Forum Activity for @strumelia

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:

@dulcinina here are a few pix from this morning. The full jar ready to harvest is red clover. The little seeds just soaked overnight and ready to start growing are alfalfa. Then you see the mung beans which have been growing about three days after soaking overnight.
Then pix of pulling the mat of sprouts out of the jar, and teasing them apart and risning in a tub where the hulls float and can be skimmed away. then the finished rinsed drained red clover sprouts in a quart tupperware tub for the fridge.

Hi Lois, I just posted a comment on the comment wall of the Dulcimer Therapy Group. I also posted in a discussion in the Little Dulcimers Group. Both posts immediately appeared in the main 'feed' on FOTMD's Home Page. If you post something new on the site, it usually appears in the main activity feed (except for comments on people's personal profile pages).

If you want to get notifications concerning new content in particular Groups that interest you, then read this: https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/site-questions-how-do-i/18538/new-group-follow-features-added   You can also subscribe to get notifications on Forum topics you like.

Because Groups are generally more focused on special interests, they tend to have less activity than the General site forums have. As with any online forum, people tend to get back what they put in, as opposed to say watching a movie. Flurries of activity come and go in various places on our site and at any given time. Some threads or groups more than others, some members more than others.

As to scrolling 72 pages, well any site with an activity feed will require a lot of scrolling through past pages if you only visit the site once in a while and then want to review weeks' worth of activity. Facebook is even worse imho since it doesn't even utilize pages...just one bottomless Black Hole of Scroll.

Lois I notice you always seem to post about having trouble missing out on or finding old content after returning intermittently, despite being a long time member. I hope this info from Dusty and me helps in some way. Maybe if you visit more often and post more in the groups and forums that interest you, you won't need to search so hard for activity you missed.  ;)

Well, just that one will also need to be sure the string gauges are appropriate to both the tuning to be used, and the scale length/VSL of the dulcimer. Otherwise even with correct action you might wind up with buzzes (strings too loose), or strings that are too high tension and perhaps unpleasant to play. Keep in mind also that beginner players often like very low action for their sore fingers, and people who strum vigorously might need slightly higher action to avoid strings hitting the frets. (This being a separate consideration from the "noter players like higher action" thing.)

I tried a variety mix once, but found it problematic that the different types of seeds matured at slightly different rates. I also found the larger seed ones in the mix to be a little too crunchy. But some folks like the mixes especially for sandwiches and salads, so you could try a small package maybe? Other people love broccoli sprouts.
My husband and I like mild   tasting sprouts best, so our mainstay is alfalfa. Every time I try something different, we wind up going back to alfalfa...I guess we're just set in our boring ways. 

Dulcinina, yes cheese cloth and a rubber band works too!  Some people cut plastic cross-stitch mesh into circles to use with the canning jar's metal band top. Others use pieces of tulle fabric or landscaping mesh. Anything that keeps the seeds in but lets water drain out. I just find the stainless steel screens to be convenient to clean and reuse, since I sprout a lot.

Try to use the WIDE-mouth canning jars, so that it's easy to pull the finished clump of sprouts out once they are done growing... usually the sprouts pack the entire jar if you start with 4 teaspoons of seed, and it's hard to pull a big dense clump out with a small mouth jar. You can use a little less seed, or smaller jars or different containers, but don't use more than 4 teaspoons of say alfalfa or radish per quart jar or the sprouts will get too crowded to grow. I read that a 1/4 cup of mung beans per quart jar works well, but I'm trying that out now.
I'll try to get some photos later to add.  :)

Now that Winter has set in and the veggie garden is dormant, I've started my winter tradition of growing fresh sprouts in jars in my kitchen.

Especially now during the pandemic when I want to avoid frequent trips out to buy food, fresh SPROUTS are a terrific substitute for lettuce! We pile them on sandwiches, in tortilla rollups, and as a side for scrambled eggs or anywhere you would want a little handful of greens. Mung sprouts are also good in stir fried dishes. I find that a head of pretty purple raddichio stays nice for three whole weeks in the fridge, so a couple of thin slices of raddichio, some grated carrot, and a handful of sprouts (and some croutons!) makes a wonderful salad.

