Forum Activity for @strumelia

Starfire, if you are talking about comments left on your profile page, then there should be a link under their comment that says "comment back", which takes you to their profile page- you can then leave them a responding comment on their profile page in their comment wall section.   :)
Anytime you click on someone's namelink here, it will take you to their personal page.

If you have other questions about how to use the site, you may find answers HERE (look through the threads of commonly asked questions) or start a new thread to ask a new question there about how to use the site.  :)

@matt-berg  ...genius!  

My noter tip would crash into anything closer than the middle string. You mean like those little stick-on circular plastic jewels kids put on their faces? I'd think they'd get in the way of any smooth sliding by either fingers or noters. I suppose a very gentle slow player might not have a problem with them.

I would think that raised fret markers could interfere badly especially with noter playing, particularly if they were located between the melody string(s) and the middle string. That'd be bad!

Besides, on any dulcimer other than a chromatic one, if you're not looking while playing anyway then raised fret markers are already there... they're called frets.  ;)

Interesting discussion! 

Yes we all agree that 'fret markers' or fret board inlays can be decorative or utilitarian, or a combination of the two.

But just for the sake of argument-  if we put aside inlays and decorations that are for decoration only.... then does the very term 'fret markers' imply that they are marking frets in some purposeful utilitarian way?  Is the purpose and definition of a 'fret marker' by its very nature to mark/differentiate a fret so as to enable the player to more easily tell one fret from its neighbor frets?

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I mean, you could have the standard of a simple dot inlay on certain frets (say 3, 5, 7, 10). Some might say that was all practical purpose without any decorative intent. If they were inlaid abalone of something you could say they were practical makers that were decorative as well.

But if you had those exact same dots on every fret they would not differentiate any fret from the others. They would have no practical purpose to differentiate certain frets, only a decorative purpose. You could have fancy leaves or vines on every fret and if they were all the same visually for every fret then they would be only decorative.

OR, you could have inlays on every fret but maybe on the 3, 5, 7 etc they could be larger or fancier. Then they'd fall back into having the practical purpose and maybe decorative as well.

I would put forth the thought that a 'marker' implies marking something so that it is recognized and stands out. And 'decorative' implies simply visual embellishment. But you could have 'markers' that are also decorative. But if they are all the same on every fret then they are simply decorations and not 'markers'.

What do you think?

One word of caution to those who use stickers on their fretboards-
There are good products for removing sticker residue once you've decided to remove longtime stickers. However, few people take into account that wood darkens over time when exposed to light- even normal room light while playing. If you leave stickers on for a year or more, when you remove them you may find that the wood is lighter colored under the stickers, thus you are left with unsightly 'ghost' marks where the stickers used to be. These marks don't even disappear when you rub oil on. I've seen these poor dulcimers on Ebay with their ugly light colored rectangles up and down their fretboards. So, consider removing fret board stickers after your initial learning period, before they create permanent cosmetic damage.

Which brings up the existential question... if one were to put a fret marker on every fret- what purpose would it serve?

That's way nicer than most cigar box guitars I've seen and heard, Bob. Niiiice!

Thank you Ken. It's a deep loss for the dulcimer world. Ralph Lee Smith has given us all so much.

We're talking about fret markers, not fret placement.

Sounds like he's not very experienced in dulcimers and diatonic instruments. He may be a good luthier at other intruments, but I don't think he understands how the concept of modal scales applies to mtn dulcimer fret patterns in particular. He's defensive because naturally no one who presents themselves as professional likes to have their lack of knowledge pointed out to them.   Still, you have done him a favor because future clients will have a hard time with his strangely placed fret markers as well, if he doesn't understand a diatonic scale with its half and whole steps and how they are used in tuning and playing. 

Well that solves the mystery. You helped improve things for the next person who buys a dulcimer from him!  Still gotta wonder though why he didn't do two minutes of simple google research or just looking at online dulcimer images before inlaying the markers.

I suspect fret markers were invented for chromatically fretted instruments. Guitar, banjo, mandolin players really need them. Sometimes they have tiny inlaid dots on the side of the necks as fret markers rather than on the fretboard itself.

I agree with the others that on dulcimers, the distinctive fret spacing patterns serve as a good visual map.  If someone wants fret markers anyway, the 3/5/7/10 placements would not cause objections form players. Other placements such as 4/6/8 don't make much sense to me and would cause confusions for many players.

Other practical problems with converting/selling this Galax dulcimer into a baritone:  First, people looking for a baritone mountain dulcimer usually don't want wooden tuning pegs . Also, most people looking for a baritone dulcimer will be chord style players , and this Galax is a real traditional wooden pegged dulcimer with no 6.5 fret. It's daunting to play a diatonically fretted dulcimer in chord style without a 6.5 fret. Baritone players are not going to want to retune in order to play various tunes. They want to stick with standard baritone tunings. And to play chord style in typical baritone tuning means you'll need that 6.5 fret.

