Forum Activity for @salt-springs

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
04/12/21 07:00:32AM
207 posts

How Many Dulcimers Do You Own?


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

A few........

3 Warren May's in Walnut

 Cherry Ray Epler

 Gila Mountain by Kerry Coates

 Cherry Folkcraft

 Walnut and Spruce  Folkcraft Baritone

 Deluxe German Scheitholt by Carl Goetzmer

 Cherry McSpaden Baritone

 Pritchard Reproduction by Kevin Messenger

 6 String by JR Beale

 Homer Ledford

 Large Irish by Carl Goetzmer in Mahogany

 Bobby Ratliff Virginian

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/17/20 07:36:33PM
207 posts

Hurricane Sally


OFF TOPIC discussions


I got a quick note from Jessica Comeau who endured the storm without having serious damage to her home.

While Pensacola took a major hit, our friend seems to have weathered the brunt of it.  Any others of our community who were affected let us know if we can provide some emotional support and encouragement.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/05/20 11:14:26AM
207 posts

Song Identification Help


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

"Southwind", and I'll bet Duane Porterfield is the musician.


updated by @salt-springs: 09/05/20 12:18:52PM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
05/19/20 09:16:44PM
207 posts

Please tell me your very favorite love song...


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Larry Conger did an arrangement of "Unchained Melody" that the Righteous Brothers did in the 60's.  Simple tune, good lyrics, and easy play with 158.  Check it out on youtube, you might like it.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
05/19/20 01:20:13AM
207 posts

Please tell me your very favorite love song...


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

"Where are you Tonight" with Archie Campbell.  (you tube/with Johnny Cash etc.)

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
05/18/20 11:48:06PM
207 posts

Bass String Buzz @ 1st & 2nd Fret


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions


Yup, check the hex nut directly under the string too if you have not........my McSpadden is a bit touchy and I can make it buzz if I use pick and hit the string too low.  Good luck with it all!

Update:  I just checked mine and two of those hex nuts were a bit loose...you could actually turn one with just two fingers. 


updated by @salt-springs: 05/19/20 12:12:18AM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
05/18/20 11:02:54PM
207 posts

Bass String Buzz @ 1st & 2nd Fret


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

JUst as an experiment, check the nut below the bass string tuning peg and see if it is tight as compared to the others.  I have a walnut/redwood McSpadden and for whatever reason the bass string peg will loosen itself there as well as the knob on it.  Perhaps the buzz is in the peg since it seems that you have tried just about every string adjustment you can think of.  Likewise check the screw underneath the peg and see if it could be loose.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
05/18/20 08:20:58AM
207 posts

Bass String Buzz @ 1st & 2nd Fret


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I had the same issue with one of mine many moons ago.  It just about drove me nuts because for awhile everything was fine and then the buzz thing would crank up.  I finally figured it out when like Ken points out, it was me catching the string  on the strum and pulling it up a bit.  I also put a bit of a heavier string on the bass then I found was included in the string sets you buy.  As I recall I went from a 24 or so to a 28.  (I think the Strother string calculator is a bit light.)   That helped a great deal but it still happened.  Steve Siefert once mentioned that a heavier string could correct some problems like this when using a 155 tuning.

The next time it happened I froze on the chord and it dawned on me that my bass string was not being held with the same amount of pressure as the others allowing it to buzz......

I am not saying that your issue is the same, but in my case it was due to several different things.......too light a string, a weak ring finger and an inconsistent pick angle.  I also switched to a lighter gauge pick too.  That made it harder to lift the bass string.

As suggestion, if you have not tried this, tune it up a to maybe EBE and see if the higher tension makes it stop.

All in all, Ken's comment fit my predicament and was right on the money.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
03/04/20 07:10:39PM
207 posts

Hair line crack bottom back of walnut McSpadden


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

If I read your post correctly, you are the original registered owner of this instrument and as such that dulcimer has a lifetime guarantee. I think I would consider sending Jim Woods the pics you posted and inquire as to what he thinks should be done to correct the issue.  It maybe that that separation around the knot may just require a bit of finish or something of that nature to secure what may simply be due to the wood aging a bit. 

