Forum Activity for @john-c-knopf

It looks brand-new!  Great job!  Now let's hear you play it!

Beth, I don't know the specific answers to your questions, but I met Tom Fellenbaum several years ago, and I know that he does excellent work.  

At the time I met him, he had a shop in Black Mountain, NC, and made bowed psalteries as well as mountain dulcimers.

I use paste wax made by Minwax on my new dulcimers.  Just pop the lid off the can, scoop a small dab out with a soft rag, and rub on the surfaces.  Wait about 20 minutes, then buff with a soft flannel cloth.  Smells good, too.  A large hardware store should stock it.

Lisa, you can enjoy playing one of these old-timey, single-peg dulcimers yourself.  I know a guy...

I have not had any problems buying online from eBay sellers.  The items and descriptions were fine, and they all arrived in good shape.

That's the $100,000 question, George.  Fine dulcimers made by known builders have recognized value in the marketplace, but sometimes they're not set-up the way we would prefer them to be set-up.  So the question becomes "Do I change things and ruin the recognized value (but be able to play them as I wish), or do I leave them as-is, and not want to play them?"  You indeed may want to (or need to) sell them at some future date.

Years ago I found a Warren A. May poplar dulcimer on eBay, selling for an attractive price.  I won the auction, and when the dulcimer arrived, I found that it sounded odd to me at the low end.  The first fret sounded way off, so I considered changing its position. Then I ran into the same quandary that you find yourself in now.  Incidentally, I inadvertently ruined that dulcimer's fine lacquer finish by taking the very cold dulcimer out of the box in a warm room.  The finish crazed instantly!  The good news is that I resold it on eBay (for a higher price!) to a person who didn't mind the crazed finish.

Or is it perhaps from "The Dulcimer Shoppe" in Mountain View, Ark.?

George,

The issues involved are: Can you get the correct size of fret wire?

Do you know the exact position to place the new fret?

Can you accurately cut a new slot there, of the proper width?

Can you hammer it in, trim the ends, and level it to the other frets?

If you can answer "yes" to all of the above, go for it!

Go to any Guitar Center or Radio Shack or Best Buy store, and they will have something you can use.

I thought of Cripple Creek too, because of the soundholes.  But they would have marked it, I'm sure.

I'm proud to know you, buddy!  Now we've both gotten some ink regarding our unusual craft activities!

That's a great article, and Nicole seems to have presented the facts properly-- something that is rare to see.

Congratulations.

I vote for sycamore.  My Noah's Ark dulcimer is sycamore, and the color and figure look just like that.  Almost a fur-like appearance.

Very sorry to hear this sad news.  May God comfort his family and friends.

I just want to bring a little joy to people's lives by playing at church or at home once in a while.  No big aspirations here.  And I like to supply others with the equipment needed to do the same in their own lives.  The instrument's history and traditions are what interest me most, not so much the playing.

Noah, it could be fretted in another temperament other than the equal-temperament that most modern dulcimers have.  It could have been designed to play in one particular tuning, or to play only in the noter/drone style. There are discussions on this site regarding this issue.  By no means should you consider the fretting pattern a defect in building.  You may want to check into this here, or at Everything Dulcimer.  Best wishes in your research.

There's always the lightweight fiberglass gun case route you could take. 

They're about the right size and shape, once you pad the inside to suit.

It's just that you might get some interested looks from airport security if you try to bring one on a plane... 

What do the 2 jacks look like?  A 1/4" phone jack is pretty much the standard for guitars, amps, mikes, etc.

Sometimes you run across a 1/8" phone jack, in which case you can get a little adapter to go from one to the other.

You need to figure out your intended clientele, I think.  Give the customer what s/he is looking for, whatever it is.  More frets, fewer frets.

There are so many configurations available now that it makes one's head spin.  Many times a dulcimer is no longer just a dulcimer.

How about cutting some of all types, and using the desired one on a particular build.

There are photos of this dulcimer already on my FOTMD page (and a soundclip), and on my website, but new ones with the new owner will be great!

Robin, that's the one he's getting!  I'll have to make another one for me...

I'm convinced that it's a McSpadden kit. The scroll and tuners as well as the walnut plywood are giveaways.  My first kit looked like that exactly!

Here comes 2016 -- a brand new year, with no mistakes... yet!

Happy New Year to one and all.

Is it a painted finish? Or stain, or oxidation?  Who was the builder?

George, you can't go wrong with a Warren May dulcimer.  They are high-quality from a man who's made thousands of them now.

