Broader and shorter in length than the usual Chromatic Bowed Psaltery, with its distinctive Gothic shape, the Diatonic Bowed Psaltery was designed to be a more Harmonious musical instrument, like an Irish harp.
The strings are arranged in a fan pattern, this was to make the bowing a little more fluid with the geometry of the human arm. Tuned to a white note scale rather like the old Irish harp, the instrument resonates sympathetically as different combinations are played. 
As well as being a bowed instrument, this psaltery, like its medieval ancestor, responds well to plucking and also hammering
I designed this instrument in the early 1990's, initially to play Scottish pipe music and to get a more harmonic sound like the Irish harps I had started making but soon saw the potential as a folk instrument and changed the key to D.
The instrument was recently re-scaled and improvements made to the design including the use of plain steel treble strings, Viola bass strings, This means the D model no longer fits into a briefcase for travel but I build a case to fit and it still is a compact ins
please see my Etsy Shop to purchase these
"The psaltery arrived today and is BEAUTIFUL. Thank you so much! It is amazingly resonant and I love the little harmonics it leaves hanging in the air at the end of a note. The curved edges really make a difference in how naturally you can move from note to note, in an arc rather than a straight line, and it's really ligh
Ordering an instrument:
Bowed Psaltery in D Diatonic Tuning
New improved model in D With 15 notes
I always use Hard maple for the Tuning pin block at the bottom for problem free tuning. easy to play and beautifully toned instrument!