were stamped out by the zillions at the Oscar Schmidt factory in Jersey City, New Jersey, solely for the purpose of cashing in on the Hawaiian music craze that erupted in mainland America during the early 1920s. There are many varieties of the ukelin type, a few of which are shown below. Also, two different types were produced, the ukelin type and the stair-step type. The latter is represented as a separate item below. As mentioned above, the ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violin differs from the ukelin only in that the melody (bowed) strings pass through posts, as opposed to the ukelin's loops. If you would like a look at the difference, click here.

Hawaiian Art Violins (ukelin type) left to right:

1. Earliest type, dark red-brown finish, half-round jack rails, "Marquetry" sound hole decals, wooden fenders bearing the usual melody string tuning info, top "shoulders" of guitar-shaped part take off at nearly perpendicular angle; those of all other forms are at a more sloped, less extreme angle

2. Early, transitional form, dark red-brown finish, "Marquetry" sound hole decals, square jack rails and wooden fenders, both bearing the melody string tuning info

3. Early, dark red-brown finish, square jack rails, "Marquetry" sound hole decals

4. Dark red-brown finish, no jack rails, gold pinstriping, double tuning label for chord strings

5. Dark red-brown finish, no jack rails, gold pinstriping, triple tuning label for chord strings

6. Unusual black finish and silver painted bridges, "Cherubs" lower sound hole decal, "Red Morse Code" upper sound hole decal

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Hawaiian Art Violin (stair-step type)

Though radically different in appearance, the stair-step-type Hawaiian Art Violin is configured exactly the same as its ukelin-type counterpart, offering the same 4 chords and 16 melody strings. This is probably the early form of the instrument, abandoned in favor of the easier-to-produce ukelin type. These always bear a perfectly "normal" inside label of the type used for some ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violins.

stair-step type Hawaiian Art Violins

left to right, upper row

1. a standard form example in the dark finish, the same used for most ukelin-type Hawaiian Art Violins, The center image gives the view from playing position.

2. another standard type example in a golden yellow-brown finish. This seems to be the commonest form.

lower row

3. Possibly a unique example, this spectacular non-standard type has a two-section body with the accompaniment section set at an angle, a player-friendly design detail which offers comfortable playing of the chords with the left thumb. The "Marquetry" edge border decals and a Schmidt eagle soundboard decal are altogether unconventional for this instrument.

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violin-uke

The violin-uke was the flagship of the entire Marx line of instruments. Like ukelins and Hawaiian Art Violins, there seems to be one of these in every closet in the country. The range of its melody strings differs from that of the ukelin, in that it is tuned in two diatonic octaves of G, rather than C. They were offered in several different finishes, as shown below. For a more detailed look at violin-uke types, see Kelly Williams's excellent Violin-Uke Page. I am indebted to Kelly's untiring record-keeping for most of the information I give below. I have cited his reference numbers for the various forms of violin-ukes shown below.

Even an instrument this distinctive in form was not spared the flippant use of its name by the company; other instruments of totally different form also bear the identity "violin-uke" on their labels. One example of these variant types is given below.

It appears that within only a few years after its introduction the violin-uke evolved to its most familiar form: gold finish with diagonal stripes ranging in color from purple to green. Following a logical trail of evidence, the earlier forms are documented in the first row below. In regard to dating various features, actual sales slips or receipts are the only valid source for this information.

violin-ukes, early forms (c. 1929-34), left to right:

1. Earliest form, dark brown finish, International soundhole decal, no logo decal, body has gold pinstripe around edge of body, black pinstripe around edge of tailpiece, early-type tuning labels, left melody label double-wide, tailpiece's outer edge is curves. Kelly Williams has documented a receipt as early as 1929 for this form. (Williams: form 1a)

2. Same as No. 1 but tailpiece's outer edge is straight lines and an arc. This particular instrument has a receipt from 1931. (Williams: form 1b)

3. Transitional form, first step away from earliest type, early features retained: dark brown finish, pinstripes, early-type tuning decals; new features: peacock soundboard decal, Marx instrument logo decal, soundhole decal deleted (Williams: form 2a)

4. Transitional form, one more step toward later form, same as previous but with late-type tuning decals, orange-brown sunburst finish (Williams: form 2b)

5. Continuing toward later form, the peacock soundboard decal is replaced by the large form of the "Conservatory Quality" decal, pinstripe around the outer edge of the body deleted but that of the tailpiece retained. The large form "Conservatory Quality" decal is assumed to be earlier than the small form, as it appears both with and without the pinstripe edge border of the body. (Williams: form 2d)

6. Still evolving; orange-brown sunburst finish retained, soundboard decal is the small form of the "Conservatory Quality" decal, pinstripes deleted altogether. This instrument has a dated sales slip from 1934. (Williams: form 2e)

violin-ukes, later forms (c. 1934-72), left to right:

The violin-ukes in this row are later types. The ones with the black foot or tail piece also came with black bows. The two pictured here both look to have come from the factory auction, suggesting that these may represent the very latest form of the violin-uke.

