His workmanship is absolutely beautiful.  I have one and I love it...It is especially clear in sound and I love to play it in the evening... It is a good fingerpicking 

dulcimer, and sounds good strummed too.   

I've seen and played some of Tom's dulcimers on trips to NC.  He doesn't build any instruments with the 'high silvery' traditional sound, but he does make some beautiful and easy playing contemporary dulcimers with a generally mellow sound.

updated by @ken-hulme: 07/15/16 07:17:35AM

 

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

Beth, I don't know the specific answers to your questions, but I met Tom Fellenbaum several years ago, and I know that he does excellent work.  

At the time I met him, he had a shop in Black Mountain, NC, and made bowed psalteries as well as mountain dulcimers.