Hand Made Nine String Custom Parlour Harp Guitar

  
I don't know much about this unusual instrument. I can't be sure how old it is or who made it. It appears to be a unique harp parlour style guitar. Basically it's a parlour style guitar with an extended headstock with houses three additional machine heads for three bass register strings. These strings run down to a tailpiece which connects to the original saddle and bridge. At the bass of these strings is a small violin style bridge which houses the three bass strings. The instrument has a certain rustic charm, but is also well made and plays very well. Here's a quick video of it being played badly by me. A note for guitarists: the guitar section sounds great and the intonation is spot on but the neck is VERY thick (almost slide guitar thick) and it's not the easiest thing to play. (Although, it can be done) I have often wondered whether I could get someone to make the neck thinner and I reckon that's doable. The bass strings sound great too, they appear to be nylon and two of them appear to be some kind of strimmer line? But they work and hold tuning. At the moment it's tuned. A1 - D2 - G2 - E2 - A3 -D3 -G3 - B3 -E4 I think... Update June 24: I think I have realised why the neck is so thick. It's possible it's supposed to be played as a slide guitar with extra bass strings and the flat back of the neck does kind of make more sense now. Well watch this video and you decide..

All in all, it's a fascinating instrument.