Hope that it made it to a good home. Thanks once again for all of the advice. I might have bid on it and taken it to a local luthier, but I fought back the impulse. Trying to keep my DAD in check.
Thanks for the advice, Rob. I think that I will pass on it, as I'm fairly lazy and non-handy and it sounds like a bit more work than I'm willing to do. It's sure pretty though... The wood looks gorgeous and the duck head is so nicely carved.
I've got 3 playable dulcimers, plus one that my Dad made from a kit for me when i was 12--its wall art. I was up to 5 last year, but sold 2 at a festival. My Ron Gibson is my main go-to dulcimer and the David Lynch student model is my back-up for emergencies. The third dulcimer is a little travel one that I only use when I, well, travel. My DAD has abated quite a bit, but is still lurking in the background. I expect that I'll pick up another one eventually. Or two...
Here is the link. I notice that it also doesnt have a bridge...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BEAUTIFUL-BIRDS-EYE-MAPLE-DULCIMER-CARVED-BIRD-HEAD-/281753750919?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4199d50d87
It's a longways crack that goes from the edge of the dulcimer, slightly angled down. It ends about 3/4 of an inch away from one of the top soundholes.
Hi, I'm looking at an instrument on ebay that has a small, 3 inch crack in the upper soundboard. Is this the sort of thing that should be a dealbreaker for a non-luthier, non-handy sort of person? The dulcimer is priced cheaply, but is quite pretty and has a unique headstock. I have other dulcimers, so this wouldn't be my main instrument. I wouldn't normally consider purchasing on ebay, but this one is tempting me.. Is this something that can be fixed? Would it affect the sound?
My favorite is the Ron Gibson Jenny Lind that I got last February. I enjoy playing it so much that it greatly dampened my raging case of DAD. (Note that I said "dampened", not "got rid of". It's a beautiful instrument.
BTW, I adore the Sasquatch design, complete with little footprints, shown above.
Not sure if this helps--I have a 22" VSL travel dulcimer tuned DAD--its strings are:0.026", 0.018", and 0.014.
Water is running again (after being out for 3 days). Am hoping that Internet will be fixed tomorrow. Was able to get in a good playing session on the dulcimer while the town water department folks were attempting to unfreeze my pipes. So, there's that. Maybe we will see each other this summer at Cranberry or Dulcimer Daze...
Oh, that's awful. The thrill of expectation dampened by "Where the Devil is it? What do you mean you don't know when it will be delivered!!!". Hoping that your new baby arrives safe and sound. My two "by mail" dulcimers were sent UPS and were easily tracked online.
I've got 3 cats. One will fall asleep behind me as I'm playing, one has gotten to the point where she will deign to stay within earshot for a few minutes, and the third flees when she sees me carry a dulcimer into the room.
I went to a festival this past weekend and had strap buttons installed on both of my dulcimers. What a difference the strap makes! I always felt like the dulcimer was going to fall off of my lap, even using rubber fabric in my lap and a footstool for my feet. Now, I can just focus on the playing without subconsciously worrying about the darn thing falling off of my lap.
I'm glad that I paid someone else to install the buttons--I'm not a very precise or handy person.
After reading this thread and the various threads concerning traveling with dulcimers on airlines, I'm thinking that I may try for option number 3--buy a cheap (but nice) cardboard dulcimer and have it shipped directly to my mother's house. That way, I'll always have a dulcimer to play when I visit and won't have to worry about packing for UPS or the airlines. I don't have my original dulcimer box anymore for my student model. I do have a cheapie Craigslist model, but just because it was cheap doesn't mean I want it smashed due to my own poor packing or luck. Common sense says no, but I would like to be able to practice whilst on vacation....
