I am not a traditional player and my dulcimers all have a 6.5 fret, but I definitely enjoy playing melody drone with a noter or my thumb in Dad. If I didn't have a 6.5 fret, well it might be fun to mess around with but definitely wouldn't be the same.
Hey now Dusty, the Nate fanclub may be small, but it has a quality few members. xD
It's a very true point though. Popular artists of the 70s played a huge role in the re-emergence of the instrument. Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, etc. Often when you look at the comment section of tracks from that era that included dulcimer you will see people talking about how the sound stood out to them.
In modern times, Harry Styles, who was a member of the popular boy band One Direction, had a song that heavily featured the dulcimer and while his audience probably didnt notice, as a dulcimer player I definitely did.
While I totally agree with you Wally, I think that dulcimer has recently rediscovered it's place as an instrument that is great for amateur builders to make for themselves. I have personally taught a bunch of people to build dulcimers. With modern tools and hardware, it's easier than ever for people to make their own dulcimers, and for people who like to build instruments, dulcimers and strumsticks are a common project.
Personally, I mainly built cigar box guitars before learning about dulcimers, and I have preferred making dulcimers since.
I think that the lack of commercial viability is also an indication of the durability or dulcimers, and the care given to them. There are probably more dulcimers out there than dulcimer players, so making new ones is best left to folks who make exceptional instruments, like many of the fine luthiers on this site. 
Certainly not my interest! I really want to know what folks who have been playing for decades think about this.
I am a young person and have not played for very long so this observation is limited. From my conversations with others, it seems that the instrument has been on a slow and steady decline since the folk revival. I think the instrument has incredible potential for a come back, but at the moment I would say that the popularity sadly seems to be on decline.
Hello Art. The nickel should be on top of the 7th fret and the dime should be sitting on the fretboard in the space between the nut and the first fret, flush against the first fret. Here are a couple of photos.
If the string is too high at the dime, you may need to make the nut slightly less tall by removing it and sanding a tiny bit off the bottom. If the string is too high at the nickel, you may need to sand a little off the bridge. Always go slow, and keep in mind that its a lot easier to take too much off than it is to put material back.
An important thing to note is that the dime will not be a useful reference if your instrument has jumbo fretwire, because the frets will be taller than the dime.
Well i hope that character uploads again, because it was very cool ambient dulcimer music.
Interestingly Jim, leaving the clip on tuner on the instrument has become a symbol of proud naivete in some genres. The idea that a player needs regular access to a tuner is meant to be an indicator that they are very versatile, but not classically trained. Its a funny signal of authenticity that i see a lot in genres like folk punk.
There is one guy @glowhazel that used to upload really neat ambient stuff. Sadly i dont think hes posted anything recently.
Hello Jon. In my opinion, even when playing with louder instruments the dulcimer still fits nicely into the blend and adds a lot to the overall sound. Assuming you can't use any kind of amplification and are wanting the sound of the dulcimer to stand out, it helps to consider where all the players are relative to eachother and make sure that the quieter instruments are prominently placed where they wont be drowned out as easily.
Very cool Damon. I dont know anything about synthesizers so i look forward to hearing what kinds of unique sounds you can get from the dulcimer.
Ive been making really simple lures as a hobby for several years now. Mainly spoons and tied flies but ive also tried making a couple molds for soft plastic lures, and Ive whittled a couple from wood as well. Catching a fish on my own lure is not only a very rewarding feeling, but has also taught me a lot about what fish really care about vs what they don't.
Thank you very much Sam, that's really kind of you to say and I'm glad that you find it cool.
That is a lot of food for thought and i have a ton of respect for your opinion, so thank you very much for taking the time to share it.
The reason i associate dulcimer with 3 string guitar is because of the many 3 string cigar box guitars tuned to Dad that have essentially the same layout as a chromatic dulcimer, but with the string order reversed. I do agree that the tone is entirely different, but i have seen a lot of overlap of tabs and instructions between 3 string cigar box guitars and dulcimers.
To my understanding dulcimers were originally a "simplified" version of European zithers created with limited resources and the modern instrument has developed from that. I am sure that folks back them would have loved chromatic fretboards, if they were as easy to make as they are now.
