Forum Activity for @sam

Well ... I'm certainly not going to try it ... I like it here too much

... and Lisa would be pulling my account.

One of the neatest things is, the minnows still nip at your toes and the hairs on your legs just like they did when I was a kid. It's a weird feeling. It would have scared the beejeebers out of me if I hadn't grown up there and knew what it was. I do miss the neighborhood kids though. So far, every time I've been I've had the place to myself. Growing up we didn't have 'walk-mans', game boys, texting, facebook, etc etc etc ... so we went swimmin!

It is ... don't know about the cell phone though .................

... just turned my cell phone hind side before, CLICK! and ... there I was ..............

Been a weird year here John. We had 70's and 80's in Feb and March, then it turned cold, wet and nasty for about 4 years then mid June it started heating up again. Water levels haven't fallen to where it usually is in the river yet this year so the water is still moving pretty good and still appears clear and fresh. It's been a great way to cool off and flush some of the sweat and grime off while working.

Hope your breakfast was just the start of a very good day.

... yep, I am!

It's been hot here. I've been working on cleaning up the storm damage to lots of my trees. Running a chain saw, piling and burning brush in 100 degree plus temps is hot dirty work. The old place is near the river and it's only a short walk to the 'ol' swimmin' hole' I swam in as a kid. It's a great way to cool off and get a little of the sawdust out of my ears.

FOTMD has a lot to offer. It's the most positive site that I know of. I think all the active members really look forward to spending a little time here amongst friends.

I really like the looks of that Ledford dulcimer. Congrats on a fantastic find. Hope you enjoy it for years to come.

YESSSSSSSSSSSS !!!

If the bridge is not glued or afixed solid to the fretboard you could mark it carefully for position, loosen all the stings and slid a shim underneath it (a piece of paper or thing cardboard). If it is solid, you can try tiny pieces of tape in the grooves of the bridge and/or nut. The nut is most likely glued in. One thing you will notice ... if you go to heavier strings, it will raise the action a tiny bit ... the strings won't go quite as far down into the notches and they will be at a higher tension as well. Maybe a combination of two or three small things will give you the action and tension you need. I wouldn't make any real structural changes until I tried the small things that you can do yourself.

Rob's advice is right on. I would also remember that McSpadden and cherry sort of lean toward a softer sound (from my limited experience). Try a set of heavier gauge strings as Rob suggested. I think they will liven up your McSapdden and compliment your playing style.

Sam

Bill, not being able to see the instrument, I'd put just a little lemon oil on the tuning gears as well. Don't hurry them, let them soak a day or so, reapply then try them gently. If the strings are old, you might catch them off some way and cut them to relieve the tension on the tuning gears. That might help too.

Great story Dana ... one that memories are made of. I bet you have a relationship with the German lady like no one else ... an' that's a GOOD thing!

Dana R. McCall said:

LOL I'm pretty good at fiddlin around just don't know about with a jimbow.

@ Sam, Sam I do love making new friends, my husband says I never meet an enemy. Once a friend of mine years ago that was German and her mother was still in Germany. He mom was going to visit, so when she got here a lot of us got together, I said Hi to her and started talking to her, she would nod her head and say Ya Ya , I thought she was agreeing with everything I had to say LOL. soon a crowd was gathering around us and I saw a lot of snickers and giggles . In a few her daughter Linda came up to me and said Dana Mom doesn't speak a word of English . I was flabbergasted , I said well we were having a heck of a conversation !Needless to say we got along great I did all the talking and she did all the listening HAHA I took her for a ride in my little green dunebuggy and she had a ball, we understood each other on a different level, we enjoyed laughing and having fun .

I suspect that anyone you meet will very likely become a friend. How could they not?

Great find Dana !!! Hope you'll put up a vid soon. I bet it sounds as good as it looks. Very good price. Congrats!

Swipe the bag from one of those folding lawn chairs. 'bout the right size, has a draw string closer, shoulder strap, HEAVY rip stop nylon ... AMAZING colors (if you look). Works good, I'm using one for a dulcimer I take with me sometimes. The one I have is in electric lilac ... a bit feminine but really bright and cheery.

No, no, no ... not THOSE shrooms!

phil said:

Hmmm I have always been a bit supices of her when it comes to 'shrooms

Now Phil, you know they ain't no surer way to taint a friendship than to cast dispersion on another man's houn' dog ... er ... how's yer wife at hand signals?

... hmmm ... disaster is still a heck of a lot easier to spell than pisco ... er .. silobaby ... uh ... salmonita ......

