I've always wanted to try a WM dulcimer. Looks like a beauty.
You said you took it home to Japan. I lived there for 18 years - Osaka and Toyama. I see you are in Tokyo. I remember the humidity playing havoc with my instruments. . . and clothes. . . and shoes. . . lol.
Anyway, enjoy your WMD.
@Patty-from-virginia , I think you read my comment as a negative on Walter's dulcimers. Not at all. I think mine is wonderful, and the others of his I tried also. I am talking how I would finesse it if I had my druthers. The buzz came with the switch to DAD. Also, I did not mean that I have a problem playing due the string arrangement after taking the extra melody off; I meant it bothers me (ditto on some others I have tried by other makers). I would like that changed as a matter of individual preference. As for the volume, Walter makes a lot of different dulcimers, and mine was the quietest of the ones I tried - a beautiful maple (pic below). It had a pretty tone that I much appreciated. It is not as loud as his others, and to me his louder ones are not loud in the way that McSpaddens are. I don't know how to explain that. I tried out a Ray Anthony all cherry dulcimer recently. Deeper body, very bright cherry wood, lots of volume, probably louder all in all than a McSpadden, but not in the same way. No way to explain that, I guess. But I think McSpadden's are quite loud. My Walter is definitely my quietest dulcimer,and I picked it for thaty reason. It was quiet, so you could hear its sweet voice. I was thinking of getting a different one that would have worked well as a "workhorse" but I was taken by this one. Very nice. I might still get another one from him - maybe an hourglass - as a workhorse. He has a red cedar/butternut model that I would love to try. I like his stuff. I also know he would fix whatever I wanted, but it is a distance thing. If I lived closer, I'd ask him to fix this or that for me. But as it is, that is quite a trek. So I will just have someone closer by do what I want - and again, minor stuff. By the way, I did get the buzz fixed right way, so that is no longer an issue.
Now, here is something I can weigh in on. I have a TK O'Brien and Walter Messick. Tk O'Briens come in a variety of wood combos, as do Walter's. My TK is walnut with a butternut or poplar top (no one seems to agree on what it is). I bought it used,and I was told that it was one of the few good TK's out there. I have never touched another one, so I am not sure on that. It sounds fine enough to me (not perfect, but fine enough).
What I don't like on the TK O'Brien is the wider fretboard, the moveable bridge (which always seems to get knocked off when I am pulling the thing out of its case when I don't have time to fiddle with it), and the ugly closed tuners that don't work so accurately. I'd prefer open tuners, but maybe TKs have them now, IDK.
The Walter one is a maple teardrop. It is beautiful with clear notes. Not so loud though, which is good for me. It really has a sweet sound with some nice resonance, though the bass response is a bit mild, which might just be the nature of maple (I suppose trying a heavier gauge string might bass it up a bit, if I were so inclined). The down side to his were fret buzz when I swtiched to DAD tuning and pretty high action, which makes the first fret tiring to deal with.Walter plays noter style, so that might be the reason for that combo of problems in my case (if you are a notrer player,then no problem for you, I would imagine). Also, I don't use four strings,so when I take off the extra melody string, the distance between the three strings is not equal, which I find annoying. Minor difference and minor quibble, I admit, and it is common to many dulcimers when dropping the extra melody string. Others might not even notice.
I also like the look of the staytite tuners, but they are a pain to work with. I mean I can fidget with them at home satisfactorily, but I wouldn't want to deal with them in a class or at club or at a jam when things are slightly more rushed. I will eventually take his dulcimer to a local dulcimer "doctor," and have the action lowered, new nuts and bridge put in and cut to handle 3 strings equally, and swap the tuners for the geared type used on scroll head McSpaddens. I use the TK for strumming, and the Walter, as is now, for flat picking. I will eventually sell or give away the TK when I find my perfect workhorse dulcimer but I'll keep the Warren because it is such a beauty and has a very nice and distinctive sound. I use it much more at home than the TK.
As a final note on sound, my TK (remember it is walnut with poplar or butternut top) is more guitar like in sound. Walter's is more traditional dulcimer sounding, in the nice way. Neither is as loud or as twangy (for lack of a better word) as a McSpadden, which are like, to use an electric guitar comparison, the Telecasters of the dulcimer world to me. (I am a Fender Mustang and Jaguar man in that world!)
Oh, by the way, the Walter is a bit shorter than the TK. I think the TK is a 28" string length and Walter's a 26" anyway, that sort of difference if such things matter to you. I prefer the shorter string length myself, despite having big hands. Just so much easier to deal with (ditto on my guitar choice - short scale all the way!)
I notice that you last posted at the end of November, so perhaps you have already made your switch. If so, what do you think?