I understand the tone issue you mentioned too as I have redwood/cherry and it is really outstanding and is just as balanced and bright as some that cost considerably more. 

Anyhow, what have you got to lose?

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
02/05/20 01:02:28AM
207 posts

Can you help me ID this song?


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Jim Stewart's original here:

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
02/05/20 12:33:25AM
207 posts

Can you help me ID this song?


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions


I'll venture to guess that this is  a variation  of Jim Stewart's, "Lament for Owen Christy" which is in Anna Barry's book Soundings whose contents can be found in the Western North Carolina Library Network by searching for her name.

 

 

 


updated by @salt-springs: 02/05/20 01:08:41AM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/30/20 10:46:09PM
207 posts

My Husband Has Become Interested...


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

You can do a number of things that should help....I've used some of these methods when getting bad smells out of antique furniture we were restoring for some high end shops years ago.....you haven't got anything to lose so here are a few things that might help:

1. Lemon Oil furniture polish.........I like Howard's products...........wipe it down and let it set, wipe it off and repeat it a few times.

2. Put it in a sealed box on top of a layer of plain old baking soda and let it sit overnight; replace the baking soda and do it again.  I'd use a layer about 1/2 inch thick.

3. Wrap it up in plain old newspaper..use a fair amount of paper and put it in a plastic bag or sealed box........newspaper will absorb some of that smell. (you can buy some shredded newspaper cat litter and probably pack it around it in a box instead.)

4. We also used fresh ground coffee, the cheap stuff you can buy just about anywhere......again, put the coffee in filters, close 'em up with a rubber band or string........put the gizmo in a box and seal it up, let it sit for a good day or two and throw the coffee out and see if that helps.  Use a number of them little pouches.  We used to put coffee on paper plates in furniture drawers.

5.  I once had a dresser with draws that had a horrible odor of some sort.  My work partner used cedar shavings he got from a pet store and covered the bottom of those draws with that stuff and in a day or two the musty/smokey smell was gone.  Just make sure that those shavings have not been dyed..........I would think that un-dyed eucalyptus or cedar mulch might work too......

 

Good luck and let us know how it goes.  There used to be an aerosol product that companies used to rid houses of smoke odor after a fire.........one of those companies that do remediation work may sell you some or tell you what it is..........I can't remember the name of it but we used it in Military housing to get rid of smoke odors in quarters and also reeked of who knows what.................

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/25/20 10:49:08PM
207 posts

David Olney, age 71


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Well, honesty demands that I while remember Rubenstein's concert quite well I really remember Jose Greco's show.  Not because of him though, but rather the woman with the Castentettes in a Black Lace outfit moving around like a Mink............an impressionable young feller like me got "scar'd" half to death. As I recall after the show it seems like some of our crowd got hammered drinking what were called "Schooners" of cheap Beer at a Lum's Restaurant and started doing that dance with Ketchup bottle tops stuck on "their" fingers.....I'll guarantee that one dignified Professor would absolutely deny under oath that she did that nearly 50 years ago.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/25/20 06:52:49PM
207 posts

David Olney, age 71


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I really didn't think too much of it at the time since I  was usually a "Go-Fer" and jack of all trades sort.  I did layouts on an old fashioned contraption called a Vari-type machine, cut copy and hauled stuff around in an old VW I bought for a few hundred bucks. ( My best buddy there was drafted and during the war and killed in a training accident during basic training... we both had VW bugs and shared all sorts of "Go-fer" jobs".  He was one of the staff photographers as well and that enabled me get to see and greet some of those characters.)

 * A funny story about Rubenstein....the afternoon before his concert a monster of a Steinway Piano was placed on the stage where he was to perform.  (You could see and hear everything going on in that auditorium since our workspace/offices were above the stage and at the back of the seating area.)  The tuners worked on that Piano for a long time with all sorts of racket being made.  When Rubenstein came to check the piano we watched as he played up and down the key board and picked out 2 or 3 keys that needed to be tuned some more........that's how good an ear he had.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/24/20 08:34:54PM
207 posts

David Olney, age 71


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

You know, I really can't remember if I heard him when he was with the Nashville Jug Band or before that time.  For some reason I think he was at a folk festival in NC about 1970 or 71.  There were lots of folks there performing that weekend.  I remember Doc Watson being there and doing a couple of shows and I'm pretty sure Homer Ledford dulcimers were being sold that weekend as well.  I'll have to check my old ECU yearbook if I can find it and see who was the woman singing with Doc Watson that day. (Those were interesting days, since I had a job with the College paper and got to see and very briefly greet many of the performers at various concerts..........anyone remember Jose Greco or Arthur Rubenstein?  A long time ago for sure!)

