Whit, glad to hear you enjoy those dulcimers and play them every day. 
As for your equal-tempered friends- I like to tell my Brian this: "I'm really glad you're not perfect, 'cause if you were you'd make me look bad!"
Whit Whitfield said:
P.S.-Most ofmy friends don't notice we are not quite in tune, but one are two lately have mentioned it which led to to my question.
Whit, those two luthiers are experts in placing frets at the proper intervals. Both have built dulcimers using 'Just temerament' for placing the frets, as Ken said- which means they were designed to sound best when not played chord style, and when tuned in ionian mode, which for the key of D would be DAA, not DAd. Try playing retuning them to DAA, and then play them using a noter and fretting the melody string(s) only- then tell us if they sound out of tune that way.
If they sound nice that way, then that's official- they'd be 'just temperament'-fretted dulcimers. you could sell them as 'traditional' just-tempered dulcimers and buy a dulcimer that is better suited for you. There are folks out there who'd like buying a just-tempered traditional dulcimer, and I think it'd be a better solution than sending them to have all their frets pulled and a new fingerboard installed with equal-tempered fret placement. Dulcimers by those two makers are sought after so you'd get a fair price I'm sure- with which you could buy a real nice custom new dulcimer made just the way you'd like it! :)
I love it when I struggle for an hour or so with playing some tricky thing, and I just can't for the life of me seem to make it click or get my fingers to do something....and then I go to bed and the next day as if by magic i can play it right off the bat. I like to think I got sprinkled with fairy dust while I was sleeping.
(but then there are also times when I go to bed and then still can't play it the next day... D'OH !!!) 
Thanna, don't be discouraged. It looks like you perhaps just don't fit in with that group.
All it takes is to find ONE other player who likes the same kinds of tunes you do and is open to both of you exploring and learning while playing and having fun together. Could be another dulcimer player, a fiddler, a banjo player, guitar, mandolin, whatever. Just someone who wants to work together at a beginner level on some tunes in common, without being judgemental. Maybe your teacher can help further now in this new situation.
As for the club....you already have a dulcimer teacher, one who apparently has some confidence in your abilities. Don't give up how you like to play. Perhaps that club should clarify their purpose and goals.
Yes, I have seen that happen a few times- where a new jammer starts their own tune at a slow pace which is the only way they can play it, and some hotshot starts speeding it up until the beginner simply has to drop out. How rude is that?!
So yes one thing is to ask the newcomer if they have a tune they'd like to play, and to make a point of saying they should play it at their own comfortable pace.
It's always nice to ask the newcomer if they have any favorite tunes they'd like to play.
We often hear about jam etiquette in terms of what we should do if we are trying to join and fit in with a jam, but what about looking at it from the other side?
I thought I'd toss this out there for folks to share their own ideas...
When you're playing in a jam or session, and a new hesitant person approaches, what things do you do to make them feel comfortable and welcome?
What if they are a beginner player and are having a little trouble keeping up with everyone else- what things might you do to help them out in some way?
On the flip side- what kinds of things would tend to discourage a new person and make their initial jamming experiences unsuccessful?
You're all more fun than a barrel of monkeys! :)
Happy 2nd birthday to us all!!
Yes Robin the beater/straw does 'work the same way'- except that fiddles are designed to be either bowed or plucked (pizzicato) to make a strong sound- they have such small sound boxes and short string lengths. I don't think you can get enough volume and oomph by only beating straws on the fiddle without bowing as well. But with a dulcimer/zither/hammerdulcimer you can! Thus for fiddlesticks on a fiddle you really need two people.
BUT- some fiddle players can get a good effect with bouncing their bow in a percussive way as though it was a beater- but if you watch them they are actually drawing the bow a little while they are bouncing, so they can get the strings to sound. If they did it without a hair bow, with just a stick, I wonder how much effective tone and sound they could get. --I'm assuming we are talking about actually sounding the fretted notes and melodies, rather than just tapping a stick on the soundbox with no notes like a drum rhythm.
On a dulcimer, this is called beating straws or using a striker . Obviously on the fiddle it's called 'fiddlesticks' or beating straws. Can't really call it fiddlesticks on a dulcimer though. It's a very old and traditional technique for both fiddles and dulcimer/zithers. I have enjoyed watching Bruce Greene & Loy McWhirter doing it with fiddle in their concerts.
On fiddle, you need someone fretting notes and bowing , while someone else beats with either one or two straws. On a mtn dulcimer or other zither-like instrument, it's not bowed so you don't need a 2nd person- the person playing can fret with one hand and beat one or two straws or use the striker with the right hand instead of a pick. Some folks use broom straws or chopsticks, or either bamboo or steel thin knitting needles.
Here's my favorite example of using a striker on a 'zither/dulcimer-type instrument'- this one is being used on an epinette:
Here's a classic fiddlesticks example:
Uh oh, i guess i;m in trouble now. 
John Henry said:
Oh Strumelia, you fickle fing !!!