Yep, it was a fun time, and the weather was great.  Lots of music, history, friends, and good times. 

Things in Hindman seem to be progressing well now.  And the new dulcimer museum is fantastic!

You can also try a nearby Guitar Center store.  They sell strings separately by gauge at the parts counter.

If you don't need the brass "ball" on the end of some strings, you can carefully remove it by squeezing it sideways with large pliers.  It will fracture and collapse into 2 or 3 pieces which can then be removed, leaving a plain loop at the end.

Archie, this is not a dulcimer store, but they have some parts and strings you can use.  Excellent, fast service and low prices:

www.cbgitty.com

Have you already looked at Folkcraft, Musikits, McSpadden, etc.?

I wouldn't use nylon or gut strings on a modern dulcimer.  They were made to use steel strings.

If a friction peg slips, the screw on the end needs to be tightened, that's all.

There are two flat fiber washers with each peg, which fit between the pegbox and the tuner halves.  These are the friction parts, which will eventually wear out.  No other material will work properly, as far as I know.  The pegs work by squeezing the wood between the parts of the pegs.

Hello!  Yes, there are several types of tuners out there, all of which serve to tighten a string to pitch.  Some do it more effectively than others.  The difference is in their price, style, materials used, and appearance.  

You could use screw eyes as they used to put on Tennessee music boxes, or use so-called zither pins which have a fine thread that goes down into solid wood.  These are more difficult to use than the others, and are not suited to constant re-tuning.  Getting them to the exact spot you want is not easy! And zither pins require a separate key or wrench to adjust.

Violin pegs could be used, or Perfection pegs which are actually geared mechanical pegs made to look like wooden pegs.  Both of these require fitting their tapers to reamed holes by a qualified luthier.

Planetary pegs, such as the ones made by Waverly, are large and expensive, but very smooth in operation.  

Guitar machines range from the very cheap, open-geared type to smooth-working, sealed Grover or Gotoh types with beautiful finishes.  

Friction pegs are made for banjos, but work well with dulcimers.  They don't like the heavier-gauge strings, however, and have a hard time holding them up to pitch.  The strength of grip is adjusted by means of a screw in the end of the knob.

You can usually replace one type of tuner with another, depending on how the holes in the pegbox are done. Holes that are too large can be plugged and redrilled, but it's a lot of work.

As far as my Number 1 choice goes, it depends on what dulcimer I'm working on.  Historic reproductions get tuners that are appropriate to their style (usually handcarved wooden pegs). Modern dulcimers can be fitted with just about any of the types. If price (and space) were no object, I'd use the planetary tuners.

Another legendary builder has passed from our scene.  May God comfort his family.

Tuner replacement is a pretty easy process, usually.  Especially this kind, where you're not dealing with a violin taper in the holes.  New tuners are inexpensive and quite simple to install if you're handy with tools.  You could go with straight banjo pegs or right-angle guitar tuning pegs.

Barbara, I've been naming the dulcimers I build for the past couple of years.  

They're usually Bible names, taken from the Psalms.  Each one is different, kinda like those Cabbage Patch Kids.

I think the respondents have nailed it. A 1970's or 1980's model mass-produced overseas for a store such as Sears.

I've seen many of these in a couple different designs. Not especially good quality, but serviceable.

This is interesting.

I remember the sound of the dulcimer in the pilot episode, but I don't remember Judy Collins playing one in the other episode. Nor do I remember the wedding episode. Guess I'll look at them again on my DVD. Thanks for the link!

You can also check out bulk strings at www.cbgitty.com

I think all of them are the "ball-end" type with the brass rings, not the plain loops, but I use them here.

You're welcome, Lawrence.

I suggest you find other examples of dulcimers at a music store or at a festival, and compare them to yours.

The quality varies quite widely, from cheap cardboard kits to fabulous works of art such as Blue Lion dulcimers.

Some of us on this site recreate historically significant dulcimers of the past, so that today's enthusiasts can experience first-hand what it's like to play an old-fashioned instrument for a reasonable price.

Lawrence, I haven't seen this type of Hughes dulcimer before.

Most Hughes dulcimers I've seen are what I 'd consider low-grade instruments made of lauan (Philippine mahogany) plywood, and simply built.

From the photo, I'd say that you have a medium-quality dulcimer, however I can't play it or examine it from here.

It looks like a step or two up from their usual range of dulcimers.

Thanks, Rob! Brings back happy memories of that time.

You could also consider the "Sweet Song" kits from McSpadden. I've made several, and they all turned out very nicely.