I'm afraid that I can shed no light on Russ Green. But I recently acquired one of his dulcimers. I agree with your assessment. Really, a high quality build, quite lovely to behold, and sounds even better.
I agree with Dusty. I too started out playing a guitar for nearly 30 years before picking up a dulcimer. Three strings and a diatonic fret board, should be a cinch, right? I'm still working at it. As Dusty mentions, the chord shapes that one may be accustomed to laying anywhere on the finger board for what ever chord needed doesn't work. But for all that, if I wanted to play the guitar, that is what I would grab instead. The fact that it is not the same as a guitar is part of the appeal for me.
