Forum Activity for @lilley-pad

I have a dulcimer I bought about a year ago and it's just been sitting in my closet. My guess is that it may be a baritone. I'm making that  guess because it's a little bit bigger than my standard instrument.  Here's why I'm posting this question the strings were loose when I bought it so I have no idea what it was originally tuned to and the base wound string look thicker then my standard base string also this one has a second brass string next to the bass string , Oh yes it has four strings equally spaced forgot to say that. My question 

Is there any way of figuring out what gauge strings are on it? Would a music shop have a string gauge to determine the gauge? In other words is there any way to know what gauge strings are on this thing 

I'm hoping if I can figure out the string gauge then maybe that would tell me if it's a baritone

THANKS

First thanks everybody for all the good information This is starting to sound a lot more easier and simpler. Number one: find somebody who knows what key they're in or what key they like to play in. That person who said they just have open tuning when I asked them what key they play in, really just threw me off for a big loop. Don't worry about how they have their strings tuned to. just play along using our cords. And of course the most important part and going without saying is to find out if they mind someone with a different instrument to just  play along. okay once again thanks everybody I'll let you know how it goes. It'll be interesting to see If they let me play along and how the steel strings blend with the plastic nylon strings they use. I would think that strumming with a pick would be out of the question. I think it would be too overpowering at my end . well won't know until it happens thanks again everybody 

Just wanted to say good video Dusty  “Have Capo Will Travel” That you posted years ago I thought your fingers looked a little younger smile  I'm a visual person and that really helps thanks much  Going by the internet they tune their instrument The ukulele to G-C-E-A  So what key would that be ? Okay I guess that's it until I have the opportunity to sit in on one more of their meetings and pick their brains and definitely find out if they are opposed to other instruments sitting in or what 

I just read your post Wally that makes sense sounds easier I've only just sat in once to their meeting looks like they don't use any sheet music at all they just project a tune song up on the screen and it looks to me like it's just a cord followed by a bunch of dots presumably that means how many strums they play on that particular cord and at the same time they have music of that song going on in the background. totally different experience from when I go to my dulcimer Jam where people pass out  sheet music and mainly play the melody, whole different ball of Wax not really sure what that idiom means but it sounds cool 

Howdy Strumelia. Oh yes very good point I definitely will ask them if I can join them with a different instrument. I did notice someone playing an electric bass guitar but that is a good point, also I did ask someone about what key they play in and  that person said that it's an open tuning I don't know what that means over my head  no idea I can only go by with that person said. I'll try asking someone else about what key they mainly play in and see what answer I get. This is all new to me trying to blend in playing with another group especially when they're playing totally different instruments.  Will be a interesting experience to say the least also good practice in general 

Hey Dusty. I know I said that I had a baritone dulcimer I should have said I think I have a baritone dulcimer it's been sitting in the closet ever since I bought it last year I made my guess based on the shape of the instrument it is larger than my standard ”traditional”  instrument. And it's set up for four strings equally spaced which I haven't even begun to explore. also the strings are really loose so I have no idea what it was originally tuned to.  Also the bass string on this instrument looks like it's a bit fatter than the one on my standard instrument and the one next to it is also brass. Which brings up the question: how can you tell what gauge a string is?  Does a music shop have some sort of tool to tell what gauge they are or is it one of those things that you just put whatever you want on? It would be interesting to know what this was originally strong as.

 I did find a chord chart for the ukulele Am-Em-G-C-D-A-F-E  at this point looks like there are Eight basic chords they use and I think I can get those on my standard dulcimer tune to D-A-D well I'll let you guys know how it goes 

Hey Dusty thanks for the info. I think where I'm getting all messed up with this trying to blend in with the ukuleles is that they're chromatic and we're diatonic. Someone said they have open tuning whatever the hell that's supposed to mean. And they don't play in a key per say.  I was kind of hoping that the ukuleles had maybe three or four basic chords that they use all the time like for example we use D-G-A. When I went to my local library they have a ukulele that you can check out. I tried that but they're so small my fingers just don't work with the small frets and the strings are too close. Just is not going to work with my big fingers. I think I need to take your advice and Google and see if there are any Ukulele chords that I could improvise with once I find that out. Maybe I can just use a baritone dulcimer and use those cords or standard dulcimer. Hopefully that would match them. I don't know I'm way over my head and I'm still trying to figure this out.  just experimenting.   Thanks Oh yes thanks for warning me on just replacing the strings on my standard instrument. I wouldn't want to miss that up. I'd be kicking myself in the well you know.   luckily I do have a baritone dulcimer if I go in that direction. I believe I did notice someone playing an electric Bass guitar when I was at the ukulele get together. well they meet once a week I'll just have to go around and pick everybody's brain but trying to blend in with a ukulele I was more curious what it would sound like using the dulcimer with a different group and trying to play along. it's a learning experience thanks again Dusty 

Well still playing around with this idea one more question: if I return the instrument to G-D-G what would some good strings size and I guess type to go with?  if that makes any sense?

