Forum Activity for @kristi-keller

Just a reminder to anyone shipping instruments in extremely hot or cold weather, try to be at home to  accept package and check that box shows no signs of damage!! It has been over 100 here in our area of Arizona and I hate to think what the inside of a box must be like for wooden instruments.

Many makers suggest that their shipment be brought indoors and allowed to come to room temp for several hours prior to opening. Hard to imagine that anyone has that sort of self control so  I leave home for lots of errands!

Kandee   Be prepared to have lots of great learning options and making new friends. The atmosphere is amazingly helpful and humorous. What do you play (3 correct notes puts you in a semi pro classification) ?

Ask lots of questions when people are not rushing thither and yon. The first day has a certain feeling of confusion as we all attempt to get to classes on time. There will be maps on the walls to indicate what is where. My favorite is location of rest rooms!

Flying with instruments.

Depending on airline can be very expensive! Southwest does not charge for 2nd checked piece of luggage. Go to a used golf equipment store or garage sale and purchase a hard sided club carrier. You can usually find one which will safely protect two soft cased instruments. Plus there is room for clothing etc to provide even more padding. Several of us in Tucson have used the cases and been very happy with results. Southwest flys into Louisville so trip to Bardstown isn't too bad.

I am staying at My Old KY Home State Park Campground in an R-pod trailer. Dana McCall will be sharing it. Karen Persecio and hubby John will be tenting there too. Was at White Acres last year but didn't hear the jams.....Sorry I missed you.

One of the best educational deals is right here on FOTMD. There are really good videos which are super helpful and fun. And seeing and hearing what is available can be very useful in determining what style you may want to play. I don't think you can go wrong with Margaret Wright's music books and CDs.

Have fun!

Reminder that shipping our instruments in HOT weather is good reason to delay opening the box. Inspect container for damage and be patient for several hours or overnight until box has cooled to room temperature. Then check temp of the case and do the same. All this requires superhuman self control (which is not one of my strong points).

Open, tune and enjoy for years to come.

Ken,

Would you please post tab for 4 strong winds?

Jan, You could have seen and tried Tone Rite here at my house. Quite a few pro musicians swear by 'em and Stu_Mac sells them. Some notable violins are housed in climate controlled cases and are removed to be played so that they don't loose their tone.

Since it is usually warm and humid a rain jacket or umbrella. I like huge garbage bags into which an instrument can be placed for weather protection. Attire is very casual. People helpful. Wonderful instructors and entirely too much temptation from goodies so bring a list of music you have at home. Leave your music at home since you will be provided with same in classes. Be a part of jams even if you don't know the music or speed. Listen and play whatever notes you recognize - tunes are played several times. Nobody expects perfection and everyone goofs. So relax and have fun.

Far and away, I prefer the Roland battery products. They sound great and deliver excellent batter time. The Danelectro is barely ok to use walking around your house. Not what I could recommend except for the cute factor.

I also use the Fishman Loudbox mini and think it sounds great but for portability and battery operation the Rolands are the way to go. 

There are only a couple of string manufacturers - so lots of the strings are the same except for package. Elixer Nanoweb and Polyweb are my favorite low squeek strings. You can buy individual strings through Just Strings and try 'em. GHS Fast ret may also help.

The instrument arrived safely which is a relief for seller and me. He paid $26.00 for 2-3 day delivery which should have been Friday December 4th. Yesterday was December 12. No refund to seller as far as I know. Package showed some signs of being placed under heavy objects in spite of Fragile stickers. Dave was a careful packer so the dulci is OK. I will not permit packages to be sent here via USPS.

Another rant against USPS which received a dulcimer on December1. So far as we can tell, it may be in Chicago since it has never been scanned elsewhere. The seller paid for 2nd day delivery which should have been on or by Dec. 4th. Apparently the USPS "rents" space on commercial planes as available. 

I will post again when and if the dulcimer arrives here safely...... The postmen and women here in Tucson do an excellent job, their professionalism and care are great. But paying for 2nd day receipt and getting sled dog delivery is terrible.

When I was a child we hung a "Baby Jesus" stocking with familys'. And we sang Happy Birthday to Him. Any cash gifts were shared with the child and given to our church. I am very happy to no longer be breaking the law....   

I have enjoyed classes and jams with Dave and enjoy time spent with him between classes. You could try Prussia Valley Instruments or McSpadden for Dave's CDs

McSpadden purchased from The Folk Shop in Tucson

My collection includes 5 Jerry Rockwells, 2 Bonnie Carols (one of which is size of Eedy Beede and more or less is baby version of full size), Beede bass, and assorted others. Each one can provide differing bliss. Will be happy when my left arm and hand heal and I can start playing again. Realized I can still play uke for a while since the neck is mighty familiar after 64 years.

Ken,

What brand of super glue? I looked at Ace Hardware and there were several types.

No callus left since I can't play for a few more long weeks - surgeon said NO looking down at instrument until perhaps end of November assuming I get rid of the neck brace then.

Re Milagro Beanfields War - it is part of a trilogy about the area. Favorite section for me is the informal rodeo description.It is actually a common activity in rural areas of New Mexico and Arizona.

We see jackrabbits here in our yard in foothills above Tucson. They are smaller than the ones I used to see when patrolling , on horseback, in parks and Pima County areas for sheriff's department.  The deer were another favorite of mine and so were/are mountain lions. This is a magical area in which to live. And you would go nuts the 1st time you saw collard lizards doing pushups....

Am still in neck collar for broken neck , can't hold a book due to nerve damage (or play dulcimer) so spend a fair amount of time gazing into our yard. The critters provide lots of entertainment!

