Good dulcimer for busking?
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I busked in the Toronto subway stations for years(fiddle).Amplification was allowed but I was a purist-so much so that I needed physio every couple years to alleviate the damage from playing too hard in order to be heard above the din.One quickly finds out which are the quieter station spots(corridors away from the trains) that may also have a nice echo.Fiddle projects way more than the dulcimer,both sound wise and appearance wise.I would advise a pickup and a lightweight amp you can carry in a knapsack if amplification is allowed.In Vancouver I finally bit the bullet...using backing tracks I made myself played through a small amp which I could also plug the fiddle into.It became much easier and I tripled my money. There were so few paying jobs for me at least in Vancouver that I had to do something to survive..there went purity but I had a ball making the backing tracks....Schatten in Kitchener Ontario makes a really good contact dulcimer pickup. and there are many cheap good quality small amps that run on batteries.P.S...I dubbed all of the backing tracks onto a Mini Disc player which I then plugged into the amp.Perfect small technology.