We all knew this day was coming, but we didn't know WHEN. It's still very sad for us who knew Ralph, and sad for the dulcimer world at large. He left a great quantity of scholarly work behind, which will instruct and entertain musicians and luthiers for many years. Rest in peace, dear friend.
And a very merry Christmas to you, Lisa! Thank you for your service to all of us.
Thanks, Ken! I remember seeing John's dulcimers at a shopping mall and being blown away by the depth, the width, and the wasp-waist on those critters! I taught a young girl how to play one, and it was nearly as big as she was!
The first two strings are #4 gauge or .013", and the bass string is #8 gauge or .020".
I have -- somewhere-- a brochure from the Upper Cumberland Craft Center when John Maxwell was running it, and a John Maxwell dulcimer which was damaged when somebody removed it from the wall of a T.G.I.Friday's restaurant years ago.
Lisa, homemade strings are made by taking a small spool of piano wire, and twisting a loop in the free end. Then you cut the wire off to the length you want. It's a little tricky to get a good twist of the wire.
An all-walnut J. E. Thomas replica dulcimore with just intonation and homemade strings.
Wilkommen, Jost! I don't speak much more Deutsch than that, though my last name is German (Knopf).
Your English is very good and quite understandable. Danke for joining and sharing with us!
My idea is if the dulcimer is curvy (hourglass), it's a LADY. If the dulcimer has a fat middle (Galax or teardrop), it's a GENT. Nature itself should teach us that... Now if the dulcimer is straight-sided, or asymmetrical, well...um...OK, it's just a theory.
Thank you, Lisa, for starting this website, and giving all of us a way to connect, instruct, and bless one another. This has been especially important these last 9 months. May you and yours have a truly blessed Thanksgiving. And that goes for all of the other members here, as well!
Wonderful! Wonderful! It all worked out!
McSpadden makes a lovely dulcimer. If you like, you can replace those tuners with the same thing, or something similar. There are many options from which to choose.
Looks like you found a winner, Nathina!
Just call or email McSpadden Instruments. They'll be able to tell you.
That logo is woodburned into the fretboard. I have one just like it.
Hello, Nathina!
That symbol is the logo of McSpadden Instruments (also known as The Dulcimer Shoppe) of Mountain View, Arkansas.
Tailpins made of nails aren't a problem with loop-end strings. When I started with dulcimers in the mid-70s, all of the strings were loop-end, sometimes with green chenille wrapped into the windings!
Ball-end strings can be converted to loop-end strings by removing the "ball". If you dare, take heavy electrician's pliers and squeeze the thing until it cracks, then remove the pieces. VOILA! A loop-end string!
OK, so not around the corner from my shop!
Ken's right-- it would be best to see a photo or two. The fix shouldn't be that difficult, based on what you've said.
Are you by any chance in Wayne County, MI?
Patty, have him go to StewMac.com, and on the home page, at the bottom, there is a link to a Fret Calculator (free). Have him click on that, and it will take him to a page that he can fill out with pertinent numbers, and it will automatically calculate dulcimer fret spacings for him. He might need to use the guitar template for all of those extra frets. The output is in inches or millimeters, and will have to be measured out on the fretboard or paper.
Something useful might be found on the CBGitty website. They have 3- and 4-pole pickups and flat humbuckers as well.
Looks like a good place for you to start!
This is sad news. Dr. George Orthey was also a colonel in the US Army, and a veterinarian, too. He lived quite a distinguished life. The dulcimer world has lost another fine craftsman and enthusiast. May God comfort George's family at this time of grief.
...including a very LARGE project, wouldn't you say, Dan?
This is so great! Thanks for posting it here!
Thank you, friends! This is what I like to do for fun.
I finished my Sam Russell dulcimore replica exactly 81 years after Mr.Russell finished his prototype! You can see photos of his in L. Allen Smith's Catalogue, on page 52 (D15). It's made of black walnut, with a rosewood nut and bridge, birch accents, full-width staple frets set in a mean-tone scale, and Perfection pegs. It was quite a project!
You've made a wonderful start, Greg! Keep it up.
Greg, I'm so glad you love the dulcimore! You play it well. If I were you, I'd try both in-strums and out-strums to vary the sound. I find that songs sound slightly different when you change-up the strum directions. Beautiful recordings!
Nate, I just wanted to increase the size of everything on that dulcimore by 3 times, to see what would happen. I guess some tweaking is still in order? The string material, for one thing. Right now it's music wire, but maybe weed-whipper line might work better.
Dan is right-- there are many dulcimers that were made by novices that were never signed, for whatever reason. This looks to be one of them.
Nate, look at a mariachi guitarra quintet. They have all sizes of guitar soundboards. The largest is pretty BIG.
But then, a dulcimer is not a guitar. "Uncle Eddie", the world's largest (and longest) dulcimer is not particularly loud for its size and soundbox volume. Usually taller sides equal more bass response, and maybe more loudness too. I think overall loudness is derived from several factors working together, such as wood thickness, bracing, design, string gauges and tension, etc.
I'm constructing a mean-tone walnut hourglass Thomas replica for a guy in Yorkshire. The body's assembled, but needs trimming and pegs, nut, bridge, frets, strings, etc.
Is it coming or going? Never seen the like of it. Sorry I can't help you!
Lois, I always thought that "Old Joe Clark" had the most verses, but so many of those folk-song verses are portable!
Welcome to the forum, Steve!
I vote for the McSpadden "Sweet Song" hourglass dulcimer kits, as I have assembled several with great results.
"The Cheeseburger Song" by Mr. Lunt (Love Songs with Mr. Lunt). Gotta be a VeggieTales fan...
Hi, Magictime! This is John Knopf. You asked if the bouts on my Thomas dulcimores are the same width, and they are NOT. My cheap camera distorts images, sometimes badly. I've noticed that myself. The upper bouts are narrower by nearly an inch. I think Kevin used a different Thomas dulcimore for measurements in making his reproduction. As you may know, Uncle Ed didn't make any two of his dulcimores alike, but there are many similarities. So - - Kevin makes a great replica of Thomas dulcimore "A", and I make great replicas of Thomas dulcimore "B". The sound is very similar. I hope this clears things up for you.
My belief is that strum hollows are not necessary. I think many new builders (in the 60's and 70's) followed the Kentucky tradition of Ed Thomas. They saw many photos of these dulcimers, to the exclusion of older Virginia dulcimers, and just thought that was "the way they were supposed to be built". I certainly didn't see any examples back then of dulcimers without strum hollows.
All this discussion reminds me of a dear sweet older gentleman who attended my church for many years. He did not have a singing voice at all, but he sang right out with every hymn we sang. It's called making a joyful NOISE unto the Lord! I so admired his efforts and his heart. His wife sang very sweetly.
There's a a song sung by the Dixie Melody Boys called "Antioch Church Choir". About Uncle Jesse who "couldn't sing a lick, don'tcha know". The song pretty much says it all.
"I'm My Own Grandpa" gets everybody cogitatin' and laughin', too!
