Forum Activity for @joe-sanguinette

yes floating bridges are the way to go

what ken said.  properly constructed instruments will not warp.  

they were well made however they were made the old way using hand tools.  his main job was demonstrating how it was.

i remember the dulcimer builder that i knew as bob around that time.  i'm sure his instruments were for sale.  he

built dulcimers on special order.  he once gave me the most beautiful piece of butternut i've ever seen

when recording i always used an unwound base string .

kerry anderson made beautiful and unusual sound holes.  no surprize her background was art and costume design.

she is a friend and advertized my books and cd's on her website  for years.  would love to see her back

it might be butternut

i remembr bert berry.  he ordered beginner books from  me a dozen at a time to give his customers when they bought a dulcimer.  i never met

him but we talked on the phone once a year or so.  he was very nice and we had interesting conversations.  i don't think he made a lot of

instruments.  finding one for sale would be a great find

ihave lived in branson  since 1969.  i have  never seen these instruments around here

check USPS and UPS for the best rates.  i found USPS the most reasonable.  i reccomend the instrument be in a case packed with plastic peanuts

and then put in a box also packed with peanuts or crumpled newspaper.  

howard rugg visits here often.  maybe he will chime in 

thank you george for your kind commnents about my work.  i am always glad when  i hear someone is enjoying one of my dulcimers.

your 5  string probably has been re strung a number of times.  unless u can  find someone who knows how Mise strung it u have to experiment

you have a gem there with the Mise and the Orthey.  i knew both of these exceptional craftsmen

ken  is right.  don't change the tuners.  replacing the wound bass string with a plain one might help.

a few years ago a lady brought me a very low number vintage mc spadden asking that i install geared tuners.  instead i called a friend

who worked at the mc spadden shop.  i proposed a trade which they jumped on.  they have a 50 year old instrument hanging in the shop and

she has a beautiful new mc spadden with geared tuners.  it was a win/win

definetly need pics.  are u talking about a scroll head? or a guitar type flat head?

george no i am not still building.  health and old age are to blame.  i never wanted to quit.  recently sold most of my wood stash 

i'm happy u enjoy the dulcimer.  

i believe the back and sides are indeed birds eye maple.  the scroll is walnut and the fretboard is too with an over lay of possibly bulbinga

by the way the scroll and tail block look like walnut as well as the fretboard.  however the fretboard is probably overlaid with an exotic wood.  more pics would help me determine the various woods

thanks guys.  i think the top is butternut.  i used very little birds eye maple because i had a hard time finding suitable wood

i used krylon matte finish lacquer for a single dulcimer.  seal coat and sand then 2 or 3 thin coats a half hour apart.  this product was labled

enamel.....but its lacquer.  easy to remove runs and easy for repairs.  a good paste wax will protect your instrument

u need a luthier to examine this dulcimer.  a non level fretboard is trouble and the fix could be expensive

go to any music shop and ask for ball end guitar strings.  the sizes ken suggests should be fine

from your pics i see no problem with the hitch pins

you can buy hitch pins from Folkcraft.  ball end strings work best with these. you probably have the wrong size bass string

or or trying to tune it too high.  unlikely but possible you may have a problem with the nut

Tom Fellenbaum dulcimers are excellent.  you will not be dissappointed if you get one

i would also reccomend minwax.  however a good alternative is kiwi clear shoe polish.  the minwax comes in a huge can.  i carried kiwi

shoe polish on the road for repairs and touch ups.

these are typical grover tuners.  back in the day mc spadden had them make these with the rosewood buttons.  later on grover

shipped me a quantity of tuners with the rosewood buttons.  they may still make them.....its worth a try

alcohol will remove  the sticky residue on your fretboard

leaving any stringed wooden instrument in a parked car for extended times can be disastrous.  as has been mentioned its the glue

that can let go and you have a case full of kindling wood.  i traveled for years with numerous dulcimers in a van over the mountains....through

the desert and every sort of weather.  when i parked the van for more than an hour or so i took the instruments out of the van and put them

in my travel trailer that was insulated and could be kept warm ..... or cool.  my advise is "let the dulcimer live with you" and never in a parked car,

basement or attic

you can make ball end strings work by simply threading the end of the string through the ball forming a noose or a snare type

of end.  then......install it.  might require several attempts to tune the string as the noose tightens up on the pin.

heavier picks and heavier strings will help.  also moving the mike closer to the peg head away from the pick

'you can contact bonnie who would at least be able to reccomend someone if she don't care to do it

john and shirley naylor did work for cripple creek.  they left there and started the dulcimer factory in friedricksburg texas.  they built a lot

of instruments selling them in their own shop and in arts and crafts festivals.  they wholesaled as well.  for a while they supplied dulcimers

to the autoharp company of oscar schmidt.  this instrument could be one of thiers or maybe a cripple creek although i think both of these

would have identifying lables

i used an old ironing board at various venues for years.......demonstrating and selling dulcimers.  i think i still have it in the shed.  anyone close

who would like to have it let me know

dusty is right.  thinner picks produce more pick clack than thicker ones.  actually a pick made from various plastic food containers might work

for you.  as far as recording place the mike up closer to the nut.  dunlap made picks made of delron that work well.

sycamore fer shure

i knew Bob Mize.  he wrote an article for foxfire detailing how to build a mtn dulcimer.  he once told me the fret board was "off"

maybe this could shed some light on this discussion.  at the time i was not aware of the different intonations used.  i did not

push him for an explanation.  he made beautiful instruments.

bo

different woods.....especially soundboard woods can have their own tonal qualities.  perhaps the best example are instruments made of

koa.  they have a unique and beautiful sound found in no other instrument.

lynn mc spadden once told me the thickness of the soundboard on various woods was more important than the type of wood. 

hard to imagine a dulcimer that is too loud.