Oscar Schmidt is one of the oldest names in American musical instrument manufacturing, tracing its origins to 1871 when German immigrant Oscar Schmidt and his brother Otto established the company in Jersey City, New Jersey. The company built its early reputation on autoharps and zithers, partnering with inventor Friedrich Menzenhauer in 1896 to mass-produce the autoharp. By the early 1900s, Oscar Schmidt operated multiple factories across Europe and the United States, producing an enormous range of stringed instruments including guitars, mandolins, banjos, ukuleles, celtic harps, marxophones, and bowed psalteries. The company also manufactured guitars under numerous sub-brands, including Stella, Sovereign, La Scala, and Bruno.

Oscar Schmidt instruments became deeply embedded in American roots music. Country guitar pickers and blues musicians throughout the South and Appalachia favored the company's instruments for their accessibility and their reputation for strong tone and volume. The instruments were widely distributed through general stores and travelling salesmen, reaching rural communities that major brands overlooked. After the original company dissolved in 1937, the trademark was acquired by the Harmony Company and later revived by Washburn International in the late 1970s.

Under its modern incarnation as a brand of U.S. Music Corp (a subsidiary of Exertis | JAM), Oscar Schmidt produces affordable acoustic guitars (the OG series), electric guitars (the OE series), bass guitars, ukuleles (the popular OU2 concert and OU5 models), banjos, mandolins, and autoharps. The brand remains particularly synonymous with autoharps, dominating that market with models ranging from 15-chord to 21-chord configurations. Oscar Schmidt instruments are positioned as entry-level and intermediate options, continuing the brand's historical role of making quality stringed instruments accessible to a wide range of players.

Oscar Schmidt has 69 products cataloged on Equipboard, including Ukuleles, Autoharps, and Acoustic-Electric Guitars. Their gear is featured by 20 artists, with the strongest followings in Rock, Pop, and Folk, World, & Country. Notable users include Billy Corgan, Tyler Joseph, and Ed O'Brien. Oscar Schmidt's catalog spans the full price spectrum — from entry-level options to high-end flagships.