Robin in good years when there are lots of morels ... if you find more than you want for dinner, fry the rest just as if you were going to eat them and then let 'em cool and freeze 'em. Here, we like to shake 'em in flour and saute' in butter with a little salt and black pepper. If you prepare them that way, then freeze them in freezer bags they keep well for years (if you stay out of 'em). They won't taste like fresh, but in February .... THEY'RE GREAT!!!

Robin Thompson said:

3 dozen-- wow!
I looked Sunday but haven't looked today. Maybe I'd better get out tomorrow.

Hey Phil ... maybe you could train up a morel sniffing pig like they do for truffels! Matter of fact, I work pretty cheap OINK OINK ... ate all those for dinner last night!

phil said:

the 'Shrooms are up here in Indiana too. Does me no good to go looking for'em I always seem to walk right past them. Was out by the lake this weekend and the cars where parked along side the road and the woods was filled with 'Shrooms hunter carrying there 'Shrooms hunting sicks.

Thanks Carrie ... great day out. Not to cool, not too hot. Just had some of the morels ... just as good as always. We've had warm weather early here this year. If it holds I hope to freeze a bunch of morels.

Found 3 dozen today. My youngest son came by we had a terrific trail ride on our atv's back into the mountains shroomin'. Hard to believe that the forest we were in used to be plowed fields. Look at these 'stack rocks'. Used to do that as a boy to clear the rocks out for a 'new' ground.

Both instruments are fine examples of an artizan's craft. Beautiful, just beautiful.

DT;

The new one I received in the mail yesterday is the only snark I've had any experience with. I have a feeling that the 'accuracy' claim is pure advertising. My Korg CA-1 seems just as good. The key feature for me though WAS the new display. I can see it while it's clipped on to the headstock of my dulcimer without using my glasses. I do question the durability of the snark. The Korg is very robust (except for cement floors). I won't use the swivel on it much, I think it would wear quickly. The clamp does seem adequate.

I had trouble on occasion with background noise (tv etc.) registering on the Korg. The snark 'reading' vibes through the head stock may be a real advantage. Still new, I'll have a more objective opinion once I've used it a while.

Got my new Snark SN8 in the mail yesterday. The display bars are bigger and easier to read than on earlier models. I have a Korg CA-1 and I like it but I really do like the 'clip on' feature of the snark. With preliminary testing it does not appear to be anymore accurate than the Korg. It comes with a default setting of 440, I'm not sure if I need to change that, but my dulcimer tunes nicely at that setting and it seems to agree favorably with the Korg.

$12.69 FREE shipping ebay.

For it is written:

He who knows not, knows not

He who knows not that he knows not ...

... is a not knows .......

I might even wear BACON !!!

I spend a lot of time viewing videos here and on youtube. Here's my favorite:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/video/brianlisa-hellupcoalholler

John P has given the correct response. The slot in question is the black space in the tail stock in the picture. It is hollow. It just doesn't need filled and it also allows additional 'sound hole' function. It belongs there on a McSpadden. It is the way they are designed and built.

As for the base string buzz... try this: Carefully cut a 1/4 " inch square of black electricians tape and fold it in half, sticky side out. That's a small piece of tape and hard to handle, you may want to use a tweezer. Then loosen your base string just enough to slide the tape under the string, at the nut, not letting it extend past the nut toward the bridge. Retune the string. The tape will space it up enough to let you know if you have a high fret or a nut problem and then you can effect a more permanent repair.

Congrats on the purchase. I'm sure you will love your McSpadden.

Strapped for time. Didn't see a thread right away .... soooOOOOOOooooo .....

Well ... since I don't actually play, I have substantial limitations. I can strum the melody to a few tunes and so that's where I am. I like older folk tunes. I guess the standards are what I most want to play ... Shady Grove, Old Joe Clark, things like that.

I enjoy listening to almost everything and really hope to improve to the point that I'll be able to actually play a few songs all the way through.

heheh heh ... wanna cheap high??? Click 'play' on the first video ... wait 20 seconds and click 'play' on the second video ..... MUWAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHHH . ! ! !

I once saw Mr. Doug Kershaw perform "Lousiana Man" on the Ed Sullivan show. His unique style with his 'fiddle', his mellow voice (capable of reaching wonderful AAYYYYYY - EEEEEEEEEEEE's when called upon) and the rhythmic time kept by his feet were memorable. I have looked for that video particulary to revisit the accompanying beat he kept with his feet. I cannot emphasize enough how much it enhanced that performance.

Instruments? Yes in this case, I think so.

Wonderful perspective Lisa.

I wish I'd discovered the dulcimer earlier since it is an instrument that I can play in spite of the way my brain is wired. In grade school, I pretty much gave up on the idea of actually learning to play an instrument and now there isn't enough time to learn all the songs I'd like to learn, but I do enjoy what I have learned.