Forum Activity for @john-henry

Phil, as a favour I'll take it off your hands for $10 hard cash !!!, lol its a beauty.

John

Hi there Wout ! A while back someone asked me if I could change the camera angle I used when recording, so as they couild see what my noter was doing ? Easier for me, being a non techno, to change the angle that I played ! So I dropped the left knee, and away to go , no problem with noter drone, tho' as you say, almost a necessity to use a strap ?

best wishes

John

Dang me James, I have only just managed to find time toput the Christmas 'stuff' back up in the loft, do I have to get it all down again !!!

John

Good to read a post from you ff, missed you !

John

Well said Robin ! If I had'nt 'joined' I doubt very much if I would be making or playing now, I knew of some outstanding MD players, none of whom played N/D, or used a quill ect ! Different now

John!

Kevin ! From what I have seen of his work you will not be disappointed ! Enjoy your journey, and share it with us, this site is very accommodating to all

JohnH

Cindy, the vid is taking forever to load, and I need to get to bed (will no doubt be up a few times In the night ) but I have just looked at your latest pics and I would be prepared to bet folding money on yours being a 'kissin cozin' to mine, almost certainly a hand made kit job !!! I don't know where Folkcraft are now, but they were in Winstead CT in '85, if they have moved then records may not have moved with them ?Will review things in the morning, if you think it worthwhile, contact me with a pm ? Exciting, ain't it !

John

Cindy, its late here, I am in my pj's, and my wife is asleep, so I am not working at my limited best ,lol, but am in the process of posting a terrible vid, if it works , i will leave it until you indicate that you have seen it, then delete. I will then endevour to take better pics which I will send to you via email, if you provide the necessary ?

John

Cindy Stammich said:

Hi John,

WELL! I am getting excited - I will post pictures shortly! The small slot underneath the head(scroll) and at the heel end are EXACTLY as you described! Also, the head/scroll and the fretboard are all one piece, and the head/scroll is a very shallow housing for the tuners.

Hmmmmmm

Thank you so much for the details!!!!!

I will post the pictures - please tell me what you think!

Cindy

John Henry said:

Hi Cindy, as you see, John is making the same suggestion as I did in your earlier post "My Treasure" ! I am an absolute duffer when it comes to transfering info quickly on this infernal contraption, so do me a favour, look at (i) underneath the head(scroll) where it joins onto the body. Can you see a small horizontal 'slot', approx 5/8" x 1/8" ? (ii) and then look for a similar slot at the heel end of the instrument, where fingerboard joins body ?

Also, can you tell us/show us if the head/scroll is formed by just the simple flat extension of the fingerboard carried thro' and channeled to provide a very shallow housing for the tuners ?

I have a 1985 Folkcraft (Winstead CT) teardrop, T 39 W, sitting in front of me now and apart from a rather more complicated finish at the tail, it looks the same. The shape and position of the sound holes cetainly are !!!

On balance, it would seem to me that it was either a simplified kit version of the instrument I have, or your dad may have made a close copy of one he had maybe seen ?

I really feel this answer deserves a Deerstalker and a magnifying glass !!! Just hope this helps?

one of the other 'Johns'

Hi Cindy, as you see, John is making the same suggestion as I did in your earlier post "My Treasure" ! I am an absolute duffer when it comes to transfering info quickly on this infernal contraption, so do me a favour, look at (i) underneath the head(scroll) where it joins onto the body. Can you see a small horizontal 'slot', approx 5/8" x 1/8" ? (ii) and then look for a similar slot at the heel end of the instrument, where fingerboard joins body ?

Also, can you tell us/show us if the head/scroll is formed by just the simple flat extension of the fingerboard carried thro' and channeled to provide a very shallow housing for the tuners ?

I have a 1985 Folkcraft (Winstead CT) teardrop, T 39 W, sitting in front of me now and apart from a rather more complicated finish at the tail, it looks the same. The shape and position of the sound holes cetainly are !!!

On balance, it would seem to me that it was either a simplified kit version of the instrument I have, or your dad may have made a close copy of one he had maybe seen ?