Though not a precious museum antique, this is nonetheless a lovely traditional vintage Galax dulcimer (and such beautiful naturally blonde wood! ) though it seems to lack a double back. There is a substantial market for traditional Galaxes. It would be a bit odd to market this as a "Galax Baritone" since Galax dulcimers weren't made as baritones. There is also a good market for baritone dulcimers, but most folks who know dulcimers and are looking for a baritone dulcimer will avoid a wood peg dulcimer without a 6.5 fret that is obviously a Galax dulcimer. They'd want a more modern large scale dulcimer with 6.5 and 13.5 frets, and geared tuners.

And if for no other reason... I'm pretty sure you would get a better price selling this as a traditional restored Galax and not a concocted Barilax. (sounds like a Barium enema, hahah). If someone who loves vintage instruments did buy it, they'd probably immediately turn it back to a traditional Galax stringing anyway. Why not bring out its own natural beauty and appeal in what it is? Just my two cents. 
Do take another look at the gorgeous droolyworthy Galaxes shown on Ben Seymour's site. They are so wonderful!  I'm extremely lucky to have a custom Galax made by Ben. But this Delser has heaps and heaps of charm, especially if you let the beauty of that blonde chestnutty-poplary wood come through. 

I can't blame you. That would be somewhat distracting if you play more than one dulcimer. I suppose you could get used to it, but yeah I think you did the right thing.

If i were to retrieve the thread you deleted, then there'd be two. Since you have added a bunch of stuff to this new one, it creates a dilemma. Which thread would you want to keep? I could lock this new thread and then you could copy/paste the new posts from this thread to the old thread and I could then delete this one. Wanna try that?

Our dear FOTMD friend John P. passed away a few years ago, but
this Christmas Songs thread of his is worth bumping up - it's nice to read over again! 

Merry Christmas and Happy Holiday Season
to all FOTMD friends, every one!! 

I'm so glad this worked out so well Traildad!  Thanks for the happy update! 

I agree, I have a kit dulcimer from the 80s that looks very much the same, just slightly different peg head shape. Something about the thinness of the wood, and the 'cut' appearance of the edges.

Awesome!!!!  So excited for you!    Those look nice and bright, fresh.

Now be sure to measure how many seeds you start with in the jar, they should almost fill the jar when done. I find that 4 level teaspoons (meaning 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon, all level not rounded) will fill my entire quart jar nicely without being so tight I can't pull them out.

For lunch today I had a sandwich made with two thin slices meunster cheese and a BIG handful each of mung sprouts and red clover sprouts, on peasant bread with a little butter and mayo. Yum!  Basically a sprout sandwich.

There comes a point on a 27-28" vsl where the strings required to reach a very high note become so thin that they will probably break by virtue of their own thinness. I found this out once with .008 strings, tuning up somewhere around high f. Went through 2 strings before I decided I probably needed a shorter scale length.  ;D

How Jimmy Stewart's WWII experiences shaped It's a Wonderful Life... and how this affects us today.

Zu Zu's petals...

https://www.cnn.com/2020/12/19/entertainment/its-a-wonderful-jimmy-stewart-world-war-ii-service/index.html

old joke-
How can you tell if the stage at a bluegrass concert is level?
-the banjo player is drooling from both sides of their mouth.

As far as I know, a dulcimer having feet doesn't specifically suggest WV.  Galax dulcimers are traditionally tuned in unison all high ddd or equidistant dddd stringing. BTW we have a Group here on fotmd for Galax dulcimers- might be some fun threads in there to check out for fun.
Maybe the 1/2" action was an experiment to use it as a lap steel, with a slide? Obviously one cannot fret a 1/2" action. Maybe they clipped on a pickup. People do things weird things with dulcimers they find. Do you think the bridge and nut were replaced with high ones? Can't say much without pictures.

Agreed, that bass string someone put on is way too heavy. And yes someone might have been trying it out as a baritone. Wrong dulcimer for a baritone experiment, IMHO.  ;)

I have had some antique banjos and mandolins that absolutely had to be strung only with a slightly lighter gauge set than normal. Older instruments deserve a little love and tenderness I think.   

Dusty's right- there is no room for fine tuning beads or any kind of fine tuners behind that bridge. But if the wooden pegs are well fit to their holes, and a drop of Peg Drops applied and let to cure, then the pegs 'should' turn smoothly and hold well... as they are supposed to do.

People who buy dulcimers find out pretty quickly if they like wooden peg tuners or not. Some people won't buy vintage dulcimers by a known maker if they've had their pegs replaced with geared tuners. Other people won't buy dulcimers unless they have geared tuners. Those people aren't usually that interested in an antique or collector dulcimer. Don't worry about it, because you can't please everyone.

In general, it's best to keep an antique dulcimer with its original wooden pegs if at all possible. There are thousands of geared tuner dulcimers all over the place to buy if one wants or needs geared tuners. And only a finite number of pre-1970s dulcimers in their original configuration.
You can take pride in preserving an old instrument in a way that is faithful to its maker. Remember the word 'restore' means just that- to restore something to the way it was. Your Maxwell has a huge amount of charm and grace and should be a joy to play when strung up. I can tell you care about it. Maybe you can record a simple tune for us on it soon.   :)

The string spacing is interesting. What string arrangement are you going to use?