There's me thinking that you loved the mt'n dulcimer !
JohnH
Robin,
As you know, I've been working on that Eriksen banjo version of Sugar Baby (also see the other threads here on FOTMD re: Red Rocking Chair/Sugar babe). He uses an old tuning which is nice. Karen Dalton did a nice banjo version of Red Rocking Chair as well.
I'm glad you are exploring the wonderful uniqueness that is ...banjo. It's a lifelong love affair.
Your banjo playing is really sounding good Robin. Most people take several years to get to where you are now. You must be getting help from Rick!
Most old-time players consider Clarence Ashley's banjo/singing version to be 'the gold standard', but of course it's good to have your own version in the end.
That banjo you are playing has a really nice tone.
Robin, that dropthumb teaching video is very well done- I'm glad you found it, he gives great advice and it's very clear!
He's an excellent teacher.
Paul what you said about Pete Seeger is fascinating. I found the very same thing to be true for me- that learning/teaching dropthumb later on in one's playing is not ideal.
Robin- try watching/listening to Doc Boggs on banjo- it's pretty inspiring and yummy. I have a friend who learned nylon-strung fretless playing by listening to his playing and she sounds fabulous . Wish I could play like her!
That's exactly what I was trying to convey! Break up the standard strumming structure and throw in syncopated pauses, dropthumbs, hammer/pulls, and slides...they are the tools to make your playing come alive and be really banjo . Every time you start feeling too comfortable with doing something the same way, break it up again with something new like drop thumbing on a different string or using a left hand pluck note in a syncopated rhythm place, etc. Keep shaking things up and you will start automatically incorporating the little tricks and tools in to your normal play without having to think about it much. It will make your playing much more interesting and alive. Keep up the good work!
If you choose crooked/funky tunes to do this practice with, it will force you to break out of the comfortable bump-a-ditty pattern, which will be even more helpful. I had to do this. Actually, what I did was lock away my fretted banjos after two years of playing and force myself to play fretless banjo only for about a year, and boy that was the biggest thing that broke me of my over-dependence on banjo chord strumming. 
I doubt you would ever need to take such drastic action as I had to. 
Robin you are very observant!
Dwight doesn't believe in teaching beginners to drop thumb much. In fact, he is the one who discouraged me from incorporating drop thumb as a beginner- which is exactly part of what caused me big problems a year later as my playing improved.
Because of that, I always teach my beginner students drop thumb right from the beginning, with good results.
Dwight is all about rhythm, and he's one of my favorite players to listen to. :)
In his classes and teaching, Dwight doesn't touch on drop thumbs much if at all. But if you watch Dwight playing banjo in a non-teaching setting, you'll find he drop thumbs regularly (you can hear them more than see them)- but it's always really hard to see anything about what his individual fingers are doing because his hands are like big HAMS! lol! His fingernails are like horse hooves !
Looks like a humdinger of a banjo, Robin. I love those 'put together' basic banjos- they often have that wonderful down home sound. Reminds me of the 1060's Kay banjos that were very affordable and simple back then, but are now much sought after by smart banjo players because they were well built despite their plainness and they just play and sound GOOD! Is it a spun-over metal pot or a wooden pot?
Yes a good approach is to keep testing things and not let yourself get cemented into habits that might hold you back later. I made that mistake by avoiding drop thumbs the first year and when i tried to incorporate them later I found it terribly difficult. I learned a lot from that mistake. I was fortunate to take a workshop with Brad Leftwich at the time and I got a 30 minute private sit down with him. I asked him why i couldn't manage the drop thumb well, and he watched me and nailed it - he showed me the specific details of what my problem was, he knew exactly, and after that I was able to 'get it'. Otherwise my rhythm would have continued to be slightly awkward forever I think.
i found the best books & teaching materials for me were from Dwight Diller, Brad Leftwich, and Miles Krasson's book- all their ways of playing are a little different, but they all 3 teach fingering and phrases that encourage natural fluidity and yummy syncopated rhythms. They broke me of my self imposed chord-based bump-ditty dependence- that was my personal problem in my first couple of years. Not saying you are going to be like that at all- I think you are a more experienced musician than I am for one thing- just saying what helped me tremendously with my own banjo struggle. :)
You are done for now...the long slippery banjo slope.
You'll find that dulcimer fingering and rhythm doesn't really translate well onto banjo.
You are a good musician, so I'm hearing in your clip that you are able to dive right in and find all the notes pretty quickly- a great accomplishment and head start!
But it will take a much longer time to get the 'feel' of the special rhythms the banjo offers. Right now you are playing rapid fire melody single notes on one string at a time, with an occasional decorative strum. That won't get you a real southern appalachian banjo sound- it's more Dave Macon/Pete Seeger. Start learning especially drop thumb , start using slides and hammer-ons/pulloffs instead of keeping each note separate. I'm just trying to be helpful when i say think more ice skating and skipping and less typewriter. Think of the air pauses- they are just as important as the notes.