It has only been a few years since I really found out what a gifted writer he was.  I never really paid to much attention to who wrote the music for many of the people I used to hear on radio or on albums I had.........I  think it was EmmyLou Harris' performance of his song "Jerusalem Tomorrow",  that got me interested in his work.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/20/20 08:41:30PM
207 posts

How do I fix a crack?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Please tell Lynn to give me a call, there are a fair number around that can be bought for really good prices if you are patient.  I just bought an almost new, rarely played  25 year old McSpadden for $150.00. and that included case, noters, strings, picks and all sorts of stuff.

So far as the crack is concerned I wouldn't worry too much about it right now if it is holding. , though folk like KenH and KenL can tell you more than I.  Anyway, tell Lynn to give me a call before he decides to buy one any time soon.  If its a local deal, I'll check it out with or for you if you wish.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/20/20 09:25:02AM
207 posts

David Olney, age 71


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

One of the greatest Americana singer-songwriters died during a concert at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  There is no question that his loss will be mourned by any Folk Musician who appreciates incredible talent and skill as well as a host of professional entertainers..............such a sad loss.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/18/20 12:58:16PM
207 posts

You know your dulcimer has a hold on you when...


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Go to rock-tips.com and buy a bottle, it works.  Check it out.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
01/07/20 01:46:08PM
207 posts

Would like info on my new to me dulcimer.


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

John Calkin has a facebook page noted as JohnCalkin.92.  The guitars that Huss & Dalton build cost about 4 grand, so I would venture to say that John is a top notch builder of acoustic instruments.  Drop him a note on facebook if you wish.....

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/31/19 02:11:01PM
207 posts

Intonation


General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I have three Warren May's.  Two have wooden peg tuners and one has mechanical tuners.  All have adjustable bridges.  What I have found is that the moveable bridges need to be angled a bit to compensate for the slightly flat string.  On one I simply made a new bridge out of a piece of chopstick and built one side up just a tad and it was spot on or at least pretty close.  I have never had much luck with Snark type tuners.  I'm sure they are fine if used properly and I'm just to numb to do it right. You might try slipping a flat toothpick under the nut closest to the melody string as that sometimes help fine tune the contraption.

On another old dulcimer that I have I noticed that when I play the melody string I can overcome the flat by moving my finger closer to the middle of the fret spacing.  I guess each of the builder's dulcimers have their own individual quirks.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/28/19 02:13:18PM
207 posts

Aeolus dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Yup, that's what I found out last night, so your way ahead of me.  You might Private Message Guy Babusek whose a member here and see if he has any other contact info.  I'll keep digging through some old stuff I have around here and see what I can do to help.  Guy uses those dulcimers on many of his video's.  I think you can catch up with guy at voice-lessons.com.


updated by @salt-springs: 12/28/19 02:19:02PM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/27/19 09:59:29PM
207 posts

Aeolus dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

You have tried the phone numbers and email on his website I presume.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/15/19 02:56:47PM
207 posts



You'll be fine just be patient...........but as I said Friday, when you get your strings and some paste etc.  I'll show you how to do it by watching you do it.  It's not hard to do but it does take you a bit until you get the hang of it.  You know how to get in touch so again feel free.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/15/19 01:19:51PM
207 posts



Go to youtube and find Cripple Creek Lesson 1 by Cherokee Cowboy (Rob Lackey).  The first part of the video will be helpful.

Did you get some peg dope or compound?

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/14/19 07:40:37PM
207 posts



Over

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/14/19 09:36:57AM
207 posts



Ken Hulme:

Times like this, I'm glad to be a Luddite.  I have  a perfectly good flip phone to  make calls with (and that's all);  a superior digital camera to take photos with; and a laptop and tablet for accessing the Internet.  I have no real desire to have everything crammed into one shell with a too-small screen to be comfortably read by my  not-getting-any-younger eyes.  

