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General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Joe, of course its the obvious solution I completely forget about! Doh! 
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Oh that's brilliantly simple! I checked mine and the action is definitely not high. A dime on the first fret is just touching the string. There's just a teensy bit of space between the 7th and a nickle.
I'm still waiting on new strings for it but I attempted to pick out a little tune on it (forgot to grab a pick so I was using a button as one- my instruments are kept in my craft room) and I actually managed to. I can't wait to actually be able to play it.
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Thanks Ken. :) Goo Gone was what I was thinking too.
As to the action being too high or low, I understand what it roughly means but what I don't know is how high is too high? I know on my ukuleles, the cheaper DIY prefab kit I built has higher action which makes it a bit harder to play but I don't know where "high action" would really begin. For all I know all three of my instruments have high action.
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Thank you Bryant and Ken.
It's a 1996 Dulcimer Factory DF1 Backpack model. 4 strings. My research says it's not fancy but it was made before the production quality really fell off.
I tried to attach a photo but I'm on mobile and the post button doesn't work after select the attachment. There's a few scratches on the back, some gumminess where someone placed stickers on the fretboard, and the strings are going to be replaced in the next few days, but otherwise it seems to be in good shape.
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Dusty and Martha, thank you for the welcome! I've seen some pretty complex songs played in the videos I've watched, as well as simple stuff like 3 Blind Mice.
As to tattoos, I have 6, 2 of which are quite large. I also use to pay my bills as a graphic artist. :)
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Hi all! I just joined and I just got my first mountain dulcimer on Friday when I saw it in a thrift shop and decided it had to come home with me. I didn't even know what it was when I first saw it (mysterious stringed instrument lol) but I went back to the shop 3 times, finally handing over $45 for it.
I just recently started learning the ukulele as well and can almost play a song on it.
Before that, I was a terrible flute player as a tween, and as a young child, I took organ lessons and managed to peck out a few songs.
I'm hoping stringed instruments will work out better for me!
How did you first discover the mountain dulcimer?
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
I just purchased my first one on Friday, and when I picked it up, I didn't even know what it was. I went back to the thrift shop it was at 3 times before handing over my money, and only after I brought it home did I go on YouTube to see what it should sound like. I paid $45 for it, it's not fancy (a '96 Dulcimer Factory DF1 Backpack model) but it's pretty and I'm looking forward to learning how to play it.
I have two ukuleles I'm learning to play as well and this just called to me when I saw it in the shop.