To remove one string or not to remove, that’s the question
General mountain dulcimer or music discussions
Hi @Silverstrings. When I first started playing the dulcimer I played with a double melody string because, well, that's how my first dulcimer was sold to me. I was advised by more experienced players to remove one of them because it would be "easier" to play with just three strings, but I arrogantly ignored that advice, thinking that since I had played mandolin and have a 12-string guitar, the double strings would not be a problem for me. One day when putting on new strings I decided to leave the extra melody string off to see what it would be like, and I immediately knew I liked the sound better. A single melody string just makes for such a cleaner and less cluttered sound. I never put a second melody string on a dulcimer after that moment.
There are other benefits to a single melody string which you point to: it is easier to perform hammer-ons and pull-offs. And it is nearly impossible to bend strings well with a double melody since the two strings do not bend at exactly the same rate.
Luckily, you don't have to make this decision permanently. Switch to a single melody string, play for a while, and see how you like it. If you don't you can always put the extra string back on.
I understand that noter/drone players enjoy zinging up and down the fretboard, and supposedly the double melody strings create a better balance between the melody and the drones. But if you fret across all the strings, using a single melody string actually creates that balance since all strings play the melody more or less equally.
If you search through the past discussion here at FOTMD, you will find that several address this very issue. Here is one of them . (And looking through that old discussion, I realize that I posted nearly the same comments I added here. At least I'm consistent.)
updated by @dusty: 11/25/19 11:36:03AM