Wow Ken!.........I thought for sure being a Scott you would be a Presbyterian. 

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/10/19 06:01:33PM
207 posts

Wind Instruments????


Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Good to know you folks are still playing!!   I have lot's of flutes, Native American by Michael Allen, a High Spirits, Ken Light's and Charlie Mont, Blue Bears.  My Bansuri's and Shakuhachi's etc. have been boxed for a good while now, since I wrecked a Trigeminal Nerve and playing them can set it off.  I really miss it, especially the Anasazi's and Japanese and Arabian flutes.  But, Lord willing this thing will pass.......I still have a box of 10 I got from Erik the Flute Maker when he was helping a little girl from Nicarauga pay for some of her care while getting surgery done at Baptist Hospital in Miami.

Since I love that music and you folk are into it, can I get you to do some audio.  In the mean time, dulcimer tunes it is for me.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/08/19 02:55:01PM
207 posts

I am Brand New and Know Nothing


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

More than likely it is a floating bridge and that is, in my opinion a good thing because you can adjust it for some subtle tuning, not much but some anyway.  If you are going to tune it DAA and replace the strings I would use 12-14-22 or so and see if you like that feel........I dislike having floppy strings when using DAA, which is a really good tuning, as is CGG.  I have plenty of strings so don't worry about finding any in Palatka.  I do have an extra tuner that you can have to start with, though if you are going to play by yourself you can learn to tune that old rascal just fine without one.

So far as your pegs slipping, that can probably be remedied easy enough.  Warren May uses plain old chalk on his pegs to cut down on that issue.  Just remember that you really have to turn the peg and push in on it until it grabs.  Anyway, if you wish I'll do what I can to get you up and running ......I sent you a private message with a phone number, call when you will and I can meet you at Ollie's or somewhere like that and check that Lucky out.

In fact, I just got back from the teeming Palatka metropolis a bit ago.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/07/19 06:59:07PM
207 posts

I am Brand New and Know Nothing


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

You do.........click on your name upper right corner............private messages, create new message , enter salt springs for recipient and then the text..............check and see if the one I just sent got to you by clicking on your name.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
12/07/19 05:44:17PM
207 posts

I am Brand New and Know Nothing


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

If you want to meet up in Palatka One Day or even Salt Springs send me a private message...........strings are not a problem and I doubt the pegs are going to be much of an issue either.   Most of mine have wooden pegs and they can be a bit tricky to get used to tuning. A Lucky Diamond Dulcimer is a nice gift.  If you want include some contact info in your message and I'll drive over to Palatka and take a gander at it.  I can probably find a tune for you and if it needs new strings get those to you, I'll just have to check and see what the distance is between the nut and bridge.  In the mean time, you might just pull one of the tuners out a bit and put some chalk on it and see if that helps it hold.  Measure the distance between the nut and bridge and I'll check and see what I have for strings in my box of goodies.  Feel free to get in touch with me, I go to Palatka about 3 times a week anyway.


updated by @salt-springs: 12/07/19 05:57:01PM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
10/05/19 06:35:33PM
207 posts

Care Advice Sought for 2 Really Old Instruments:


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I would keep them in a cabinet with a couple of guitar humidifiers that you can buy online or in a music store.  Or, if you wish you could send them to me and I'll be glad to keep them here in high humidity Florida.grin

They should be playable, but I would be cautious about using too high a string tension on the oldest of them.  Post some pic's if you have a chance.............you have a treasure trove to enjoy.  Drop Dulcimore Dan a note if he doesn't reply in short order as I am sure he can help you out with any questions you might have so far as cleaning etc.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
10/02/19 10:26:44AM
207 posts

Who made this dulcimer?


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions


Well it depends, when it was bought.  Dan and Ethel Doty have been there for about 40 years and that dulcimer should have a signature inside one of the bottom sound holes.   Check it out if you can.......I suspect it is one of their's and if so it is a pretty good instrument.  If the price is right, I would not be afraid to buy it.  When the seller said she watched it being made, I suspect she may have meant string it up or setting it up somehow............you're not going to build one in a day or so........

