Forum Activity for @brian-g

Hi there Silverstrings.  I own multiple Fellenbaum dulcimers and can tell you that he builds excellent well-crafted instruments. I do not find them wider or deeper than many other makers (I own quite a few dulcimers by different makers).  Also, I need to comment on the statement that an instrument's woods do not affect sound in any discernible way - that's not true. A wood's density and its age can have quite an effect on sound:

Effects on pitch: Lower-density woods absorb higher-frequency sound waves more than lower-frequency sound waves.

Effects due to reflection and resonance - softer woods absorb sound waves more than than harder woods do, and reflect less.

Effects due to age - as wood ages, internal sap hardens and hemicellulose degrades, which changes acoustical properties of any wood.

Can you hear these kinds of differences?  Many people can.  For a good demonstration, try listening to classical guitars.  Traditionally, classical guitars come with one of two woods for their tops - spruce or cedar.  It is very easy to find multiple examples of identical guitar models by a particular maker that differ *only* in the choice of tonewood for the top.  Listen to a bunch of these with cedar tops and compare them to those with spruce tops.  I'd be *very* surprised if you don't hear the difference between the two.

It is also true that the volume of the sound box and a host of other considerations *also* affect the sound of instruments. But it is incorrect to suggest that the woods used in their creation do not.

Dusty and Robin - thanks for your encouraging words. Very much appreciated.  Stay safe everyone!  :)

Hello All!  It's been a long time since I've posted at FOTMD.  SARS-CoV-2 has had affected my life pretty dramatically.  I've been involved in the clinical development of a couple vaccines and therapeutics for COVID-19 (in addition to my "regular" work), and have been working insane hours.  Unfortunately, I know more than a few people who have died as a result of the disease, and many more who have suffered greatly.  This pandemic has exacerbated systemic injustices related to the social determinants of health, and the US response in particular has been pathetic.

It's heartening to read of more and more people getting vaccinated. I hope you all stay safe!  :)

Brian

Very sad news.  I also still have my book and cassette (and still think hers is one of the best introductions to the mountain dulcimer I've seen).  She certainly touched many lives.  My deepest sympathies to her family and friends. She will be missed.

I'd like to respectfully disagree with Dusty on one minor (yet still important, in my opinion) point.  While I certainly agree that one should not be "going so deep into the strings that you hit the fretboard" I do not agree that you should be "gliding along the top."  That depends on the tone you desire.  For the fullest tone, the dominant direction of the pick (or finger) should actually be *into* the fretboard (without going so deep as to hit the fretboard), rather than across the strings parallel to the plane of the top of the fretboard.  This is easier for many people to do with their fingers than with picks, and when playing individual notes or chord-melody style vs when strumming, but angling the pick as Dusty suggests actually helps facilitate this "down toward the fretboard" angle.

As always, these are *choices* available to the deliberate player.  Try adjusting the angle of your pick, sure, but also try adjusting the direction of your picking (towards the fretboard vs. parallel to the fretboard plane) and see what gives you the sound you want for the piece you're playing.  There's no "one size fits all."

Just my two cents.  :)

Kind regards,

Brian

Hi Gennaro,

The melody of Morning Has Broken is actually a traditional Scottish Gaelic tune called Bunessan. (And the lyrics for Morning Has Broken were actually written by Eleanor Farjeon and set to this melody).  You can find the tune here:

Bunessan Tune Page

As for Norwegian Wood, I play an arrangement that is not just strumming. In case it helps you in any way, you can see it here:

Norwegian Wood

Hi Geezer,

I would normally suggest getting yourself a software program that can read ABC files (at a minimum) and then using that software to turn those files into tablature. Such software can be found for free, and there are many ABC tune files available for free online.

But if you've been playing classical guitar for 40 years, you can read music, and you can skip the conversion to tab and just look online. There are countless tunes available online for free.  To give one example, you can go to http://abcnotation.com/.  From there you can get to over 600,000 tunes as abc files, sheet music pdfs, MIDI files, etc. It's truly amazing how much is available.

