Any of my traditional pieces. The old finishes are not in any way prone to cracking the way the lacquers can and so long as you are under 140 º and don't loosen the glue you should be O.K. Pegs are often not conducive to the changes in humidity but remember what Jean said, "spit on it".
THE EXPRESS WAY WITH DULÉ HILL
Appalachia
Will air again:
Wednesday, May 01
01:00 am ET
...will be in a PBS program Tuesday night the 30th.
https://www.pbs.org/video/dule-meets-master-luthier-doug-naselroad-d6qxa3/
A while ago on here I saw a dulcimer that had gap under the tail end of the fingerboard, with the string tension pulling it up from the box. The idea was that by having the tail end of the fingerboard (where the strings were mounted) detached from the box, the string tension would pull hard on the area with the string pins, lifting it so that it hovers a couple millimeters above the soundboard potentially increasing volume. Does anyone know what this feature is called, so I can look into it more?
I think Ken's correct. It's pretty clear that all those different spellings of what we now refer to as a dulcimer -- delcymore, delcimer, dulcimer, dulcimore, dulcymore -- reflect local or regional pronunciations of the word. Especially among people with low literacy rates, few people would have seen the word in print, so there was nothing like a "standard" pronunciation. In the same way that folk songs varied from one region to another, so would the pronunciation of a word vary.
As for dulciwhacker or duckslammer? 
Would doctors and educators be folks of low literacy? Why would they use the term "dulcimore"?
As far as I am concerned, there is no difference between a dulcimore and a dulcimer. They are different names for the same instrument. C.N. Prichard call the instruments he manufactured "The American Dulcimer." J. E. Thomas called the instrument he made a dulcimer. As to where the name originated, it is anybody's guess. One theory is that mountaineers familiar with the King James Bible new the list of instruments in Daniel. One instrument on that list was dulcimer. Since no one knew what a dulcimer was, they adopted the name for their instrument. (Biblical scholars think the instrument called "dulcimer" is really a reed instrument like a clarinet.) Strumelia already mention that the name may have derived from the Latin for sweet (dulce) and the Greek for sound or song (Melos). Who knows for sure? Pretty much all of the early scholarly literature and much of popular literature refers to the instrument as "dulcimer."
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I've had the opportunity to go through my records and can't find the reference of Uncle Ed using the term "dulcimer". Please share your reference?
I'd contact Warren May in Berea. His pegs are replicated from the Homer pegs and I know he has plenty of them on hand.
I play traditional, usually in Ionian and I tune do-so-so by ear.
I've been looking for the tab for this beautiful song. Anyone know where I can find it?
You might want to ask Sarah Kate, she is pretty knowledgeable about that sort of thing.
Note: you must have a YouTube account to chat.
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...
I've used these for years...
Just a note, not "all" employees are recovering...
Yes those are wonderful pieces with a very "big" sound!
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!
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.....
You aint' got none posted for sale yet? I'll take one....
How to make $20 by selling dulcimer buttons:
Start by spending $70 to make and mail a dozen of them.
Well, maybe I could invest the tens of dollars I make with Dulcimore making and start me a button making empire? lol
I really think there should be a button one could wear that just says: bim bim BOM.
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.)
..and from Steve Carney...
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'
What is a 0+ fret? Sounds like an "odd fret"!
Chromatic fret between the nut and the Traditional 1st fret.
