Forum Activity for @david-bennett

     Just by chance several weeks ago, before my friend sent me the link to this dulcimer sale, I had started gathering information on A.W. Jeffreys for my Today In Mountain Dulcimer History posts but never completed it.  This got me jump started. In fact today I traded several emails with Jeffreys' daughter, Jan. I'm still tweaking this but this is what I have so far:

     A.W. (Alois Waldo) Jeffreys, Jr. was born in 1923 in South Hill, Virginia to a tobacco farmer/auctioneer.  

     A.W. Jeffreys was a Naval pilot during WWII. In 1946 he was in the naval pilot's group that was the fore-runner to today's Blue Angels, then known as the Flight Exhibition Team.

     After his Naval career he was a clinical psychologist. He was Chief Psychologist at Western State Hospital at Staunton, Virginia for 33 years. 

     According to his daughter Jeffreys became interested in dulcimers after observing local folk playing them in the mountains of Virginia where he lived. He made his first dulcimer in 1956.

     About 1960 he started the Appalachian Dulcimer Company in Staunton, it was a family business. His wife ran the business side and she and the kids, Jay and Jan, helped A.W. with various aspects of the business and building dulcimers.

     Jeffreys built both 3 string and 4 string instruments, but preferred 3 strings, in walnut, cherry or butternut with either heart or diamond shaped sound holes. With each dulcimer came an instruction book, which he wrote, a cloth bag, a hand cut pick, and an optional LP record made by his friend, Paul Clayton.

     In the mid-1970s A.W. and his wife took over all the work when Jay and Jan left home. The business wound down sometime in the late 1980's. It is estimated that over 3000 dulcimers were made. Sometime in the 1980's Jeffreys donated much of his dulcimer collection to the Smithsonian Institute.

     Jan told me her dad played the dulcimer very little as he was more of a vocalist. But the song she remembers the most was "Go tell Aunt Rhody".

     A.W. Jeffreys died 29 January 1992.

A friend saw this AW Jeffreys dulcimer on Craigslist. Looks like the seller is about 3 minutes from my house. Too bad I'm not collecting, seems like a good price.

https://huntsville.craigslist.org/msg/d/vintage-w-jeffreys-dulcimer/6708546706.html

 I'm not sure yet if'n I'll be on my porch or someone else's. I'll keep you poated.

I also just refer to my dulcimers by the maker/builder

We have a writing desk with a writing space that drops down, it is next to a table that our 'puter is on.  For the last week or so on the desk I had a primary turkey feather that I put there waiting to get around to doing something noter/droninsh with.

 The other night, my wife had already some to bed, while I was taking care of business on the 'puter, Sally snuck up behind me on the chair I was in and stealthily got on the writing desk to my left, and quick as a wink snatched the turkey feather and went dashing off with her prize.

 I let her think she got one over on me, figuring I'd later find the turkey feather with her stash of kitty toys, wadded up paper, and other treasures she's collected.

When I finally went to bed I found that turkey feather laying on top my sleeping wife.

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Here's a side by side comparison of Sally Ann from 11 May and today (I have this in the correct forum today).

In the top photo Sally is checking out my 1931 Uncle Ed Thomas reproduction made by Kevin Messenger and in the bottom one she is looking at my 1915 Uncle Ed Thomas reproduction made by John Knopf.

Our previous furball, Peachy, really enjoyed it when I'd play my dulcimer and would contentedly watch me play for the longest time she'd even ask me to play. So far Sally Ann doesn't have a lot of interest in the instrument or listening to it much, though she did the other night. I think right now for Sally Ann everything in the world is too new and interesting to sit around and listen to me play music. My guess is when she becomes an adult cat she won't have so much energy and have a more contemplative. And if not, that's ok too!

 Sally May-Julyb.jpg - 82KB

One relaxed kitty!

It's hard to imagine that she's not this size anymore. The good thing is we don't have to treat her like something very fragile (she's pretty tough, in a nice way, now). This pic is about two months old.

