Miwayer Lyre Harp 7, 10, 16, 19, 21 Strings Musical Instrument Mahogany Body Harp Brown Reindeer Totem Professional Stringed Instrument with Accessories and Case (Brown 10 Strings Harp)

This instrument just arrived. I haven't properly tuned it yet. The strings are in the same order as piano keys, so it should be easy to learn. The instructions are written by someone whose first language is NOT English, but they are fairly understandable. I look forward to practicing with it and making some beautiful music.

ORIGINALLY, we were disappointed in this instrument's ability to maintain a good tuning. The strings would routinely go flat after a few hours. The instrument was also difficult to accurately tune. (We would need to over-tighten the string and then let it "bounce back" to the proper tone as you remove the tuner wrench.) These issues were satisfactorily resolved by completely removing each string and turning each post further into the body of the instrument until the TOP of the post threads almost disappears into the body of the instrument. This provides the necessary friction between the post and the instrument body to maintain proper tension. Having done this, you will also find it will be MUCH easier to accurately tune the instrument.

Pretty sound and real wood, but tune it up slowly! I brought it in out of the cold and was so eager to tune it up (it was SO out of tune!) that I snapped the top string - it was two octaves off out of the box.Luckily it comes with a full set of spare strings. Here's what I SHOULD have done - started with the low strings and tuned up a bit at a time, doing a few runs through. The upper strings were not properly stretched before shipping, so if your strings are also really tight stretch them up to the correct octave over the space of a day or two.Size wise I have the largest version, which makes it more fun to tune.... ! It is starting to hold the tune better, but it has taken almost a week to stabilize to that point - so don't give up hope, but keep tuning every day. If you live somewhere dry, like I do, keeping the lyre at 40% humidity will also do a lot to keep it in tune and prevent the wood from cracking.Nice resonance, and I love that it comes with metal strings - hard on the fingers but definitely a superior sound to the nylon ones. I wish the sound box area was a bit larger because it's easier to pluck over that area, but it is positioned in an easy to hold location if you play this held sideways to your body (the "preferred" method to hold a lyre.)

Returning the same day, I received it. Their app for tuning is in Mandarin, so it could be more helpful. I found another app, so no big deal.I took care to tune it gently. However, the strings require a maximum stretch to be on point and, within minutes, go out of tune. It took me over an hour or tiny re-adjustments to the ones I already tuned, but one of them broke before I got them all tuned. So I didn't even get to play. Frustrating.Pretty to look at, but that's about it. I'd instead invest in better quality.

This is a fun little instrument! Easy enough to pick up and play something simple, but with enough strings to really get complex if you take the time to learn it. The material feels well-made and sturdy, and the design is easy to grasp but may be a bit more difficult for small hands. The excellent case holds everything the instrument comes with without any issues.My biggest gripe with this was I don't think the strings are well made. While tuning mine, the E6 line snapped a little after the halfway point of where it needed to be. While this was disappointing, it did come with extra strings that I had to figure out how to put on, but the task wasn't too challenging.Overall, I do like this piece, and despite the strings perhaps being low quality, that doesn't take away from the actual instrument being and feeling great.