If it is a Doty it is going to be signed.


updated by @salt-springs: 10/02/19 10:49:01AM
Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/25/19 11:48:18AM
207 posts



If you have not done so, and it sounds like you are working through a learning curve, may I recommend you go to Bearmeadow.com and read through all of the building and adjustment tips and instructions that DW has posted..........it is great information and will help you a great deal.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/20/19 10:41:18PM
207 posts

Dulcimer Project (Reasonably) Complete!


Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Just wondering could you use wooden frets such as are used on some humle's........June Apple dulcimers has some pics of European zithers that use them and I suspect they are glued.........half the fret board for most of them if I remember correctly.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/17/19 07:35:16AM
207 posts

Healthy Living- healthy eating, exercise, weight loss, veggie gardening, etc.


OFF TOPIC discussions

Thanks, Ken......that is a great reminder........your website is outstanding, in fact I have used some of those recipes in days gone by.  I looked for a food-coop sort of group out here but alas none. (You can find plenty of dope co-ops though.)  When I was able to deliver food to the pantries around here I could always manage to find some produce from time to time. Those sources have dried up for the most part. 

And you are so right about those megastore groceries, one day apples were $4.29 a pound.  (A young women ahead of me in the checkout line had a bag of apples for the two tykes she had with her, 6-7 apples rang up a bit over $11.00.)  Next year I will fence off an area and grow my own, or at least some off it.  I'll bet have the poor folk out here are sick with diabetes, bad teeth, and all sorts of other stuff, because they just cannot afford to eat healthy food. 

I'll hit your website today and come up with a list of things to buy when I head down to Ocala.  There is a Earthfare store there, pricey but the produce is pretty good.

I appreciate the reminder to visit your website and will make it so.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/16/19 11:20:28PM
207 posts

Healthy Living- healthy eating, exercise, weight loss, veggie gardening, etc.


OFF TOPIC discussions

Nice.........my cooking is going down the drain.  In fact, it has become pathetic...However, this little note might just get me back on track.   The big issue right now is weening myself off some meds for that disastrous nerve issue in my kisser. Since the Doc's warned me that a 30-40 lb weight gain could be expected its off to the veggie stand again.  Big old tomato sandwiches sound really nice and are sure to beat Raisin Bran and peanut butter crackers.........

Your veggie concoctions are really outstanding, but believe it or not veggies out here in the woods and in Florida no less are priced way out of line............$2.00 for 1 tomato!  I planted some last year and the deer loved them and everything else they could swipe..........really kind of funny.....they were just waiting for them to ripen.

Salt Springs
@salt-springs
09/11/19 11:48:24PM
207 posts

Remembering 9/11


OFF TOPIC discussions


Today we remember so many who lost their lives some 18 years ago.  I remember the phone call that came from my son who was working at the American Stock Exchange that morning.  He told me how he and a few others managed to get through the dust and general chaos that ensued.  He also related some of the details of what he saw, sights that young men and women should not have to see nor remember.

I remember speaking with a young woman who lost her brother in one of the towers.  Both he and his wife worked for the same company and she was home that day taking care of a newborn baby.  She told me how he had called his wife while trapped and then silence.

I spoke with the wife of a rescuer who told me how her husband suffered after being exposed to who knows what.....I hope he is well.

And this evening I read how school children whose schools were in the area may yet fall victim to various life threatening illnesses.

So perhaps we should all think about this for a moment if we have not done so.  It is easy to forget things as we run about generally doing things that matter very little.  Or, focus on insignificant things going on in our lives that will have little or no significance in the days ahead.

Somehow I have to force myself to remember to keep things in proper perspective.  It is not always easy to do that, but when I think of all the sorrow that event caused, and others such as mass shootings, school shootings, incidents of domestic violence, child abuse and all the other things that we tend to ignore to keep our sanity intact I can honestly say that I have much to be thankful for and hope to heaven that that perspective never gives way to the petty things that characterize so much of our days.

So we remember that day and the lives that were lost.........


updated by @salt-springs: 10/27/19 12:02:25PM
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