Enjoy your dulcimer. It's a fantastic instrument.  (This is coming from a guy who also studied classical guitar, though I don't play too much anymore, and I haven't played for 40 years.)  :)

I'm very sorry to read this...

Hi Dana,

Thanks for the quick response!  Yes, a 10" radius fretboard is still pretty flat, so what you've written doesn't surprise me. 

As for the reason for coming up with the idea - there are certainly good reasons for radius fretboards, but like pretty much everything else you can choose to do on an instrument, there are trade-offs also. I mentioned bending earlier, but moving across strings, especially higher up the fretboard, is another example of something that's generally considered easier with flat fretboards.

But it sounds like in this case, at least, any trade-offs were minimal and well worth it. :)  And I certainly can't argue with how that instrument sounds.  Love it!

Hi Dana,

I have a couple questions for you, but rather than ask them privately I figured I'd do it here in case anyone else was wondering also.

1) Do you know the radius of your new dulcimer's fretboard in inches?  (and if it's a compound radius fretboard, do you know the radii for each end?)

2) Do you like it (not the dulcimer itself, which sounds fantastic, but the fretboard specifically)?  I'm familiar with the general advantages of curved fretboards (eg, more easy to barre and chord) as well as their disadvantages (eg, can't usually get action as low as with flat boards, more prone to buzzes, especially when bending notes or hammering) and I can understand the desire for curved fretboards on, say, a guitar, because of how they are played. But given the way a dulcimer is played, it doesn't seem to me that it would make much difference for playability.  My guitar playing is mostly limited to classical guitar (those have flat fretboards) so my experience with curved fretboards is limited.

Thanks for any insight.

Brian

Hi Jan,

Did you ever find any more info on October is a Gypsy Lass?  I'm very curious about it also. I know it only by these words (and did not know it was even a song - I thought it was "just" a poem):

October is a gypsy lass

Who dances through our town

Scarlet is her flying scarf

Many-hued her gown

On her dusky hair she wears

A crown of bittersweet

Maples spread a golden carpet

For her dancing feet

Hi all,

I'm sorry I hadn't see this thread again until recently, but I am glad Lois and others were able to download the site successfully.  Also glad the tab from ED has found a new home on the web.  :)

Dusty - it's tough to say because I was at work when the process was finished. I also did not realize that, although I was using a very fast computer I was accidentally connected wirelessly. Therefore, my transfer speeds were very slow, and the time wouldn't really be representative anyway.

I can state, though, that with that slow connection I was averaging about 25 kb/s, and last time I looked I had downloaded 84% of the site in 13h, 20m (using no more than 4 active connections).  A fast wired connection would dramatically reduce that time, and for someone just interested in the tunes, they total what, a little over 200MB?  That wouldn't take much time at all.

I promised to post final results, so here's what I have;

Total Website Size: 3.66GB

Number of files: 82,247

Number of Folders: 3,063

I know many people are interested in the tunes, specifically, so here's some information on that;

Tab PDFs: 1,397 files, 90.7 MB

Tab GIFs: 7 files, 268 KB

Tab JPGs: 15 files, 3.68 MB

Tab Word files: 6 files, 101 KB

Tab RTF Files: 2 files, 8 KB

MIDI files: 694 files, 2.43 MB

MP3s: 107 files, 123 MB

Lyrics Text files: 270 files, 716 KB

Hi Jim,

I'll post my final results when I'm done, but as of right now, we are at 2.46GB, 69,150 files written, and elapsed time of 13h, 20m (using no more than 4 active connections).  I am using a very fast computer (overclocked i7-7700k CPU, liquid cooled, 32 gigs RAM), but am also using a wireless connection (that was an oversight on my part - my cable for hardwiring my connection is actually plugged into another computer nearby I was testing recently and I didn't notice it until now) so my transfer rate is pretty slow ~25kb/s).

