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Location: Candler, NC
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Hi Cheryl,
To me, you have one of the classic dulcimer designs there with all the features I would want in an instrument of this style- very light build, diatonic staple frets, wooden pegs, 3 strings, fiddle edges, long narrow and shallow body. Just perfect!!!!
All the best dulcimers I have played have been really lightly built and just resonate beautifully.
There is only one 'accessory' that you may want to occasionally add to the instrument, and that's a clawhammer banjo player with a gut strung fretless banjo. I can see the two of you sitting on that porch and playing late into the night!
Glad the reverse capo movie was of help, Cheryl! I'm a porch player who, I hope, makes up for my mistakes with love & enthusiasm for the music.
Thanks Robin! I watched your reverse Capo video.....very helpful, thank you!!! You are a really really good player!
Cheryl
So happy you're going to play it, Cheryl! If I were a luthier, I'd want instruments I'd built to sing long after I was gone.
Hi Robin,
Absolutely I will have him measure frets. If there are other measurements you'd like just let me know. I do think they are the original wires, although I can't be 100% sure. The instrument came wrapped in the original newspaper it was mailed in (same dates) and has the original mailing label on it, so I don't think it has spent much time in the light of day. The wires are thin....I have no way to measure gauge...but my fingers say the melody and middle are the same gauge...thin plain steel?...(.10 or less) and the bass is not wound, plain, at best is .12 and may be plain steel but has a slightly yellowish tinge to it and could be a blend. Its hard to say for sure as they are all well corroded. I can have Ben measure the string gauge as well....would be interesting to know.
Agree on the tuning pegs. They are very similar to ones on an old kentucky fiddle that I have...maybe even identical. They work very well. One needed just a wee bit of rosin.
Top and bottom are three ply plywood.....very thin. The whole instrument is light as air, and has crazy resonance despite corroded strings. Just tapping the wood makes the instrument ring.
My plan has been to restore it and play it lots. I was hoping that wasn't blasphemy
....but didn't know so you have put my mind at ease about it being a working instrument. If I were the maker I would sure want someone to play and enjoy my work! I can't wait to record it.....the sound is much bigger than I would expect and it drones beautifully....the whole instrument hums if that makes any sense.
Thanks again Robin,
Cheryl
Did it have the original strings on it?
Any idea what JA fitted?
Hi Cheryl,
If Ben pulls a fret during his restoration can you ask him to take a micrometer to it? I would love to know what wire gauge JA used. Also it would be useful for you to know if you need to replace frets in the future.
Regarding its care and use. In many respects it is a very special dulcimer now simply because it was not 'very special' when it was built. It is a standard Amburgey built in the late 60s just a couple of years before his death and there were just over 1000 others he built before it. It is possibly 3 ply plywood for the top and bottom, which JA switch to in the 40s, so I wouldn't worry too much about humidity if that proves to be the case. Those look like shop bought tuning pegs so I suspect he used a proper violin peg cutter and violin reamer to get the pegs fitting perfectly - they should work really well.
Looking at that instrument Cheryl I see a great little workhorse - a real musician's tool. To me, it is not a historically significant artifact but simply the perfect Cumberland style dulcimer with a lineage all the way back to Ed Thomas. Tune it up and play it as much as you like - that's what JA built it for. And I'm sure that, being a tidy player himself, he would have wanted to see his instruments in the hands of musicians rather than hanging on a wall. What that instrument needs is some honest playing wear - and you are the perfect person to add it
Robin
PS - I'm totally taken with it - I bet it sounds wonderful
Hi Cheryl,
If Ben pulls a fret during his restoration can you ask him to take a micrometer to it? I would love to know what wire gauge JA used. Also it would be useful for you to know if you need to replace frets in the future.
Regarding its care and use. In many respects it is a very special dulcimer simply because it is was not 'very special' when it was built. It is a standard Amburgey built in the late 60s just a couple of years before his death and therewere just over 1000 others he built before it. It is probably 3 ply plywood for the top and bottom, which JA switch to in the 40s, so I wouldn't worry too much about humidity. Those look like shop bought tuning pegs so I suspect he used a proper violinpeg cutter and violin reamer to get the pegs fitting perfectly - they should work really well.
Looking at that instrument Cheryl I see a great little workhorse - a real musician's tool. To me, it is not a historically significant artifact but simply the perfectCumberland styledulcimer. Tune it up and play it as much as you like - that's what JA built it for. And I'm sure that, being a tidy player himself, he would have wanted to see his instruments in the hands of musicians rather than hanging on a wall. What that instrument needs is some honest playing wear - and you are the perfect person to add it
Robin
Well she's safely in her original box in my climate controlled instrument room. I lowered the humidity to 40 percent so she's not shocked at the lovely moisture. Although for being an attic dweller the wood is not as dry as I expected it would be. Although I'm new to dulcimer, wooden instruments have been a life long experience....she is in good hands.
Still made me anxious Cheryl !
(and please ignore JK, he's got some sort of a thing going for me !!)
JH
It was momentary....no wind or earthquakes so it was quite stable. No worries :)
I'm still feeling a bit nervous looking at how precariously it is propped up on the porch railings...
Delete CommentAh the chairs....well those are reserved for FOTMD members pickin dulcimers. Sorry. :)Rob, there is a small crack I found in the right side near the tail. Not sure that will need repair, but might. I found two frets that have pushed through the side of the fingerboard. This has caused those frets to be too low and will not note properly (string buzz on next fret) so those will have to be repaired. Can't wait to just be able to strum away on her! Might be a while as Ben has two dulcimers in que ahead of mine. I will try my best to be patient.
Looks like it doesn't need much work, and that's a good thing. Hopefully it won't take long to get her back and we can all be envious some more after we hear her sweet voice.
Cheryl, JH uses dulcimers as a diversion. It's your chairs that he's after!
Good advice Robin. I'm somewhat relieved that he lives far away over the big pond. :)
Cheryl, I'd keep one eye on that dulcimer and one eye on John Henry if I were you.
Thanks everyone for your comments. I heard back from Ben Seymour and I'll be bringing it to him for refurbishing/repair. After that I promise to love her, play her, and give her a good home in the mountains! I feel most fortunate to have custody of this dulcimer.
Well, over the years I have probably indulged in a few 'vices'
, but until now I could honestly say that they did not include jealousy. Can't say the same now, discounting that stunning view, I just love that dulcimer 
!!! What is it they say,"less is more" ?
I am just a little concerned as to whether it is going to get the love and care it deserves (I keep coming back to this pic to see if it has fallen yet !!!
) I am sure that one or two of us over here would be happy to provide an assured safe haven for it, lol.
Thank you for sharing Cheryl
Very nice Cheryl,Just finishing a Prichard Repro, with staple frets. Should not be a problem tore set a staple. I would be more concerned about it being in the attic for 35 years, probably very dried out. I would think a good cleaning and possibly a fresh coat or two of an oil finish would be in order. Seems Ben is highly recomended on here I would def. take it to him and see what he thinks.