My suggestion is to slow down and forget trying to play fast tunes with lots of notes. That will not get you to where I suspect you want to go. Take a lot of steps backwards and work slowly on the RHYTHM, not the notes, not speed. To get the special banjo rhythm you'll need to work hard on drop thumb, slides, pulloffs, and hammerons...but drop thumb more than anything. Those are the tools. And remember your friend is the open drone strings- but not just for brushing and strumming- rather they are an integral part of almost every little 'dance phrase' of notes. I hope some of this makes some sense- it's hard to put into words! 
The commonest problem I see with new banjo students?- waggling their thumb separately from the rest of their hand, and using it as an afterthought in a separate note. The thumb needs to BE THERE ALREADY on the thumb string and just lifted off to make the rhythm note sound- you can't bring it along and position it only when you are going to make that note, like you do with the other fingers and notes.
So tell us about your new banjo...and pictures!!
Wow, that is so terrific !! I love it!
I have two red Snarks. I like them very much! Plus they are inexpensive. Good grippers on the clamp.
I like that you can pluck a new note and the tuner picks up on it right away- you dont have to wait for the old note to fade out.
A friend bought one and his broke after a day, but he was carrying it in his pants pocket, so I dont know what might have happened.
Don't be afraid to be frank with him though- banjo players are used to being told to 'stuff a sock in it'.
LOL!
How can you tell if the stage is level at a bluegrass concert?
....the banjo player is drooling out of both sides of his mouth. 
Speaking from my own personal experience... I honestly do not find my Galax dulcimer to be particularly louder than the non-Galax dulcimers I have played. It has a deep large box which makes it sound a bit deeper, so the tone is not 'brighter' either, which Melissa says she wants.
Melissa has no dulcimers right now, and she's looking for ONE that will do it all. Since she says she wants to do some chording as well, I'd recommend against a Galax dulcimer, unless she is going to string it in standard form with a heavy bass string....but why choose a Galax anyway if not stringing it in high octave?
Modern Mountain Dulcimers have the volume and the double back, and probably the brightness if you ask for it...but I doubt they'd fall under the $400 range.
McSpaddens would fit the bill- but Melissa didn't like the looks of the one she had.
Lots of things to consider!
Hi Melissa,
Though there are some good quality dulcimers made for $400 or less, that price will be a somewhat limiting factor, in terms of false-backs, custom wood choices, etc. Some McSpaddens will fall within that price range, but may go over w/case, shipping, etc. You might want to look in the beginner GROUP here at the several threads about choosing your first dulcimer- since you have a lot in common with them in terms of buying only one instrument to 'do it all' plus the modest price range. There is a long and excellent thread there discussing the good luthiers who produce modestly priced new dulcimers.
One more point- chording does not require a 26-27" VSL. Any VSL/scale from 26"-28" will be just great for doing anything.
I'm not talking about what playing styles people use, but rather what kinds of tunes and songs you like to play most on your mountain dulcimer....?
What do you like to play most often?-
jazz, old English/Appalachian ballads, countrywestern, blues, traditional hymns, modern popular music, American folk songs from the 1940's-60's, original compositions, fiddle tunes, childrens songs, classical music, rock music, trad Irish/Celtic music, medieval, or some other kind of tunes....?
Tell us what kind of music you mostly like to play! I'd love to hear what people are most into on their dulcimers these days.
You can list your several favorite types, too. But if you say you like to play them ALL, ...then that's not really listing your 'favorites', is it?- so please, tell us your favorite types of music to play- maybe pick between 1-4 types maximum if possible.
Carol I'm very happy to hear that. Every time i have wooden pegs on an instrument and they refuse to work well for me, I have found that Peg Drops makes the pegs behave very nicely- just one drop does the trick every time for me!
If only more folks would try that rather than immediately changing the wooden pegs out for mechanical at the first sign of trouble.
Paul- all the old-time fiddlers I know have fine tuners on their fiddles...and I do know many fiddlers.
Lois, their seems to be a group for beginners over there, called Pstudents:
http://psalterystrings.ning.com/groups
Maybe that's the group for beginner psaltery players that Grace referred to.
...and here is a link to the online community just for bowed psaltery players!:
http://psalterystrings.ning.com/
Here is what I was doing all this past Saturday, at the Dance Flurry in Saratoga NY, 2011.
(I actually was amongst the dancers in both these two videos, but I'm not really visible.)
I had a heck of a good time, but as expected, I was sore for 3 days after arriving there at 10am and leaving after midnight, dancing most of that time. I must have danced for about 10-12 hours Saturday. I took classes in Norwegian, Swedish, and Italian village dances, but mostly did contra dancing in between, like the two contra dances shown here. The second clip shows a really cool two-person band with digiridoo, the first band is more typical.
talk about your major exercise ! 
My poor feet the next day...
Well I guess dancing falls within percussion instruments in this 'other instruments' forum.
I thought this was really funny.
(Warning: lyrics contain the 'sh' word, but nothing worse.)
http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/5f0cf25368/how-to-write-a-love-song