Also, as I mentioned in my initial post (and Nigel also wrote below), this type of software is doing more than simply downloading. It actually parses the HTML files of websites and rebuilds the original site's directory and link structure. The result is that you can then load a page of the mirrored website in your browser and browse the site just as if you were doing it online.

Hi Irene. Yes, you can choose the output location for the files, so you can specify to an external drive such as a USB thumb drive or an SD card, as long as it's big enough to hold the contents of the site you're trying to "mirror" (ie, copy).

The Wayback Machine is a great resource, but because our site of interest (ie, EverythingDulcimer.com) still currently exists, there's a better option - use a website copier program to simply download the entire website to your hard drive.

Properly configured, programs like this will rebuild the entire website locally, with all of the tab, mp3s, midis, articles, etc.  This takes a long time to do (as in hours in the case of EverythingDulcimer.com), depending on your internet speed and how "beefy" your computer is, but if you set it up and run it before you go to sleep, or before you head out to work, you may never notice. And it's a whole lot faster/more efficient than going through hundreds of tab files, articles, etc. to decide which ones you might like to keep and then downloading those individually. 

I use HTTrack because it's free and has a pretty good interface (as far as these types of programs are concerned).  But there are others that will also do the job, including WebWhacker, SiteSucker, SurfOffline, Grab-A-Site and more.

Congratulations!  My very first dulcimer was an all-walnut Folkcraft and I loved it. In fact, I regret selling it.

Enjoy!

Ken - thanks for that info.  Much appreciated!

Joe, what is your definition of a "properly constructed instrument" with a scalloped fretboard such that it doesn't warp?  I'm curious as to the construction differences that differentiate it from those instruments whose scalloped fretboards do warp.

I'm going to to disagree with Ken here.  I haven't owned scalloped-fretboard instruments long enough to notice any issues, but I can think of three people I know, very well respected in the dulcimer world, who have been playing instruments with and without scalloped fretboards longer than I've been alive, and it is their opinion that over time, those scalloped fretboards do (and in the case of some builders, WILL) warp. And they each told me that independently, over the years I've known them. In fact, it's not even an opinion; two of them have shown me examples.

I have a lot of fun with Arkansas Traveler.  It's ridiculously fun to play, in fact - a simple tune you can do so much with.  Great sections for hammer-ons and pull-offs, stumming, cross-picking...it's one of those tunes that can take a lot of abuse and still come out sounding really good. (And it's just fun physically to play.)  It also seems to be one of the first tunes to come out of any new dulcimer I pick up for the first time.  :)

Hey, congrats Rob!  Very cool.

Dana, I am very happy you are enjoying the instrument.  :)  (I told you it was a good one!)

Brian

If using the same gauge strings, those on a dulcimer with a shorter VSL will require less tension to reach a given pitch than one with a longer VSL.  This helps playability not only because frets are closer together making it easier to chord down at the first few frets, but also because bending notes is easier, vibrato is easier, and playing in general is just easier with less string tension. 

But there *are* definitely well-known effects on sound as well. String tension and length affect overtones and harmonics.  The greater the string tension, the greater the higher overtones produced. Longer string lengths also give more space for harmonics and overtones to “breathe” (ie, sound separate).  With shorter scale lengths there is less separation. As a result, longer VSLs will give more brightness, clarity and definition in the tone, while shorter ones will give a “sweeter” sound with more warmth/darkness, less clarity and fewer overtones. Longer VSLs and their increased string tension tend to give you more volume and attack also, and more of that twangy “silvery-ness” traditionally associated with a mountain dulcimer.     

Many guitar builders will tell you that the tone begins with the string and everything else is a modifier; that you start with the scale length and then go from there, choosing woods, body shape, body volume, type of pickup, etc. to get the tone you are looking for.