This year with buying lettuce less frequently, I went all in and am adding two other types of sprouts to our usual favorite of alfalfa sprouts... I'm now alternating growing jars of alfalfa sprouts with mung bean and red clover. (we don't care for the peppery types like radish sprouts though some folks love those)

I use quart jars with screw on screen tops, and because each jar takes 5 or 6 days I keep two jars growing at any given time. I start a new jar every 4 days or so because it takes us about four days to eat through each batch. I just have to remember to rinse and drain the growing sprouts twice a day so they stay moist and clean while growing. I keep the jars upside down (to avoid any water pooling in the jar) in my dish draining rack, covered with a cloth to keep them dark. On the last day I sit the jar near a bright window and they totally green up within a few hours- so pretty and magical! Then I pull them out of the jar, tease them apart, rinse several times to remove most of the hulls, and put them in a plastic tub in the fridge to eat. A quart jar can make a big bunch of sprouts! It only takes 4 teaspoons of alfalfa seeds to wind up with a quart jar jammed FULL of mature sprouts.
I buy organic 'sprouting seeds' on am*zon in 1 pound bags. Don't use seeds meant for planting because those are often treated and/or GMO. A 1lb bag will last you at least a year. 
Just seeing the green jars growing in my kitchen during the dead of winter always brings me a feeling of hope and renewal.

On Christmas day 2020 it will be ten years since Rod passed away. Just wanted to post a fond remembrance of "Deputy Mo" again. He contributed so much friendship and encouragement to members here on FOTMD. Rest in peace and in music, Rod.

Yes I'd say they were old Grover planet banjo tuners. Probably previously used. Not the highest quality of planetary tuners, being 2:1 ratio.

"Uncle" Ed Thomas. Nathina if you are really interested in this subject you'll need to do some reading and learning from books and articles on dulcimer history and traditions. There's a lot to learn but it's all well worth the effort to those with a serious interest. Stumbling onto a real Thomas is arguably the Holy Grail of antique dulcimers. Also some fun related content here on fotmd by doing a main search for "Ed Thomas". Also, maybe you'll enjoy some of the threads in this Group . And you'll definitely want to read Ralph Lee Smith's Dulcimer Traditions, and his The Story of the Dulcimer.

Maxwells are vintage and are slowly now becoming 'historic' dulcimers and collectors items. Be careful about making changes to one, as putting in more frets, changing the wooden tuners, replacing parts, and refinishing can all actually permanently devalue it. If it's an original wooden case made by Maxwell that too would be part of the value. An old dulcimer is most valuable when it is in good condition and as close to unchanged as possible.
The thing is, there are so many newer dulcimers available for sale that already have geared tuners and 6.5 frets etc. And dulcimers are not that expensive. I always feel it's a shame to change a lovely vintage dulcimer from its original state and intent. Modernizing antique instruments usually devalues them. Just my two cents!

I would love for Ken Longfield to post again (with pix) about how he restored a rare "Uncle Ed" Thomas dulcimer that was all smashed up. An monumental and successful project!

Ok I get it- cutting the wire and twisting the loops ends. I wondered whether you were making strings from some other material. Like weedwacker line maybe, or maybe like when I twist one to two dozen horse tail hairs into a rope to make strings for my jouhikko . Thanks!

Just curious- what gauge strings did you put on this walnut beauty, John?  And is it tuned to the key of D?

Lovely, John! 

Please tell us what you mean by homemade strings. ? 

Traildad, I'm not sure exactly what you are meaning, but perhaps this prior discussion will help you:

https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/site-questions-how-do-i/18538/new-group-follow-features-added

Dusty, you explained it better than I did.  (i didn't see your post until after i posted mine)

Hi Paul... that "comment Back" link is only available for comments left on someone's profile page comment wall .

What you are referring to are comments left on your Keith Young photo , here .

You should simply respond to Robin's comment right above it in the text box, as another comment on your photo. Think of it sort of like it's a little discussion going on about your photo. Robin will see your post.  :)

Shouldn't be a problem on such a long scale. If they feel loose to you then put on a slightly heavier string, say a .012 instead of .010.

Yeah the Murphy book is a winner as well, Robin! 
I have a vague memory- I forget who is was here, a member, who bought the actual old Will Singleton dulcimer pictured in the Murphy book. Anyone?..

I highly recommend getting a copy of Jean Ritchie's paperback book Dulcimer People, used or new.
It's hugely helpful for learning about post-revival dulcimer makers and their instruments. Vintage dulcimers pop up so frequently on used auction sites, and they can run the gamut of value, quality, and expense. Jean's book can really help in making informed decisions before one clicks the Buy button. It's fascinating reading! ...and amazingly, a few of the people in it are also members of FOTMD so it's nice to read a little about these talented people.

If it were made from a Capritaurus kit, that would explain the label not including a signature or date. Maybe there was a special label included with kits. It would also explain the plywood back and inexpensive tuners.

Browsing old dulcimers on Ebay can be fun and addictive, but it's often frustrating and is never without risk, especially if one is unfamiliar with mountain dulcimer history and makers. With older instruments of any kind there are often more questions than answers, and on Ebay you only get what info the seller has to offer, and they sometimes know little about dulcimers as well.

Seems overpriced to me.

Great!   :)