Well, as a follow up to all this, I happened to be in the local music store, which does carry McSpadden dulcimers, and they had four there to try, including, finally, an all walnut. The others were an all cherry, a cherry with redwood and a walnut with spruce top, though that last one was a ginger model. Well, I am more confuse than ever, lol, and it is clear that I will just have to keep trying out every duclimer I come across and just buy the first one that seems right (goldilocks syndrome). The cherry was brite and quite loud, and the walnut was round and mellow but louder than the cherry. The cherry with redwood seemed the mellowest of the three and to my ears not as sharply loud as the other two. (I tried with my aids in and out, btw). Finally the ginger. . . well, hard to compare since it is so small. It was not as loud, of course, and so the spruce was not painful as in my past experiences,but I don't like that sound (of the spruce), so that is simple enough. Plus I think the Gingers are just too small for me to feel comfy playing.
So anyway, back to the drawing board - well, search path.
Thank you all for the input and help.
Those are some handsome dulcimers! :) Butternut is what some say the top of the dulcimer I am using now is. Some others say it is poplar. So, maybe I should keep an eye out on those tops and hickory. I have played an all cherry, deep body, and that was nice but very different. Had weird frets though.lol
I think you might be right on this. I just have to find some to try in person.
I don't wear the aids when playing in general. Too much of a volume boost. The sensitivity that sometimes accompanies bad hearing is most noticeable when they are off. I do have a controller for the aids which allows me to lower the volume if I am in a situation where I need to be able to play and talk to others, and so I do that in clubs or jams. I actually wear earplugs now when I play at home for a bit of protection rather than to silence the dulcimer or my uke. I don't have to do that when I use an electric guitar because I can keep the sound source far from my head. The one I have now is not too loud, but has some physical issues I don't much like, and I have borrowed and tried others that do not cause me pain, but I would like to try some others. I just know that spruce and I don't mix when it comes to anything acoustic.
Thanks Ken. Yes, I called Black Mountain, but they had only McSpaddens and one Folkroots and a few TK's. That shop in Blowing Rock sure has weird hours! they never seem to be open when I try to go. lol. I hear it is for sale too. Anyway, I will keep up the search. When I find it. . . I will know.:)
"Clearly I need to buy them all." LOL. I would love that solution. What fun!
Yes, I did go to a dulcimer show, but wouldn't you know it! LOL Walnut with redwood or spruce topped McSpaddens was all there was - oh and some Gingers with spalted maple tops. I was hoping for some others, but oh well. So, I am going to have to fine a fest where a variety of vendors are slated to be present. A trip to the Folkcraft showroom sure would be fun. That is what I need - a lot of dulcimers to fiddle with (well, in the idiomatic sense of the word). Just off the Blue Ridge Parkway near Maybry Mill is an ukuele dealer. Never saw so many ukes in one place in my life (largest stock in the continental US, I hear). Now there, you could do lots of side by side comparisons and get a sense of what you want. I did not want spruce. lol. So, that sort of environment would be ideal if there was something around like that.
Anyway, I'll keep looking.
The finding a dulcimer whose sound you like is a good idea except for the fact that where I am, it seems the only dulcimers I find in shops are McSpaddens with walnut or redwood tops and the people around all seems to have McSpaddens - walnut with spruce or redwood tops. Other than all I have heard other people with are those by one local builder whose dulcimers all just sound loud, no matter what they're made of. Jammers like them, but there is nothing "sweet" about them to me. The only other people around here seem to have are by yet another local builder, but again his are geared toward being loud, and I don't find his that pleasant sounding. I have only gotten to try one Blue Lion (a Jam model), and it was loud, but mellow for a Jam model, it seemed to me, and a TK O'Brian which probably has the most suitable sound Ive found thus far, though the other features I don't much care for. The first one I ever played was buy a small local maker. It was (and still is) cherry - prettiest slabs of cherry Ive ever seen too - but I think all the wood is too thick because it is definitely not a projector. The strongest sound is the sound of the strings. Not a good thing. If I knew anything about woodworking, I'd love to take it apart and try to re-work it since it the wood looks so nice. lol.
One thing I know from my attempts with dulcimers, guitars and ukes - Spruce does make a big difference, and I don't like it.
I could live with a McSpadden, I guess, but again, the only ones I have been able to find and try are walnuts with spruce and redwood tops,and there is definitely a difference. Maybe not to other ears, but to mine with my physical issues, yes. Spruce is a no go. Redwood in a pinch. Still the McSpads are not exactly the sound I am looking for (the TK O'brian I have sound better), though I like their feel. Trade offs. Still, before laying down some money on the dulcimer I want, I would like some choice. The makers around here don't seem to be putting out what I am looking for, and others are far away, so I am trying to get some ideas as to what I might be looking for - not a definitive scientific end-all statement of fact. What has been said thus far has all been very helpful, especially since people are trying to figure out my situation with my ears.
As for this topic coming up every year, so what? TThere are a lot of thoughts on it, and people either want to know or want to opine. Otherwise, the question would be asked and ignored, so no harm done.