Incidentally, if you don't want to believe me, there are plenty of well-respected dulcimer builders who have written about scale length and its effect on tone before (Jerry Rockwell and Janita Baker come immediately to mind, for example).

Hi Marg,

I'm unfamiliar with Cube Jam, but I will have to investigate it now.  :)

Hi Marg.  As you know, this amp comes with a few effects and also presets to emulate the sound of some classic guitar amplifiers of the past.  I mostly use it on "acoustic", and with a little chorus and a little reverb.  When used with no effects and on "acoustic", the sound is just that - it just sounds like my dulcimers, only louder.  For what this little thing is (and the price I paid for it), I love it.

I own one of these and use it with my dulcimers. It's a great little amp.

I'm working on a beautiful 16th century tune called John Com Kisse Me Now.  I definitely haven't seen any tab for it, so I'm creating my own arrangement based on my favorite version of the tune.

I know I've written this elsewhere on the internet already, but I wanted to write it here also - congrats John Henry!  Great achievement.

I'm also going to plug EAA tuning here.  I tend to be lazy and either play an A tune out of DAD if I can, or capo to 4, but the truth is, I hate capos at fret 4 for a number of reasons (two big ones - you lose about a third of your instrument, and the vsl becomes so short that the instruments generally don't sound very good to me) and much prefer EAA as it has a number of advantages:

• built in A major and A mixolydian scales
• plays an octave under fiddle, mandolin and capo'd dulcimers
• the lower A sounds better to me for many tunes
• it avoids the heavy boominess and reverbing bass drone string on baritone dulcimers and is much better balanced to my ears

I also want to respond specifically to Dusy's comment about it being better for drone players since chord players will need to learn all new fingerings - there is a "secret" (not really) that makes this very easy.

EAA tuning can be thought of as a kind of "reverse DAD" tuning in which you reverse what you would do on the middle and bass strings.  For example - in DAD, if a note falls below the pitch of the melody string, you can normally get it on the middle string. In EAA, if the note falls below the pitch of the melody string, you play it on the bass string.  So if the IV chord in DAD is played 0-1-3 (bass to melody string), in EAA it would be played 1-0-3 (bass to melody string).

UPDATED to give credit to Rich Carty, who was the first person to have the above discussion with me and made me aware of the possibilities of EAA tuning.  I don't play in it very often, but when I do, I absolutely love it.

Very nice Dana! Now let's hear a tune.  ;)

I am very sorry to read of Oliver's passing.  He and his family will be in my thoughts, and I think I'll go play a tune in his honor...

I am so sorry to read this news.  My deepest condolences to you, John and Paul.   You are in my thoughts.

Congrats Mark!

I also trim the string before I put it on, leaving about 2 inches past the tuner.  A few of my dulcimers have self-trimming tuners (they have built in cutters and trim the string as you are replacing it), and they are absolutely excellent. I think they are D'Addario Planet Waves, but I am not 100% sure.  But I went from being skeptical of them to a firm believer pretty much immediately:

D'Addario Planet Wave Tuners

Jennifer - yes, you can definitely just measure the string with a caliper to determine its gauge.  As has been mentioned, there's nothing special about dulcimer strings; a regular old caliper or micrometer will work on a dulcimer string just as well as it will any other string. I had to do this recently for a harp dulcimer I acquired as I had no idea what gauges the harp strings were.  :) 

You're welcome Ken.  I understand this deal wasn't available when you were looking, but I thought it might help others if they wanted to actually go to a store and play with the stuff vs buying unseen/unheard.  I hope someone finds it useful.  :)

Hi all.  I just wanted to mention that Guitar Center itself is also doing a similar deal package deal on the Loudbox mini for $329.95.  Only real difference is the microphone:

Audio-Technica M4000S Handheld Dynamic Microphone

Gear One Lo-Z Mic Cable 20 Feet

Musician's Gear MS-220 Tripod Mic Stand with Fixed Boom

Fishman Loudbox Mini