Probably a sign of intense concentration in the music. Lots of musicians do weird things with their mouths and their faces while playing, btw. I suspect that's why oldtime fiddlers like to sport beards so much.

If you can remind yourself periodically to close your mouth it won't matter if you're drooling.
hahahah!   :)

I found this to be really interesting. What is it about Christmas music that gives us a "Christmas/holiday feeling"?

https://www.classicfm.com/discover-music/what-makes-christmas-music-so-christmassy/

That's a nice looking dulcimer, and looks to be in fine shape.  :)

What's the scale length?

googling "dulcimer fine tuning beads" yields THIS .

I agree, Ken. 
I think you meant "Peg Drops" and behind the bridge, not the nut...right?   ;)

Warning- biased opinion ahead!:
I'm a big advocate of keeping vintage/antique collector dulcimers in original configuration. There is not an unlimited supply of antique dulcimers, and some we think of as not terribly valuable today might be precious and rare 30 years from now. Whatever your personal preferences, it is true that any collectable dulcimer will be diminished in value if you remove its wooden pegs and replace with geared. Or add extra frets, etc. I usually just suggest that if one wants geared tuners (and most folks do..they are convenient!) one should just buy a more modern dulcimer that has them already rather than alter an antique.

Nina, I'm excited for you- you GO girl!  I look forward to a few pix later.
I'm convinced that sprouts that are truly fresh (grown at home) are a real powerhouse of healthy nutrients.
Remember to keep them dark while growing, until the last day when you set the jar next to a bright window- so fun to see them get so GREEN within a few hours of being exposed to light!

Great post Dusty, I hope everyone will read it because every sentence in your post contains clear and correct information that sheds light on this whole subject.

You said:  "B flat / G / F (melody string is F)"

In listening to your sound clip of your open strings, you have lowest string (bass) at Bb. The middle string is tuned to the G above the melody string's F.  Thus, the highest sounding open string is the middle string G. 

The youtube you copied below is playing Emma's waltz with a capo at fret one, resulting in the minor-sounding aeolian mode. This is what I guessed before with your tuning. On your open F melody string, the first fret of your melody string will be your 'home'/tonic note which would be a G (matching your open middle string in G). If you aren't using a capo (without telling us), you'd be playing the waltz in the G aeolian scale, in Aeolian mode which has a lonesome/sad feel. From the internet: "G Aeolian is the sixth mode of the Bb major scale · G Aeolian Scale Notes: G A Bb C D Eb F".  Your tonic/home note is G, on the 1st fret of the melody string.

The reason your melody string is the F note LOWER than the middle string (usually it's higher than the middle string) is because if you tried to tune it to next f note one octave higher, at a 28"+ vsl that string would break no matter how thin a gauge you had. So you went with the F an octave lower which happened to be one note below the middle string G.

If you play a little snippet of an actual tune, a few measures, particularly the end... we could tell you what key and mode you are playing in, based on your tuning.

What tune are you playing with this tuning? That will help us.

What fret does the tune end on? That will help too.

I'm 'suspecting' you are playing in G aeolian, with the tonic note being G at the first fret of the melody string, and the middle string being tuned to G the tonic. That would give you the minor/lonesome sound.
But tell us answers to my questions above.

There are many good youtube tutorials if you search there for "growing sprouts in quart mason jars". You can get organic sprouting seeds easily on A*zon, also those stainless steel screen tops that I like to use.  Or just use some cheesecloth and a rubber band. Just make sure to use the wide mouth jars so you can pull the mass of grown sprouts out without damaging them. You can buy either like a 1lb bag of a certain seed (a lb of alfalfa seed last me a year) or try a collection that has several varieties of littler sampler bags of seed to try out. Be sure the seed specifically says it's for sprouting.

Once you've put in the seeds and secured the screen or mesh top, you won't be removing the top until the sprouts are all grown and ready. You just do the twice daily rinsing right through the mesh at the sink. The jars stay upside down so no water pools in the jar, and must stay covered and dark until the last day when you do a final jar rinse and set the jar by a bright windowsill- the leaves will green up within 2 or 3 hours in the light.

A handful of sprouts is actually more nutritious than a handful of lettuce leaves. It's such a cheap and easy way to have absolutely FRESH greens on hand. You'll be amazed at how low the sprouts stay fresh in your fridge- because the sprouts one buys in the store are days or sometimes more than a week old since they were packaged.

Today we taste tested the alfalfa vs the red clover sprouts. Alfalfa won again, but both were tasty.
Dusty, the red clover has very slightly more golden leaves and finer texture. The alfalfa sprouts have darker green little leaves and whiter roots, so they are really pretty. Here is a pic of a quart container full of my alfalfa sprouts after rinsing removed most of the empty hulls. They really are purty after being cleaned and drained and tucked into a fridge tub. A quart goes a long way, giving enough for several very generous sandwiches and salad toppings.
It's convenient how the empty hulls float to the top when you rinse the finished sprouts, making them easy to skim away. When you pull the wad of sprouts out of the jar, they really are a packed mass which you have to gently tease apart to wash them before draining well and putting in the fridge. That's why I never use more than 4 level teaspoons of seed for a quart jar!

Alfalfa sprouts: