Model Nr. 2
Boehm developed his Model Nr. 2 over a longer period of time; this is documented by some early Waldzi thers from before 1905 which approach the later Model Nr. 2 in a series of intermediary steps. This holds true not only for the size of the instruments but also for the inlays on the fingerboard and around the sound hole.
The first two instruments still have a smaller size of ca. 58-59 cm (23"), the third instrument almost reaches the later standard size of ca. 68-69 cm (27"). While the oldest Waldzither has already an outer ring around the sound hole, this is omitted on the intermediary instruments. The Waldzither in the middle has already the same arrangement of inlays around the sound hole as the later Nr. 2, but the pattern is (due to the smaller size of the sound hole) repeated only 5x and not 6x (like on the later instruments).
Model Nr. 2 also underwent some changes after 1905. The most striking change is of course the different tun ers and tailpieces which were replaced roughly at the same time as on the other models. But the design itself has also been altered due to the materials that were available for Boehm. After the First World War, Boehm had to switch on his Models Nr. 2, 3 and 4 from using Brazilian Rosewood to using Indian Rosewood for the back and sides. And the inlays (which Boehm did not produce himself but bought from external suppliers) underwent also some changes which seem to be at least partly due to a shortage of materials after the war.
From 1911 on, the Waldzithers Nr. 2 have slightly different mother of pearl inlays on the fingerboard: some more elaborate inlays depart and are replaced by simple dots. This reduced design can be observed for about ten years before the old, richer design returns early in the 1920s. A single instrument from between 1911 and 1914 has appeared until now which has a different form of edging on the top.
After 1918, the design of Models Nr. 2 and 3 is reduced also in another way: Boehm drops the outer ring around the sound hole and replaces the herringbone strip in the middle of the back by a simple fair piece of wood. On a few instruments, he also reduces the number of MOP inlays by repeating the pattern not 6x but only 5x. And some other Waldzithers from around the same time have only a simple herringbone pattern instead of the richly decorated edging.
The standard edging is also slightly altered after 1918: Until now, the inlays had had different wood colours, now elements in green and red are added in order to make the edging more colourful. It is impossible to say at present if the change of the edging ran over a short phase with the herringbone pattern, it is also quite possible that Boehm built instruments with a different design parallel to each other, just as it seems to have happened with Model Nr. 1/Nr. 1A.
Some Waldzithers with the “Alster 6825” label without black bars (which can be found on many instruments with the reduced design) already return to the rich ornamentation of the earlier years. This design can be found on all later Waldzithers Nr. 2 until the end of the Boehm production in 1942.