@steven-berger, @ken-longfield - I am curious about the FSH Hickory since hearing Bing Futch's "4 Dulcimers for sale" youtube video. He started the vid with a hourglass model, and it sounded quite nice from what I could tell. I wish I could try one in person, but can't find any around here.
@annie-deeley - I have tried a TK O'Brian dulcimer that was said to be one of their better ones, and it had, I believe, a butternut top with walnut body. That one was close to loud, but did exceed my limit of comfort, so I should look into that too. Thanks
Yes, the brightness seems the problem (and volume on top of that, but especially the bright side). Agree with you too about spruce sounding guitar-like. I tried a few ukuleles with spruce tops, and I had the same volume problems, plus they also sounded less ukulele-ish. The uke I settled on was an all Mahogany, so you are right on the tone that works for me. Does anyone make mahogany dulcimers? I haven't really looked into it, but I guess I will.
I have been listening away on the McSpadden site. It is sort of hard to tell if the various wood combos will work with me, but it is interesting how the all walnut and all cherry dulcimers have, to me, the real trad dulcimer sound. The teardrops do sound rounder. . . a bit less shrill (without meaning that negatively, so maybe that is something I need to look into as well. Thank you, John.
Yes, I think you are right, though I cedar is one top I have not tried. What you said about the deep body giving a mellow sound but also more volume sure seems a problem for me! lol. I took your advice and gave Folkcraft a call, but it seems I made it right outside their call hours, which are 12 to 4, Monday ~ Friday, so guess I'll try it on Monday. Thanks.
LOL. You sound like my teacher. She is into loud, but then she loves to jam, and in a jam, I sure understand the need for loud. My problem is I have hearing loss which makes it hard to understand speech and thus have to wear aids. The side effect of the hearing loss is hypersensitivity to sound (hyperacusis, they call it, if I recall). So when the aids are off, sounds are louder than normal - volume up, recognition down. So I often wear limited sound cutting plugs when playing at home so as to cut down the volume and prevent further damage. In a jam, I am sunk. In order to hear well what I am playing and that I'm playing along, I sure could use a loud dulcimer, but at home...
And so I am looking for a dulcimer that is mellow, smooth, and had voice - but that is not too loud. For the home, I guess. I considered a dulcimette for home practice, since I seemed very comfortable playing around with one a while back, but it is so small and just not quite the same thing. Well, we'll see.
Well, I can imagine that being a major factor because the first dulcimer I had had a rather thick top and bottom board and the sound of the strings were greater than the sound projecting from the body, which gave it a cheap and less than pleasant sound.
I have only been at it a year now, but I have had the chance to play a lot of dulcimers. I don't use a noter, and I have found the double melody string annoying, so I have pulled off one of the doubled strings on all the dulcimers i've had time with. Generally people remove the outermost melody string (the one closest to you) when they go from 4 to 3, which is nice because that helps prevent, especially for a beginner, you pressing the string off the fret board because the single melody string leftover is farther from the edge.
There is one thing, however, that I found and which I still find annoying while playing - some builders set the distance between the melody and middle string not as the distance between the innermost melody string and the middle string, but rather the distance between the middle string and the space between the doubled melody strings. This means that no matter which of the two melody strings you remove, the distance between the remaining three strings will not be equal. Now some will say no big deal on that, and some folks never even notice, but it really tripped me up as a beginner and continues to trip me up on occasion now, especially on dulcimers with the wider 1 1/2" fretboard. Of course this can be fixed by having someone swap in a new nut and bridge, but why start off with something to get fixed? Anyway, just make sure that whatever option you go with, the distance between the innermost melody string and middle string is equal to the distance between the middle and bass (furthest from you) string.
And yet, in every case, a spruce top sounds loud and sharp and hard to my ears. Isn't that a characteristic of wood?
I'm looking for a mellow and "creamy" sound and all walnuts are described as being fat and mellow. Only problem is I can't find any all walnut dulcimer to hear what they sound like (and YouTube vids have too much string sound to tell). I have heard walnut and redwood McSpadden (ok, but a bit loud for me) and walnut with spruce top McSpadden (too sharp, way too loud), but not the the Walnut/Red Cedar Folkcraft combo. So, my question is what is the difference between the all-walnut vs the walnut/red cedar? Is it mainly a volume increase on the red cedar and/or does the red cedar smooth the sound (creamy)?
Hope that made sense.
The Folkcraft site makes it sound as if the hickory comes in, sound wise, between cherry and walnut. Does that seem a fair description? I have yet to see or hear one except for a bit of a demo in the Bing Futch video, and in that video (4 dulcimers for sale) he also plays a walnut and cherry and it does seem to fall in between. though all of them seem to have more string noise than body sound in the video.
Can't go wrong with birds. Those are nice.