Base G mid D and G from Melody string 

 I just had a senior moment ,Oh thanks Wally also.

Hey Dusty thanks for all the good information I knew I was diving into deep water here 

The ukulele kids get together every Wednesday at the senior center and I thought maybe it could be interesting to see if I could blend in with the dulcimer. Even though my library loans out ukuleles I am not quite sure I'm ready to take up a new instrument.But who knows maybe I'll check out a ukulele and not try to blend in with the Mountain Dulcimer and see how that goes  But any practice with the dulcimer is good practice and there's nothing like a new challenge I guess smile 

You're the best Dusty hope everything is going well with you 

Hi kids I think I may be diving into Deep-water here but anyhow here goes.  I'll try my best not to just ramble on. I just noticed there is a big ukulele group that meets every week in my area. My question is,

Is it possible to play along with ukuleles with a dulcimer?  I have noticed that it appears that the ukulele group mainly play with just their chords, so is it possible to play along with the Mountain Dulcimer just using our cords? They're tuning is G-C-E-A So if my instrument is tuned to D-A-D And the Ukulele group is playing a song with their  A chord and then if I play using our A chord On the dulcimer Would that work? Would it sound okay? Is an A chord just an A chord. I just picked A chord for an example  hopefully this makes sense 

Thanks from Jon Lilley

After hearing all your horror stories about the weather back east makes me rethink moving. Every so often I get the urge to pack up and move back East. I have relatives in Pennsylvania and in South Carolina, the expense of living in California gets to you after a while. Everything is so expensive here and I mean really expensive compared to back east.  And then I think about the weather here in the San Francisco Bay area, It never really gets too hot nor does it ever get really too cold and when it does get hot oh let's say in the 90s it's a dry heat no  humidity to speak of. You just open up the windows turn on a couple of fans no need for AC and in the winter you may have to turn the heater on for about a month late December through January some people say well back East we have four seasons we're out here in California we only have two I wish everybody back East all the luck I don't know if I could handle the weather back there sounds like you're having a terrible summer well soon winter will be here and you'll be able to shovel snow off of your cars smile. well as my nephew who lives back there told me oh you get used to it. They say you get used to a  toothache too.  All teasing aside I wish everybody luck back there with the all the Heat and smoke coming down from Canada 

 luckily we don't have to worry about it here in the San Francisco Bay Area I was just curious how they deal with it  Back East. The humidity back there sounds brutal

Hello out there, another dumb question.  Just curious how do you people back east  deal with the high humidity and your instruments? I have noticed on the internet there are a lot of products that you put in your instrument case, for regulating humidity to add humidity, so what do you do in order to deal with dehumidification?

Thanks Dusty I did not see it in your book Song of Old Albion & Grin song from 16th to 18th centuries, is it in that book? 

did I have a brain fart or something. Anyhow thanks for the PDF Dusty 

I'll try to take copies with me the next time I go to DJ's play along 

I think I need help trying to locate a tab for a song from the 1651 I believe the name of the tune is  Goddesses?   Someone said that it's also called  Quodlings Delight. Don't know if that's necessarily true or not. Any idea where to track down the tab here for this song?  I tried the internet but not having much luck, I did find a couple tutorials and lessons but no tablatures. It looks like an easy song to play.   okay that's it thanks for all the help you guys hope everybody's doing okay and staying out of trouble. SMILE

Hi kids it's just me Jon Lilley did you guys miss me smile. anyhow I have a question I was thinking of trying to practice tremolo has anyone out there ever tried doing it with the dulcimer? I was wondering if it would be easier if I reverse the strings so the bass string is on the inside and the trouble string is on the outside I've never tried it and never really heard anyone use it on a Mountain Dulcimer I think it's more popular with mandolins.  Anyhow, what do you guys think? How do I approach this technique and does it even work with a Dulcimer????

Going by Bing's post, it looks like Gary Gallier just passed away. I loved his music and also the arrangements he and his brothers came up with.  I just thought I'd pass this information on to those who weren't aware.   take care of everybody from Jon Lilley

Hello everybody, just Jon Lilley here again.  With another dumb question this question is to those who are Luthier out there builders. What is your personal opinion? What do you think is the best finish for instruments? varnish, lacquer,  or French polishing. And why? 

