Forum Activity for @dan

Sorry, to answer the question, personal preference. If'in you like that sort of sound go for it!

The "36" inch is at least a fifth lower. I.D. slacked it a note or two below that so no issue with string tension. (Long neck banjo strings) And another tune on a "36" inch...

36 inch sound clip

Sticky Dots

I've used these for years...

Just a note, not "all" employees are recovering...

Yes those are wonderful pieces with a very "big" sound!

https://www.bearmeadow.com/about/history/sunhearth.html

I believe Bill retired in the late 80's. Not sure what the intonation was set to, I'd imagine the melody was an A vs. the contemporary d.

Not a Clemmer but a Bill Davis peg head. Bill taught Sam Carrell who in turn trained Mike Clemmer. Bill sold a lot of kits back in the day. His pieces where marked on the lower right back. (Early pieces had labels) They have a "big" sound!

 100_2144.jpg~original.jpg - 46KB

Sounds like a Bill Davis kit to me.....we need images!

I believe river cane makes the best noter. (Historically correct and indigenous)  Bamboo is very similar being high in silicon content that makes them last a very long time and slide quite nice..... 

Bravo @royb!!!

Well, maybe I could invest the tens of dollars I make with Dulcimore making and start me a button making empire? lol

You aint' got none posted for sale yet? I'll take one....

[quote="RoyB"]

[quote="ocean-daughter"]

I think some of the dulcimer renaissance pioneers developed their own ways of thinking and talking about theory and dulcimer playing.  For instance Force and d'Ossche playing the dulcimer with it "sideways" on a strap, though they still fretted and strummed "overhand" like lap players would.  And I've heard people refer to tunings as "AAD" or "CAD", treble to bass.

Thanks, I'm starting to figure that out, as I read more about the dulcimer, especially from older sources.  I did note that Jean Ritchie, for one, would indicate GGC, where today we'd say CGG.

[/quote]

And Jeans daddy Balis, "you tune her like this: Bim - bim - BOM."

No there is no off the shelf peg for your dulcimer. Each maker had his own way of making pegs and the pegs were "fitted" to it's own hole. If you can find a local luthier learned in historical dulcimer making, they can "make" you a peg and "fit" it.

The Kentucky and North Carolina pieces were usually around 28 inch VSL.  (29 inch was common) The Virginia pieces were closer to 26 inch VSL. (Many shorter than that!) With that said, there were pieces in all regions that fell longer and shorter! Basically the Kentucky would have been a few inches longer than the Virginia in VSL...why? I have no idea. VSL is just one variation, the Virginians also pushed the nut farther up the staple board where as the Kentucky kept it agin the tail piece. Very different tonal qualities between the two methods, personal preference I suppose.

 "possum board" is a regional term for a tapered board used to stretch animal hides while they dry. I don't know if anyone knows who, when, where or why it is called what it is. I was raised in what is now Louisville Metro, Kentucky and the coon hunters there called them possum board as do the folks in Anderson County Tennessee and the surrounding areas. 

Yes you will get a little more volume from an instrument if it is allowed to vibrate freely. (give your instrument a good strum and lift it off your lap) 

I've made several of these pieces. The only ones I can sorta play are the two strings.

I'm left handed but play right handed. Some folks can't! I let her try right handed for awhile....

I remember that day he tried to play fiddle...brought tears to my eyes too!

To fret or not to fret, that is the question...yes it will make contemporary play much easier. I am a traditionalist and simply retune, but I realize retuning aint' for most folks and the 6+ is the way to go. IMHO

P.S. Please tell me it aint' a hundred year old piece you're fittin' to add a fret to?

I. D. Stamper used banjo strings on his 36 inch VSL pieces! I seem to recall Jean Ritchie making reference to using banjo strings in one of her books? (Page 17 in the Dulcimer Book) You will find a very different "timber" using a wound bass string verses the solid music wire. I guess it's going to be how "you" define old time sound, but yes very different between wound and plain string. (I use solid wire for most my pieces.)

Like those?

..and from Steve Carney...

 INTERNATION APP. DULCIMER DAY-page-001g-600.jpg - 67KB

How many do we need for a consensus, can we just stop and agree at the conspiracy level?

P.S. You'ins do know the Black Sheep will refer to this as "Dulcimore Day"...just sayin'

Chromatic fret between the nut and the Traditional 1st fret. 

...second Saturday in April......

I agree wholeheartedly, but "our" James Edward Thomas wasn't born on March 19, his cousin was......the only documentation is the 1900 census that has it in April. Now if we could figure out what day......

 1900 close up JEdward.png - 211KB

The lower part of the dulcimer top looks to be a crotch, don't know the species.....hard to make out from the image.

I say go to the master, Don Pedi.

Yes, Lisa is the wonderful young lady who coordinates all this.

Find a grave gave me zip.....

I took the liberty of converting it to mp3

help-with-identifying-a-schnaufer-tune-forum-file.mp3 - 1.4MB

Bravo Mike!!!

O.K.

I can't seem to get the "share" link to work?

https://soundcloud.com/dulcimore-dan/silent-night

I have number 6 and I think it sounds wonderful!

The "false bottom" or Galax bottom" is what we call the bottom attached to the instrument.

"Possum board" is one of the names for a tapered thin board used in the stretching and drying of animal hides in some regions of Appalachia. Hides were skinned out complete for more money than the belly cut hides nailed to the side of an out building. There are those from outside Appalachia who believe we call them Possum Boards to be cute....

Thank you sir. One of those tunes I know, but I couldn't place it!

I know this video has been around a time or two, found it again the other night and can't quite make out the tune for the second segment on Edd Presnell, (time 9:24)

Thank you in advance.

Music From The Hills