Thanks again for sharing your opinions and knowledge
Nate
I hear that Gale! I build aquavina dulcimers, which have only existed for a couple decades and I know of less than 5 people that have built them. What i build and play are at the edges of what could be considered a dulcimer, but i have noticed that dulcimers have more unique and distinctive designs than any other instrument i know of. To me, innovation is the spirit of dulcimer.
The chromatic dulcimer is one of the most contentious topics ive noticed surrounding dulcimer. The traditional significance and cultural value are some of the most interesting aspects of the dulcimer, so it makes sense to me that people dont want that to fall by the wayside in an attempt to turn dulcimer into a 3 string guitar.
Its hard to balance the unique characteristics that make dulcimer interesting with the standardized characteristics that make it modern.
That's an awesome story Jim. Thanks for taking the time to share it.
I was never convinced about any heritage as a mountain dulcimer. I believe to was better related to some of the dulcimers European cousins such as Epinette des Vosges or Hummels
I have heard, and tend to generally accept similar things. I almost never play in the second octave unless it's with a noter, and the frets have to be so dang precise when they're that close together, so I often just don't bother adding many extras to it. 9/10 times if I need an extra fret it's either for chord strumming, or because a tab used it, so in either case I don't usually need it an octave higher.
I do find it especially odd that the second octave *does* have a 10.5 fret but no 8.5 fret. I would think that the 8.5 would be much more useful if you were to pick only one of the two.
Kind of funny to see the 1.5 and 3.5 on the first octave, but no 1.5 fret on the second octave (8.5 fret). It makes me wonder if the extra frets were added after construction. In the past i have sometimes added half frets for specific arrangements, and Im usually too lazy to also add the fret to the second octave.
Im really glad you mentioned camera and light source angle Ken. That is definitely what i was failing to consider. I guess if the camera and light source were both directly above the instrument, the shadow would move much less
Id really love to know more about this. I've seen Bing do it in a few videos and I just can't wrap my head around it. I believe it is due to the interaction between the vibration of the string and the cameras frame rate, but visually, the shadow seems to move a lot further than the actual string does. Is the bass string actually moving over the edge of the fingerboard, or is this some type of optical illusion?
Very cool. Mawhee was the absolute first maker that I learned about, after trying to look up "walkabout and stick dulcimers" lol. Welcome to the forum. I hope your personal connection to the dulcimer grows into a lifetime of enjoyment.
-Nate
@patrick If you punch your VSL into a fret calculator for guitar, the third fret is the same as the 1.5 on dulcimer
Good point, Wally.
As a builder, I want my tuner to be as precise as possible to make sure that my instrument is as precise as possible. If the tuner is off, then the bridge will be off, and the frets will be off and the whole instrument will have a compounding error.
If I were to place my bridge using a tuner that considers 9 cents sharp to be "in the green." and then also tuned my string 9 cents sharp, that could lead to terrible intonation near the end of the second octave.
I also think that our pitch perception is only as precise as the data we give it, so it's just good practice to get as close as I can, unless I have some reason not to.
Tuners Hi kids, I hope everybody is doing well and had a good Christmas. I have a question about tuners and what your experience is with the one that you have, or the one that you can recommend. I have the Snark tuner, mainly because I don't know any better. It seems to work okay I guess. But If I compare it to the one I downloaded on my phone the phone app says that I'm a little flat compared to the Snark. I have heard that the Peterson strobe Is a better unit what is your opinion out there. THANKS
my favorite was a cheap violin tuner that showed which octave you are in and how many cents off you are. I wish I could say what brand it was, but I've misplaced it lol.The instrument has really cool decoration and definitely seems like a good deal at that price, though I'm not sure how much it would cost to repair the soundboard, per what Ken mentioned. For your question about if the instrument is well suited to a beginner, a four course equidistant setup can often be considered more difficult than a three course setup. Four string equidistant is not necessarily the easiest for a beginner, however if you are ambitious, it might be a fun challenge. Four string equidistant definitely works great for finger picking!
Jumbo frets are taller than normal frets which effectively lowers the action
Thanks for all these neat details @john-c-knopf
Also, if you were to get a nut of a different thickness, which I don't recommend until you understand the instrument better, the most important thing is that the length of the VSL isnt changed. Under no circumstances should a new nut and bridge cause the VSL to become any longer or shorter. A new nut and bridge should snugly fit against the inside edges of the slots from the old nut and bridge.