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Sally Ann will be four months in a few days. For some reason she thinks she's the boss.

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Ken H, when you make your wooden strummers does the type of wood you use make much difference? Are there any you definitely would use or definitely NOT use?

We brought Sally Ann home Friday and introduced her to our dulcimers. Right now she thinks our house is one big cat toy. I'm thinking she's about 8 weeks old. She could be 9 weeks old.  

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This last Friday we were able to visit the kitten we're adopting. We're calling her Sally, or Sally Ann

Two days before Christmas our cat, Peachy, went to kitty heaven.

We're now in the process of adopting a rescue kitten.  We've made all the arrangements but can't bring her home until she gains some weight, the runt of the litter. I believe she weighs 3 pounds and has to weigh 4 before the rescue organization will let us have her. She's not a lot bigger than my iPhone 6

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I wonder if people knowing about the recent flooding in Hindman had any impact on the low registration.

I have a couple of friends in my local club that were planning on just showing up without pre-registering so they wouldn't be out any money if they had to back out, a legitimate concern. Several weeks ago I tried to get them to register arguing that the planners needed to know ahead of time how many would be there, especially as meals were provided. But they still wouldn't pre-register. I'm wondering if there were others planning on showing up without pre-registering. I'm not busting on these folks. But if this was a factor in cancelling the event perhaps it shows the need to pre-registering. But I could be wrong!!  :)

For those planning on going to the Hindman Dulcimer non-Home Coming and now thinking about meeting in Berea we need to decide on dates in order to make reservations.

The Hindman Dulcimer Home Coming was scheduled 8-11 March. The 8th is Thursday. Do we want to meet on the 9th and 10th (Fri & Sat)?  I'd probably need to leave Sunday but might be able to adjust with enough notice.

Maybe Warren May would have some ideas where we could meet.

Maybe we can meet in Berea.  We always like staying at the Boone Tavern on the campus of Berea College and on the same block as Warren May's shop... What do you think?

Here's part of the email I received:

"My name is Brett Ratliff and I’m the Director of Cultural Heritage Programs at Hindman Settlement School. I regret to inform you that it is not viable for us at this point to move forward with the Hindman Dulcimer Homecoming due to low enrollment and the risk of not covering our costs, which is a risk we are simply not in a position to take. In light of this, we have made the difficult decision to cancel this year’s event. We realize that you have made special arrangements in order to be with us, so we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support..."

Robin Clark:  Hi Dave - Are you sure you want to venture into the dark side   The resources for learning early style noter drone tend to be scattered and do take some searching out.... If you want to Skype me so I can get you started I'd be happy to help.  Your posts on ED about dulcimer history have been excellent so I'd like to give something back.

 

Robin 

Robin, thanks for the pointers. I told Gordon that when I first got in to Mountain Dulcimers I really wanted to go the DAA noter/drone route since I didn't know DAA or DAD and the historical side of noter/drone appealed to me but everyone here is DAD (or don't do noter/drone even if they do other tunings like DAA and others) and I wanted to learn their way. I've been fighting this urge to go noter/drone for years and have decided win, lose, or draw I must scratch this itch. Since I'm committing to this I'm even having John Knopf make me an Uncle Ed replica. On one hand I may regret it all, particularly the wood pegs and relearning strumming techniques. On the other hand I might be able to scratch the itch... I'll probably take you up on your skpe offer, but maybe not until I get my new dulcimer.

Thanks

Thanks to everyone who has provided comments. I appreciate them all.

Thanks y'all. I see I have a lot to learn. I don't eve know what the tabs are telling me when it says

1-5-5 or 1-5-8

Is one DAA and the other another tuning?

I need a "old style drone & noter for dummies" book!

I'm trying to get more into playing old style drone & noter players with a quill and with a dulcimer that only has the fret under the melody string.
I have some DAA tabs in my books but they have a lot of tunes that still require you move to the middle and base strings.
Are their any tab books or resources devoted to this style of playing?