Don't let the fact that here in California. Our wonderful politicians have decided to make French polishing indirectly illegal.  We no longer can get denatured alcohol here it's illegal

Thanks again for your opinions and feedback 

Well that video is way over my head but if I understand what the guy is talking about is when the instrument maker is setting up the location of the frets on the fret-board,The distance from one to the other in the relationship To each other the distance ???

Equal temperamant. vs just intonation.

When I was surfing the web looking for different tunings I stumbled across this thought I would pass it on kind of interesting anyhow take care of everybody 

Thanks again everybody you're the best 

 Can anyone suggest a good book for chords? hopefully with more than just Dad, A book that has a good combination of different tuning and with more than just three or four Combinations of a particular court .

Hope this makes sense 

Never ever spray or drip any cleaner, liquid, or polish directly onto the fret board. Thanks Ms. Strumelia

That's exactly what I was going to do , Good to know.   I can just see me repeating that over and over again till the Frets start to get loose and then I'd be scratching the top of my head trying to figure out what the heck's going on 

It can be a little overwhelming trying to weed through all the information that's on the internet. Clean the front board with lighter fluid and a  toothbrush, don't use lighter fluid use alcohol wipes don't use alcohol wipes use a toothbrush and household cleaners don't use household cleaners use this product no use that product and so on can drive one nuts 

“WoW, A fret eraser”  I'll Google that I've never heard of such a thing. Cool thanks I'll give it a try sounds better than using steel wool that someone said to use. I don't want to screw things up by doing it the wrong way thanks again for the info 

Thats running parallel to the top of the capo not cable

Has anyone out there used MusicNomad F-ONE Oil Fretboard Cleaner & Conditioner? 

Someone said that I should use gorgomyte fretboard conditioning cloth,

But it looks like this product is no longer available And that I should stay away from anything that has lemon oil in it. I don't know why but.   any recommendations out there 

Oh by the way if anybody out there that has a Dudley Quick-Release capo that doesn't seem to be holding on correctly and having a tendency to pop off the fret-board do not Bend the arm. the cam has one or two little adjustment screws that you can loosen and rotate the cam to the correct orientation the screws on the cam should be running parallel to the top of the cable just thought I'd throw that out there 

Well after Ken's and Dusty's explanation I went over to Terry McCafferty web site and Under support And found some interesting information on going Electric. all I can say is wow going  Electric is really complicated. All the equipment and filters and pedals it's all bid overwhelming. I don't think I'll make it in my lifetime. I'm getting way ahead of myself. But I guess that's part of the fun about learning things. 

Well kids thanks for getting back to me with all the good information a little bit over my head.

 I must say it sounds like it could be fun I guess. a little abstract to say the least.Also one might start to think why bother practicing to make a good clean note. Thanks Ken thanks Dusty 

Well I'm scratching the top of my cranium trying to figure out what the Is this thing? Garage Band Clean AMP?

I came across this when I was surfing YouTube and never could find anything that gave any really detailed information. I'm getting the impression that it is not a real amp, meaning a physical object. 

I understand how a real amp works and for example a Looper pedal you plug the instrument into it and the looper records what you're playing as far as a Looper pedal goes. So if this thing Garage Band Clean AMP? is just a piece of software not a real amp then I don't get how it works I mean you can't plug your instrument into your laptop and you can't really plug it into your iPhone or Etc. Anyone out there know anything about this thing and how does the thing work 

I guess I need to clarify the blue lion instrument price. the price of the instrument by itself is $850 I would think shipping would range anywhere from $100 to maybe $200 depending on insurance and how far away from California if you didn't need to ship it then $850 hopefully that makes more sense thanks all 

Thanks for all the good feedback and yes on my 25” V.S.L  it's a bit of a stretch for the 1-2-4 chord for me on my 25” diatonic. I can do it but it's definitely uncomfortable. I need to practice stretching more.Okay that answers my question thanks. Don't know if I'm ready for a chromatic. I’m just playing with the idea at this point maybe I'll stick with what I have 

  Hi kids. Just me Jon again.  I have a question about chromatic V.S.L.  I know that the trend with the diatonic set-up  is to go with a 25 inch V.S.L to make it easier for reaching the frets. So following that logic I would think with the chromatic you would want the maximum V.S.L Since there are so many extra frets The longer V.S.L is better in order to make the spacing of the frets further apart?. I guess I'm asking what is the ideal V.S.L for a chromatic setup anybody out there with any ideas  Like all ways THANK

Howdy kids first I just wanted to say I hope everybody has or we'll have a good holiday day.

