I have two lovely Jack Lyle dulcimers and one has a slit longer than the one in yours and the other has none. It is most likely an additional sound hole, perhaps is presence and/or size has to do with the woods used and whether or not it needed more volume?
I am beginning to feel like a bit of a hoarder as I’m reading about everyone’s collections! At last count, I have 57 dulcimers in my collection, mostly vintage 60’s, 70’s & 80’s. Though I haven’t counted them since my last move five years ago, so I’m guessing it’s more in the mid to upper 60’s for count now. I’ve been collecting since 1981 after meeting and and purchasing my very first dulcimer from Joe Sanguinette. Little did Joe know what a crazy odyssey of a love affair that little 15 year old boy who shared his first name would go on to have with dulcimers…all because of him!