Try it again, I think I fixed the link...

https://athensdulcimerclub.wordpress.com/dulcimentaries/dulcimentary-articles-pt-ii/christy-tv-series/

For those of you who have been to the McSpadden Dulcimer Shop in Mountain View, Arkansas you probably met Judy. After a battle with cancer she passed yesterday (7 Feb).

My latest dulcimentary is on our club's website:

https://athensdulcimerclub.wordpress.com/dulcimentaries/dulcimentary-articles/the-unofficial-history-of-westphalia-waltz/

My latest dulcimentary is about Archie Lee:

http://athensdulcimerclub.wordpress.com/dulcimentaries/archie-lee/

Interesting!

folkfan said:

Dave, That dulcimer's a hoot.

There's another variation of the flat board dulcimer, "The Plickett Dulcimer". I had one of those once. The board was cut in an hourglass shape with the cutout area in the back, and a plastic fretboard. That company fancied them up with black decals. If I remember correctly, Mike Anderson learned to play the dulcimer on a Plickett that cost him $1.00.

That is an excellent video Wayne

Wayne Anderson said:

David my introduction to Tut Taylor through this Video and have played it over and over.

just keep checking eBay. I've two (including the one I bought) in the last two weeks.

Patty from Virginia said:

David, that's cool! I wish I could get one of those.

A few weeks ago I attended the Summertown Bluegrass Reunion in Tennessee a vendor had a table full of fiddles. One item was different and so caught my eye (see photos below). I asked the vendor what it was and he didnt know and I remarked to him that it looked like a mountain dulcimer though he didnt seem to know what a mountain dulcimer was. I inquired what he wanted for the item and he said $40. I didnt buy it but latter I almost wished Id bought it.

That evening I looked on EBay and someone had the same type of item, also for $40, but this time if I bought it I also be out the price of postage so again I passed. That one did not sell.

A few days later I looked on EBay and someone else had another one for sale, asking $10. They erroneously called it a plank guitar, as did others on EBay, though the box doesnt call it a guitar at all. Figuring $10 plus postage was reasonable for a curiosity I bid on it and won.

Heres the Ebay description of the item I bid on:

This is a vintage Tut Taylor creation "HEE HAW", Yongestreet Productions wooden PLANK hillbilly musical instrument. Plank measures 24" long x 3 1/2" across, is three stringed, made of wood. It is stamped with the trademark Mule and the "Hee Haw" logo, dated 1976, & also is a Tut Taylor creation. This guitar was once used by blind students at the Tennessee School for the Blind.

I e-mailed Tut and he replied back confirming that the item is indeed a dulcimer and that I should tune all three strings the same (the box says to G).

Mr. Taylor also told me, This was my creation sold by a company in Tenn. They were played on Hee Haw by Roy Clark and Junior Samples.

I have received the item and it plays about like a $10 dulcimer, a bit tinny, but it does play. I mostly bought it for the curiosity factor anyway and am glad I did.

I looked up Tut Taylor, The Flat Picking Dobro Man, on the Internet and learned he was once a repairman at Gruen's Guitars in Nashville (probably the world's premiere vintage guitar shop) and now builds some of the best resonator guitars around.

I also found this about him:

Tut Taylor (born November 20, 1923) is an American bluegrass musician.

Taylor played banjo and mandolin as a child, and began playing dobro at age 14, learning to use the instrument with a distinctive flat-picking style. Taylor was a member of The Folkswingers in the 1960s, who released three LPs; he recorded his debut solo effort in 1964. Later in the 1960s, he played with the Dixie Gentlemen and in John Hartford's Aero-Plain band.

Taylor became a local Nashville, Tennessee fixture. In 1970, he co-founded the instrument shop GTR there, soon after releasing another solo album. He also co-founded the Old Time Pickin' Parlor, a Nashville venue noted for performances of old-time music, as well as Tut Taylor's General Store.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tut_Taylor

Tut's webpage: http://webpages.charter.net/tutbro/ and www.tuttaylor.com

Also see the Old Time Pickin' Parlor http://oldtimepickinparlor.com/fr_home.cfm

Thanks for the tips Geoff. You are right it is the base string. I don't remember what I put on it but I'll check your tips out tonight.