7. Commonest finish; gold base color with diagonal maroon/purple stripes, no soundboard decal; Kelly Williams reports that this form appeared as early as 1934 (dated by receipt.) (Williams: form 3a)

8. Commonest type; gold finish with diagonal maroon/purple stripes, the later form of the "Original Marx Instrument" logo decal; This form appears to have made its debut in 1951, according to Kelly Williams (dated by receipt.) (Williams: form 3b)

9. Red sunburst finish, "Original Marx Instrument" logo decal, black tailpiece; this and the following instrument are from near the time the Marxochime Colony closed in 1972. (Williams: form 4)

10. Light brown sunburst finish, "Original Marx Instrument" logo decal, black tailpiece (Williams: form 4)

violin-uke, alternative form

As mentioned earlier, labels claiming the violin-uke identity are found inside a variety of instruments, some of which bear little if any resemblance to the symmetrical, roughly fish-shaped types shown above. One example of such an instrument is given here. Though dissimilar in body style to the more conventional types above, it is the same from the functional standpoint, both types being key of G bowed instruments with four chords. (Williams: form 5a)

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pianolin

The pianolin offers increased versatility with its fully chromatic melody strings and 5 chords. However, as is the case with nearly all the instruments of this family, along with increased versatility comes increased difficulty to play. This instrument's label also often bore the "pianoette" identity, and it sometimes even featured the distinctive pianoette decal. This illustrates the arbitrary manner in which names were often assigned to these instruments by their manufacturers...here we have a case in which the same name was used for one bowed instrument and two different plucked instruments...and maybe for others. For the sake of simplicity, I refer here to the bowed instrument as "pianolin" and the plucked varieties as "pianoette". For more thorough and detailed information on both, consult Kelly Williams's pianolin and pianoette pages, at his site, The Guitar-Zither Clearinghouse. As with violin-ukes above, I have cited Kelly's form reference numbers for the pianolins shown here.

pianolins, left to right:

1. Earliest form, symmetrical body outline, "Peacock" sound board decal, "International" sound hole decal, tuning pins for chord strings and melody strings at opposite ends (Williams: form 1)

2. "Marx Instrument" sound board decal, tuning pins all at one end (Williams: form 3d)

3. "Deco" sound board decal, shaded finish, tuning pins all at one end (Williams: form 3c)

4. "Conservatory Quality" sound board decal, accompaniment and melody tuning pins at opposite ends (Williams: form 2a)

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Marxolin

"Space-age" design features, wild metallic blue finish, and some strange functional features put the Marxolin in a class of its own. The special Marxolin bow has two ribbons of hair; presumably the player is to always play two adjacent strings simultaneously. The "accompaniment" is by built-in spring hammers. The bridge is equipped with two levers which sharp about half the strings each by a half-step. The rosin for the bow is affixed to the instrument; a few other Marx instruments also offer this feature. The name "Marxolin" was used for other instruments as well.

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Marxolin (II)

This instrument, along with several very similar to it, appears under a wide variety of names, all of which were used more consistently for other instruments. It appears that the form shown here was never assigned a name of its own. For a look at a few of its typemates, see the bottom of Kelly Williams' Violin-Uke Page (particularly forms 6 and 7). Functionally, it is the same as the violin-uke, a key of G bowed instrument with 4 chords and diatonic melody strings...something of a "little brother" of the pianolin. Here, it is given as a "Marxolin"; it was also sold as a "violin-uke". This illustrates just one example of the innumerable problems associated with the matter of trying to identify instruments of this family by name.

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Marx tremolo harp

The Marx "tremolo harp" is one of many somewhat obscure bowed fretless zither varieties produced by the Marxochime Colony. It has its two diatonic octaves of melody strings situated in a single row, supported by 4 chords.

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Nuway violin

The Nuway Violin was a creation of Schmidt and Porter, in Chicago. Instruments of at least three different physical configurations are known to bear this name. The three are, however, the same functionally, all being key of C bowed instruments. This example is made in the same image as a large violin-uke. However, as it is a key of C instrument, it would seem that "viola-uke" would be a fitting name for it.

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Hawaiian violin-guitar

Another Schmidt and Porter innovation, the Hawaiian violin-guitar offers a pronounced variation on physical appearance. Its stringing configuration is that of a "normal" 4/16 bowed fretless zither, same as a ukelin, Hawaiian Art violin, etc. And like those named, it is a key of C instrument. However, the close-spaced melody strings allow for fast bow action across the rows, an interesting and useful functional enhancement. A curious design note is that the instrument's entire melody section can be removed by disengaging two screws.

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Marxochime

The Marx factory in New Troy, Michigan was called the "Marxochime Colony". Here are a couple of examples of instruments that bear the Colony's namesake. And of course, other totally unrelated Marx instruments were given this identity as well.

Marxochimes, left to right:

1. Like the pianolin, this Marxochime is fully chromatic in the melody strings. However, the configuration is different. The pianolin has all the "white key notes" in one row and the accidentals or "black key notes" in another. This chromatic Marxochime has the two diatonic octaves in two rows, same as the diatonic bowed instruments (ukelin, Hawaiian Art Violin, etc), but has the accidentals at the ready in a third row off to the side, making for a very player-friendly arrangement overall. In this case, the added versatility brings with it only a minimum of added difficulty over playing any of the diatonic bowed instruments. Curiously, this is labeled as a key of C instrument, but the open string length is identical to that of a violin-uke. It is in fact a key of G instrument.

2. This Marxochime is diatonic in the melody strings and has the tuning pins for the chord strings and melody strings situated at opposite ends of the instrument.

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Marx violin-guitar

The Marx violin-guitar represents the height of functional refinement for bowed fretless zithers, offering 5 chords in any key of the chromatic scale and a fully chromatic melody range of nearly three octaves. The thumbnail image below is linked to a separate page that offers a close-up look at its features.

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