 I have a question about my new tuner its a Peterson clip-on. First, it's a super cool tuner. I highly recommend it. My question is how to set it up. One preset option is to set it up for standard tuning. It says standard tuning is for chromatic I know we have diatonic does it really matter as far as tuning goes. The other tuning set up that makes sense is the D.A.D Acoustic guitar mode D.A.D.G.A.D tuning with optimized fifths 

Anyone out there have one of these tuners and what is your suggestion 

I just wanted to say thank you to all who sent me their condolences about losing Ms. Noni. I truly appreciate it. And thanks again this experience is one that I would not like to repeat again, way too draining. I guess it's time to close that chapter and move on. Perhaps they're right about life being like a roll of toilet paper the closer you get to the end the faster it goes. Thanks again everyone.  

I know this is not the right Forum but I just needed to vent I apologize 

NO NONI Goodbye my old friend 

It looks like it's a sad day for me. Today Friday I had to say good-bye to my roommate and friend for the last 11 years. She will no longer lie next to the door waiting for me to come home. She will no longer wake me up in the morning to let me know that she wants to go outside to go to the bathroom. I think I will truly miss her. I know we are all going down that path. Today I decided to make today our last special day. I threw her in the sidecar on the motorcycle. We went  to the park so she could walk around a little bit and she could sniff at the rocks, the grass, and explore little white dots on the sidewalk to see if it was something edible. and just watch the world go by, then we went to the vet to say goodbye.On the table at the Vets office when she was being sedated she gave me a little kiss. Goodbye Mis. Noni I will truly miss you. It's been fun. I hope you enjoyed the life you had with me. 

Last night when I was in bed trying to fall asleep, and I reached over there was just no Noni. When I hear the wind and the noises in the house, just no Noni.  When I look at the doorways to see if she's peeking around the corner there's just no Noni. At the front door waiting for me to come home there's just no Noni. When I'm at the table eating I look down at my feet and there's just no Noni. There's just no Noni.

This morning the sun is  creeping up over the hills. It looks like it's going to be a very nice day today. I guess that the birds and the grass just  haven't heard that I have lost my old friend. I decided to go to the park for a walk. I think I'm just looking for a lost spirit.

I find myself still looking out the window into the backyard. no Noni. When I  get in the car I look over at the passenger seat no Noni

I think writing this stuff down is helping me work things out. I hope I'm not boring everybody,I  just felt the need to do this. Why No Noni.

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Hi kids, sorry to bother everybody. I'm still working on my education here. My question this time is it has to do with equal intonation versus just intonation. If I understand this whole thing right, most modern dulcimers are set up for Equal intonation (Temperament) . Is that right?

And the difference has to do with where the Frets are placed?  

Oh before I forget Happy Halloween (Samhain) 

I have decided to sell my Blue Lion model IIRS; Style II, “R" for East Indian Rosewood back and sides; “S” for Brass Rosette soundhole covers. Come with the original hard case

East Indian Rosewood back, sides and scroll peghead; the soundboard is Western red cedar; the fingerboard is Honduran mahogany as are the insides of the peghead; the fretboard overlay is East Indian Rosewood.

The VSl is 26.25” originally strung with .012/.012; .014; .024w bronze wound strings. The nut and saddle slotted to accommodate either doubled melody or four equidistant string spacing.

top of the line planetary tuners.  The reason I am selling it is I have decided to try to buy a Terry McCaffery all electric chromatic or a Resonator with a built-in pick-up and preamp.

$1,000  + Shipping

Jon Lilley   email JonLilley49@gmail.com

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Looks like another dumb question from lilley-pad. well here goes this may be more of a luthiers question then a player's.  It  has to do with the bridge “saddle” . I've noticed that the majority of instruments out there have a fixed bridge, but some have a floating bridge. Is the floating bridge  just old school?  or is there an advantage of having a floating Bridge? Thanks for the feedback

Hi kids, yesterday when I was on the internet looking for information about a resonator I stumbled across this interesting app that looks like it has a lot of potential for practicing. Just thought people might want to check it out for those who don't know about it. I certainly didn't know about it till yesterday. 

Strummachine.com  

It says better than a metronome! Because it's all programmatic.

I have never heard of a tenor dulcimer. But what do I know. Is this instrument just a standard Starsong Dulcimer?