Many thanks

David

Geoff Black said:

Hi David

No-one should suffer slipping pegs, particularly on a Glenn where they are normally well fitted and effective.

A few tips with apologies if they are self-evident.

1. I imagine this is the bass string. If so check your gauge first. It needs to be no more than 0.024w, but this should hold easily at D.
2. Always wind the strings on carefully. Strings naturally try to pull the pegs out, unless they are the middle string which pulls straight. Ensure the last two coils are tight against their respective sides of the headstock, so that the pull is as straight as possible.
3. You can put too much dope on. Peg treatments try to do two opposite things - make the peg turn smoothly and ensure it holds firm. Too much or too little drives it to do one or the other exclusively! Either take some dope off using very fine steel wool or simply dust lightly with some chalk to help grip - yes, I know it sounds crude but it works!

Best of luck with it. Should be fine and, with the Glenn sound, should give great enjoyment.

Geoff

Geoff, the only problem I have is tuning it. Two of the pegs are not too bad but one of them when you get it tuned and bump it or touch it it jumps back again. I've used peg drops like Strumlelia recommended and it helps except for that one peg. I've tuned it down to CGG as DAA was too hard to tune and keep tuned. I use it when I want to play songs in DAA

Geoff Black said:

Hi David

Only just spotted this on an internet search, although I'm on FOTMD often. You may now have answers to your questions, if not the following may help.

Lovely instrument from a middle phase of the Glenn's dulcimer making. It has no flare on the headstock for the strings to run outwards over the nut; shallow sides (1 3/8" or so); and a single nickel screw to act as the string anchor - yes it's original!. Earlier ones had a thinner tailpiece through which the strings pass at the bridge end. Later ones are deeper with flared headstock and brass screw. I have a 1974 which is very similar to this - and a few other earlier and later models.

Strings MAY be original - difficult to say. I've had 0.010, 0.010, 0.018w and 0.011, 0.011, 0.021w on mine when I got them - they seem a little lighter than my expectation. I would normally use 0.012 and 0.022w or even 0.024w for DAA with this scale length. What size were yours (if you can remember)?

Woods: you're right with sides and back, but I can't identify the top either. In fact, I struggle with many of the six I own. Most are hardwood, as this appears to be (one cedar), but all different and none obvious!

Are you playing it? If so, what kind of music? Any issues with it to date? - looks very original and in excellent condition. Feel free to ask any questions. Anyway, congratulations on a good purchase. Hope you enjoy.

Geoff Black

Revels Music

Yesterday I bought a Clifford Glenn dulcimer from a friend who picked it up at a local local auction. It has a little wear and I believe some water spots that I have not tried too hard yet to run out (if possible). The strings are corroded and who knows may be original(?).

One thing I don't if it's original is the screw on the tail when the three strings loop on. Anyone know?

Also trying to figure out what the wood is. The sides and bottom look like walnut to me and I have no idea about the top.

Thanks, I was really surprised when I ran across it. I wish I knew which episodes he "played" his dulcimer. I know he did in episode 1 Anyone have a list?

I haven't looked real close and I'm not disagreeing with you, but could it possibly bea mismatch of the audio and video? Not saying Fess played it here but this article from Sept 1963 Fess Parker says the dulcimer was his idea and it's one he'd brought out of the Smoky Mtns ten years previously. Sowhether he played it in this scene maybe he could play but then I know lots of folk that buy mtn dulcimers and don't play

See

http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=7jxQAAAAIBAJ&sjid=3lYDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3146%2C868815

Ken Hulme said:

Good post Dana. This topic surfaces about once a year. Watch closely and you can see that, of course, Fess really isn't playing the dulcimer, and the notes he's fretting aren't the right ones for the song.

Thanks Robin!

Does anyone know of any history behind the tune John Stinson #2?