I really feel this answer deserves a Deerstalker and a magnifying glass !!! Just hope this helps?

one of the other 'Johns'

David, I agree with you, most of the instruments I have built have revolved around the use of quarter sawn timber, but now and then , either because I like the look of a piece, or because its all I have to hand, then the grain is whatever !! I like the stability of quarter sawn stuff, and it usually includes the bonus of being easier/more predictable to work, but I have a dulcimer 7 3/4 " wide, made from reclaimed true Hon. Mahog. (panels from a bank door) the back of which has grain which is truely tangentially sawn. It has stayed 'true and flat' and plays like a dream. So, while I agree with KenW re the mixing of timbers, with your choice of available material, I think I would go with maple for everything except the top, where I would use your red spruce, (I do love straight grained s/w tops) IMO this should result in a 'bright' sounding instrument, with the light coloured timbers darking down with exposure to light. I repeat, just my opinion based on my experience !

looking forward to see what you come up with

John

Hello David ! "Plenty of nice cherry.." Enough to use for the whole of the build ? Cherry makes for a nice looking /sounding dulcimer !

JohnH

Sorry, Dan beat me to it "What gauge strings !!"

Well put Brian, that is more or less what I intended to say after checking all that had gone before, 'cepting I could'nt find the other thread ! IMO, all you need to do to influence any result is play midway down the fretboard, and then move closer to the nut and play, on as many dulcimers as you chose, the resultant sound will change ,and thus people's perception ?

JohnH

Permalink Reply by Strumelia 1 hour ago

Well, I'm swearing! 'cos I've got it in my mind all this was argued over quite recently, other than on this particular thread, and for the life of me I can't find it. I am sure that I posted comment on it . Am I losing the thread ?

JohnH

And played in the same position along the VSL ?

In the post war 50's I was halfway thro' my apprenticeship and senior 'boy' in the building firm I worked for. In charge of three or four other 'prentice's, (and 20 oz claw hammer and a sack of cut nails), we spent a lot of time on our knees laying floors in new build council houses! We used to sing a lot, helped the boredom of driving nails, and being the owner of a cheapo record deck (anybody else remember having one?) and a few pennies to spend , I was into what my family called 'rubbish music', some of which I introduced to my mates . One of the songs from my 'collection???' cropped up often !! Yep! you guessed it, 'If I had a Hammer' I guess it could be seen as our way of protesting about sore knees and blue thumbs ? (and I later married a girl named Irene ???)

rest in peace Pete

and thank you

JohnH

Too bad ! I'd have paid good money to have seen you in that 'ensemble' Dusty ..............

John

Dusty Turtle said:

So I guess I won't be wearing my red stilettos at Thursday's open mic! Too bad. They go so well with that new cocktail dress I just got for Christmas.

Rob N Lackey said:

Just be yourself and wear comfortable shoes.

ff, I do so hope that you did not hide a puppy dog up your skirts, and subseqently lose your head ..............?

John

Always good to catch up with old friends ! ( friends !!! we have never even met !!! lol) Great to have you back amongst us Guy, still not sure about that dulcimer you play, why not send it over to me so as I can assess it first hand ? Might take a year or three

best wishes

John

Now , now , Ken !

JohnH

(sorry Patty, just his first sentence, all the rest is fine! Wish you lived just a bit nearer, I'm sure that we could work something out ? Can you see gaps beneath a fret where it sounds 'off', can you depress such frets with pressure? JH)

Well, there you go Patty !!! You can see that the questions I asked you a while back in that PM, have all been asked again here, so if you can provide us with just someanswers we may be able to help ?(that bit of Geoffs answer re a 'compensated' bridge relates in part to the question I asked about the type of bridge you have)

John

Thanks for that Lisa ! As for the angels, well, he always seemed to have plenty of instruments out on loan ............. !!! Dusty, I agree with you about Paltalk, he as good as held my hand when I first went on .

John

I'm going to make a print of this, surely is one for the album

John

An 'Indulgence' of dulcimers ?

JohnH

I'm not even going to list mine, not sure it counts if they are homemade ? My better half asked once why I kept on making 'em when the first sounded just fine, I told her I was trying to get one that made me sound like David Schaufner ??? I think that DAD may be hereditary, my son now has more than is healthy, and came home from The Launde Festival with yet another! Once cleaned up, a nearly 'as new' all walnut 1985 Folkroots teardrop, that was gifted to him !!! it plays a treat ! Should add that I have three unfinished dulcimers, started about this time last year, so maybe I am in remission ?