David Lynch makes a possum board which will fit most instruments. It is not listed on his website so ask in email or on phone.

Gary and Toni Sager are as helpful as can be. Prussia Valley Instruments or pvdulcimers@bright.net Never gone wrong with their advice, honest desire to get the best value for your $. Plus Gary is a fine "dulcimer doctor"

Whoops, guess I should have mentioned treatment presupposes a cased dulcimer. 

Popcorn, while a grand snack, is also good insulation for shipping instruments and other fragile items. (Please use unflavored and unsalted for reason to follow.) Popcorn is biodegradeable but the birds and squirrels love it too! 

You should still ship in a container which allows enough packing material all around the instrument. I like to "pad" both top and bottom and then go crazy with popcorn. Have been told that some states (Montana) forbid use of the styrafoam peanuts due to landfill space. But popcorn will make the birds adore you!

Never put bubble wrap in contact with any wood since it can "gas" the wood finish and leave it looking like an intro scene from Lawrence Welk show. I recently got a pre-loved carefully packaged dulcimer and spent hours working on the finish after consulting with the maker. His advice worked and I am very pleased.

Our temps here are among the nation's highest (buzzards carry tiny bottles of catsup sorta like brandy with Saint Bernards) and some guitar makers have large print on boxes reminding the eager owner to wait at least until the box has cooled to room setting. Then I allow the cased instrument further time to settle into room temp. This process is much harder than learning to play all parts of Handel's Messiah overnight! I must confess that several times I have yielded to temptation and opened case for a peak.... But I try.

Someone spent many hours creating the dulcimer of your dreams and it makes sense to give their offering a safe chance for survival.

So nice that Bob reminded us that Gorila Snot serves a different function than Brill Cream    lol

Thanks for posting the video! It will be interesting to try the thumb middle finger grip.

Doug Felts terrific stands are still in production at Dulcimer Bag Lady website. I have two and prefer them to any other stand I have tried.

Should you want to hang instruments they ought to be on an inside wall - very important since an outer wall can transmit temperatures. 

I have never had a Snark break but have seen other folk be too rough with theirs and break 'em. They are not made of metal so do require a smidge of care.

There are vast amounts of info on folk music available to us. Jor Hickerson collected for many years and that info is available through the Smithsonian. Folkways records pioneered many artists who became known world wide.

Guess the question is what is being sought? History, tab, oral, instrumental - such riches are easily found.

Ohana and Mainland and Kala all make decent to very nice ukes. I have never heard an Oscar Schmidt that has the tonal quality, projection or balance I like in ukes. Have played for 63 years and most of my ukes are what you might call high end. But you do not need to spend $$$$s to get pleasant sounding instruments.

Take your dulcimer (in case) to estate or garage sales and find a smallish suitcase into which your instrument will fit loosely. Then you can use a bit if foam padding or towel or whatever to provide protection. There are other usable cases for guns or other items so use your imagination

All I can say is WOW. The members and friends of Southern California Dulcimer Heritage know how to make people feel at home in a reunion atmosphere! This is no cattle call event and it felt like I was enjoying family I had not met before.

Held at a church, we all met in various classrooms and the sanctuary as well as under some shady trees. If I say the folk were welcoming that would be an understatement! If you appreciate learning in a peaceful environment - this was it.

There were too many workshops to list here on Saturday. Sunday offered mountain dulcimer with Janita Baker and hammered with Ruth and Steve Smith. Gregg Schneeman opened his house and mind so I was a very happy camper. Class size were small so instructors had time to answer questions and continued to do so throughout the day.

Geekling and Keith and I got together and she was happy to attend the event which eluded her last year due to health issues. Gutsy gal and fantastic partner.

Watch for this gathering next fall and attend.

Getting ready to have some major rain and flooding and my ark isn't ready....

Alas, I live too far away to join up (Tucson,AZ) but I encourage folk who are considering this to join up. Gregg and Jean are gracious and fun as well as knowledgable players.

FYI, there is ample parking.

Perhaps I should move to CA?

Do a search on internet to find many variations of this old goodie. Easy to use guitar cords will make nice background for singing. Have fun.

I too have the church size and recommend it strongly. It is cherry and rich and full sounding for its size.

The dulcimer is designed to be "carry on" luggage and I've had no problems with airlines.

Nice old washed chamois

I sure am going and would love to meet you two!

Will drive from Arizona the day before and return day Monday or Tuesday.

Geekling said:

That's terrific, Kristi! Does this mean that you're planning to attend the Harvest Festival of Dulcimers, where Janita Baker will be teaching and which, probably not coincidentally, is being held in Culver City? If so, Keith and I will be there, and it would be great to meet you!

Happy Conclusion!!!!

The IIR arrived today or rather I picked it up at Post Office. Workers there are great folk and crowded around hoping to see an intact instrument. And it was well packaged with only slight damage to corners of box.

Nice sounding as expected and Janita will put a 1.5 fret on it as well as deliver it to me in Culver City,CA where she is doing a teaching session and gig. So thanks to the seller and same to the makers. I am happy camper.

I was kidding about the soft-soap which we use daily. Guess the old warped sense of humor syndrome.....

Geekling said:

No, it's liquid soap. I ordered it from two different sellers, though I think they were both handled by Amazon. The first order arrived at a local facility, but was never delivered. The second was marked as delivered, but it wasn't. I've had that happen with a number of other orders from Amazon. Each time my money was refunded, but it's been frustrating. Like I said, that doesn't compare to a dulcimer--especially a fine dulcimer like a Blue Lion!