Is there an optimum spacing for the two melody strings, or at least a minimum spacing that would avoid the strings vibrating and touching each other? In general, can existing slots in the bridge and nut be filled in with super glue, wood putty, or something, such that new slots can be cut using different spacing? There may be a partial overlap of the new slot to the old. The strings will be .010's. My bridge and nut are glued in so replacing them would not be fun! Thanks!
Thats really unfortunate to hear. Its important to know that an Appalachian dulcimer is often built in a much more "hands on" fashion than most mass produced string instruments, and still often manages to offer handmade instruments at much lower prices than other instruments made in factories. For this reason, some amount of imperfections could be expected.
Nonetheless, I can definitely understand your frustration. If the instrument was damaged before it reached you, it doesnt make sense that they should say "we didnt look that close." Given that a skilled woodworker would obviously know if they accidentally left dents on the wood.
They should have known the level of cosmetic issue on the instrument and should have been honest with you about it before shipping, and after your negative feedback.
In a business sense, its surprising that they didnt simply placate you, even if they disagreed.
I have gone down to .08 and up to .16 for a D melody string on a 25" vsl. Its mostly a matter of preference. The amount of tension on the strings affects tone, volume, and sustain. It also affects how comfortable the instrument is to fret. A lot of dulcimer players prefer pretty low tension, relative to an acoustic guitar of the same VSL, for example.
Thanks for sharing those photos. I would say that the string spacing on that dulcimer is pretty unusual, which might make it extra difficult to play. If you look at the dulcimer in the 4th photo you attached, you can see that the two melody strings are usually close together, and the "course" of paired melody strings is equally spaced with the other two strings. I'm not sure if your father in law intended for it to be "paired melody strings" or "four string equidistant" but I think it would difficult to play in either.
Also, there are many different ways to hold a noter based on your preference, and I recommend joining the "Old Style Drone & Noter players group if you haven't already.
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group/19/old-style-drone-noter-players
Thats a very peculiar design in a few different ways. Could you please take a photo of the entire instrument, id be really curious to see it
Wow @chris-hornby . That is quite a futuristic approach. It turned out great. I'd love to hear a recording of it!
Thanks Ken for clarifying. I should have been more explicit that the difference in a Daaa and Dadd bridge is VERY slight, and will likely equate to only a couple cents difference. It is nowhere near enough difference to sound "off" however, if you are keen on developing your ear to hear subtle differences over time, in my opinion its good to have the most precise intonation possible.
The dulcimer I currently have is one I purchased back in the mid-1990s before we even had internet at my house. I walked into our local music store that rents school band instruments (bought my oboe for band through them). I asked about buying a dulcimer and they pulled out a catalog of instruments they can order. I think I paid just over $100 for it. No maker marks on it. Basically if I wanted a dulcimer, this is the one I had to buy.
I want another dulcimer, and pretty much have settled on a McSpadden standard 28.5" hourglass. I see one of the options is having it tuned to D-A-AA vs standard D-A-dd. Which tuning should I get, or does it really matter? I play in both D-A-AA, D-A-dd, also in D-G-cc, D-A-cc and D-G-dd. There are other tunings in some books of Celtic music I have that use CGC, CFC.
Thanks for the insight Ken. I have avoided lacquer on my finger boards, to try to avoid "sealing" them in rather than letting the wood "breathe." In general i treat the body of my dulcimers with a coating of sealant like polyurethane and just put oil on the fingerboard. In the past I have left a ton of fingerboards untreated, and typically the oil from my hands attracts grime, leaving a dark color to the areas that i fret the most often.
Hey folks I've heard before that furniture polish shouldnt be used on fingerboards. As best as I can tell, this is because they often contain silicone (like pledge for example) which apparently builds up on the wood or something like that. I have a can of orange oil based furniture polish that specifically says it doesnt contain silicone, so Im wondering if this can be used to clean fingerboards. Is silicone the only concern with using furniture polish? According to the online details, it contains orange oil and mineral oil, and specifically does not contain silicone or linseed oil.
Thanks
Nate
Ken I'm really grateful that you did; thank you very much. I was super curious, and I'll likely not have any chance to go there any time soon so I'm very appreciative for this.