JohnH

One careful squeeze with a small pair of well positioned pliers is all it takes ! The resulting 'loop' may be a tad smaller than expected tho ?

JohnH James Phillips said:

As well, they can pop the ball out of the guitar strings as well. I don't know about your local music shop, but I know CV Lloydd does that for free, at least for me.

Steven, the only thing that I can add to the previous post is that I whole heartedly agree with what Dusty as said. I make dulcimers, and would happily lay claim to his student instruments, great value for money IMHO 1

JohnH

Sorry jessica, my fault for making assumptions, and thus 'not delivering the goods' . No problem with the space you refer to, even when the soundboard starts out as one full width piece it is not uncommon to make a similar sized channel in it to that already in the fret board, thetwo channels being matched up during subsequent assembly. In your particular instance the procedure would be to pin and glue the chosen inside edges of the two sound board pieces so as they line up with your pre existing channel in the fretboard, thus making one prefabricated item out of two.( I usually do this after I have cut the pieces to shape, ie, two halves of a teardrop or hourglass soundboard.)

That make more sense to you ?

best wishes

JohnH

Hello jessica ! I am assuming that your fretboard is channeled down its length, in section like an inverted 'u'. Various reasons are offered as to why this is done. Reduction in weight, increase in internal volume, avoidance of making what for some could be an awkward joint, making best use of available widths of soundboard material ect . It is common practice to construct this way, and done properly should not affect any strength properties, and should result in some increase in volume.

I am sure that you will get other advice/answers, there are some very helpful people on this site, with years of building experience between them !! Use 'em

good luck with the build

JohnH

" If Dusty's right and there's a sharping lever out there that works between the bridge and the tail by increasing the string tension, that would be great. But I somehow doubt that such a feature would work without a lot of tinkering to make sure it always created the exact difference in tension needed for any gauge string that might be mounted."

? Like the 'bead' fine tuners I have on my old style Virginia instruments ?

JohnH

The Chinese yang ch'in (HD) uses a system of small 'rollers' to achieve a precise half tone change

Hello Helen, just felt that I would like to make a comment ! As a completely untutored noter/drone player (for a while some time back I thought I was the only one leftin the world !!!)I do not pretend to be an expert on strumming, rather the opposite, but am happy with what I do whilst playing. I often play ballads (even sing to 'em sometimes ,lol) and use a variety of things to strum with, including quills, wooden, bone or leather pics, and without exception, whatever I am using I rely on 'the tune in my head' to tell me what to do. Which means I do not work to a 'set' pattern, it '' jus ' appens "! Which,I think,is what David has already said ? I referyou to a vid which I have just posted, which may be of interest, 'cos I sorta play a ballad in two tempo's, involving differing strumming pattens. I repeat, I do not offer this as 'the way', just 'a way' !

best wishes

John

LOL, So it starts ! Sigh, the onset of DAD !!!! It looks as if Scott did you proud Gail, thanks for sharing

Treat 'em well, play 'em often

best wishes

JohnH

As I have indicated in more than one post, I think that the sounds one hears from one's dulcimer may quite well be viewed as 'Subjective' even tho' we may start out looking for an objective result ! After years of noise from woodworking machinery and associated construction site noise, I know only too well how tinitus can interfer with things !!! On the positive side, it may make my playing sound better than it is, to me at least !!!

JohnH

Mike A ! again as said before, I grew up in the construction industry in the days when one's claw hammer became an extension of the arm, and six inch round steel nails formed an important part of a joint in some timber constructions, so yes, I drove steel !

Chuckle! I repeat, just my experience talking there Wayne , nothing written in ' Tablets of Stone'.Horses for courses as it were ! If you have the time (and/or inclination) have a listen to the vids posted of the epinettes I have made. The very first one I constructed was all cherry, 'cos the little reseach I did indicatedit should be of a fruit wood, I did'nt like the sound of that at all, almost muted .One for the bin !!! Succeding ones have all had soundboards from the same piece of Doug. Fir, with Hon. Mahog bodies, identical everything else,except for a much brighter sound , (in my opinion !!!)

Thanks for the good wishes, some slight improvement on the home front, have got systems in place which seem to work, tho' still seem to have very full days , lol, and continue to have to snatch moments to visit here and catch up with things. Have enjoyed the luxury of having a grand daughter help out for a couple of days, was able to play a bit , first real go at it since Christmas, but have not managedto find thetime to record anything yet. I reckon I shall be in the 'beginners' class all over again soon !

best wishes

John

I have worked with timber for many years, including the construction of various musical instruments. I agree that factors such as size/volume, string selection, bridge position, nut and bridge materials used, greatly influence perceived resultant sound. I also hold the opinion that the type of timber used, particularly for the soundboard "makes a difference", and in my experience if I was setting out to achieve a less mellow sound I would go for a medium density, straight grained quarter sawn softwood, such as Douglas Fir or similar, something showing a pronounced difference between its spring and summer growth. I went to my workshop just now and did a simple 'knuckle knock' test on more or less similar sized pieces of Mahog, Poplar, Walnut, Ash, Cedar, Maple and D. Fir. No doubt in my mind timbers which gave the 'brighter' sound ! That decidedly unscientific 'test' does'nt make me 'right' , but would influence the type of dulcimer I might buy should I not be making it.

Then of course, there are instruments made of plywood (veneers if you want to be fancy). Hmmmmmmmmmm.....

different ball game there......nothing wrong with 'em, just diff. ???

(sorry if that caused confusion Gail, I have'nt posted much lately, and being 'off duty' for a couple of days I am enjoying a bit of 'me' time' )

good luck in your search

JohnH

Good point Ken, tho' as my wife used to say on the rare occasions she managed to see my workplace/hideyhole " why do you keep all these odds and ends of rubbish, they must be too small to make things out off" women ! (tongue in cheek, honest )

JohnH

I made my first HD in the late 1980's, and a great number since then ! I truely believe it to be relatively easy to play, I could'nt read SMN then (nor can I now ) but once I had mastered the 'geography' of the instrument's layout (using a specific 'tuning' pattern every time helps ) I seemed to be able to 'jus play the durned thing', and although attending some workshops, I have never really been tied by the constraints of 'doing it the right way' I always played 'seated', using a monopole leg, and found that I fitted into our UK pub sessions (where just about any type of music is played, on just about every sort of instrument) very well, so long as I observed timing, rhythm , and patterns (see Susanne's comment). For me, the HD fitted into such sessions well , it worked great to be able to lay down backup sound to tunes I did'nt know. I always preferred playing the HD over MD in such situations, 'cos without doubt it carries a lot more punch. The downside being that this enables all the 'bum' notes one might play to be clearly heard !!! Of course, the MD is easier to lug around......................... !

Go for it Cheryl, just don't spend too much time looking down at the strings, 'cos then you might notice all the dust on the soundboard, which may put you off playing ???

best wishes

JohnH

I do not know why the makers specified use Mahogany, I do know why I have in the past. As Dan has already pointed out, Honduras in particular is stable and easy to work, and as ff has said, is relatively light for a hardwood. It glues well, and will take most finishes. I have made several dulcimers where Mahog has been the primary construction material, nearly always using one of the more 'conventional' timbers as an overlay. Should be mentioned that some of the associated 'Heinz 57' types of so called mahoganies do have 'harder' qualities, I have an instrument made in the 80's which has a Utile fret board which has given good service and is showing little, if any, signs of wear.

JohnH
folkfan said:

Looked at the Blue Lion site and they do use mahogany for the fret boards, but all of the styles seem to have some sort of overlay in walnut, rosewood, or ebony in the specifications. I'm going to guess that they use mahogany for the fret board for the weight as it is a soft wood and not as heavy as many hardwoods. The overlays due to their hardness give the the slickness, speed, and durability that a fret board make just of mahogany wouldn't have.

I have only one instrument with a solid mahogany fret board, and it's slow compared to cherry, walnut, rosewood, ebony etc.

Would have loved to haved peeped inside her 'carry case' ??? And would her ultimate playing mode have been 'Dead' ?

JohnH