Forum Activity for @susie

When I was considering the same thing, I called and talked to Mike Clemmer. Hereallyrecommended theChurch style, because he saidI'd be happier with the sound, volume and sustain. He doesn't make very many of the non-Church, because most people order the Church model.So, the decision is yours, but that's what I was told and why I ended up going with theChurch. If you can swing it financially, I'd go with theChurch.

Maryann Lang said:

Hi Susie, very pretty wood grain, I will have to decide between the regular and churxh model - money is a factor but I also want a nice sound.

This is exactly what I have....sassafras top, walnut sides. I went with the church style, which is a deeper body for more volume and better sound. It still isn't as loud as a full-sized dulcimer, but the sustain is really good for a small dulcimer. I really like my Clemmer Sweetie for travel and when I want a smaller dulcimer, sitting on the couch. IMHO, I think you would like it.

Here's a pictureof mine with the sassafras top:

3 mountain dulcimers (McSpadden, FolkRoots, and Clemmer) and an Olympia Walkabout dulcimer.

(also: 4 guitars (all Taylor), a ukulele, 2 banjos, a psaltery, and a fiddle)

Folkcraft (Folk Roots) are really nice dulcimers. A nice company to deal with. You shouldn't be disappointed.

Yes, he offered the initials to me too, but I wanted to make it special, tying it to the maple syrup. I thought about maple leaf soundholes, but when I've seen them on dulcimers, they really didn't move me. So I opted to have the maple leaf on the headstock. That way, I had him keep the whole vine motif on the instrument. I'm really happy with my decisions. Your lizard soundholes are nicely done. You're coming to the US and then picking up the dulcimer then is a great idea. When we make an RV trip to his area, we'll stop by his store. That might be bad for me, because I need another dulcimer/instrument, like I need a hole in the head. I would love to see your dulcimer when you get it in June. Is he personalizing that one?

Here's the Maple Leaf on the headstock. The pic still doesn't capture the full "depth" of the leaf.

I got my Clemmer Tennessee Sweetie (Church) yesterday. It is really beautiful. I can't get over how "big" it sounds. It has a wonderful voice, for a little dulcimer. The intonation is great all the way up the fretboard. It has a sassafras top and walnut everything else. I had Mike engrave (or however he does it) a maple leaf on the headstock, since my husband and I are maple syrup producers. It's so nicely done...you can actually see the veins of the leaf. He does such a beautiful job and I just love the vine running up the fretboard (which also serves as position markers). I'm really happy with my new dulcimer, I just had to share pictures of it.

I met Lei Maier on FOTMD prior to the Evart Funfest last year. Then, we met at the event and hung out and attended workshops together. I even helped her spend some money on a new, hand-crafted Native American Flute. Lei is a super person with such great values and is a delight to be with. I even met her husband and her two beautiful dogs. Thanks FOTMD for helping me meet my new life-long friend.

Congrats on your Folkcraft.....you'll love it. Don't our hubbies deserve a big kiss this time of year? My husband wanted to get me an amp and the whole setup. I said I'd rather not spend the money on me....he insisted. So, I now have a new amp in my music room. I didn't even have to wait for Santa. Have a very merry Christmas.

Syd, You'll get many suggestions. I'll just offer a couple, that have proven to be well respected dulcimers. McSpadden and Folkcraft.

How many dulcimers does this make for you? Congrats on the find!

Oh, enjoy your trip, Andrew. I also have a stick dulcimer....they are great for hiking.

Regarding the bear, take a banjo to throw at the bear...a "sacrifice" so to speak, to save yourself and your stick dulcimer. (Just kidding...I play banjo myself, so I'm entitled to make fun of it.) Take plastic bags to protect your instruments and use sturdy cases. Maybe some pepper spray .

Mandy, congrats. I play many different instruments too. Since you'll have a mandolin, you'll have to get a fiddle...they are tuned the same. Only the fiddle doesn't have frets. I'm learning on my grandpa's fiddle and got a mandolin to help with learning the notes. It took off from there. I enjoy sitting down with the mandolin and picking out fiddle tunes. Working on speed now. It has helped me with the fiddle. I've got 15 instruments now and have told my husband I'm done. He is VERY supportive...he's bought me several instruments as surprises. My latest gift...a new tenor uke which is awesome. Oh, counting my whistle and recorder...I have 17. My husband even buit me an oak cabinet for my instruments. He's such a great guy.

I "play" the soprano recorder and the tinwhistle. They are great little instruments and sound nice with the dulcimer. My problem is I don't give them enough time. I'm too busy with my fretted/stringed instruments. But, I haven't given up on them. I'm trying to devote more time to them. The soprano recorder is fingered very similarly to the alto sax, which I played in jr and senior high school. So that helps me alot. So is the tin whistle. I just picked up a new tin whistle from Guy George, which I'm hoping will help me progress more, as it's a better whistle than what I had.My husband made me a tin whistle "case" to protect it, made from pvc. It's really cute and very practical. I call it my "tunes in a tube"!

Bill,

I just picked up a Susato high D. I've heard there's a big difference. Don't give up. Some time real soon it will probably click for you, just like it seems to do with everything we try. You'll do fine.

Gene, it's beautiful! Hope you get many years of enjoyment out of it.

I think it will work good for you on the bike.

Have you gotten your case from Elderly's yet? I was there on Sat. and picked up a new tenor uke. Can't wait to start having fun with that. Thought of you when I was there.

Thats a nice gigbag for larger dulcimers. My FolkRoots fits in it really well. But, based on Mandy's dulcimer measurements, I think it would be a bit large. My McSpadden would be swimming in it. But for folks who need a larger gigbag, it's a great gigbag. I got mine last year at the Midland Dulcimer Festival at a great price.

Jim Fawcett said:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/For-full-sized-Deluxe-Dulcimer-Gig-Bag-carr... here's a link to a bag like I have Mandy. It has shoulder straps like you want. I got one like it with the dulcimer I just bought. I just ordered another for my other dulcimer.

To be honest with you, Elderlys wasn't carrying the Mc Spadden gigbag as a seperate item until I needed one a couple years ago. I talked to their dulcimer buyer and asked him if he would get me one. He said sure, and decided that it should be a regularly stocked accessory. They know me way too well at Elderly. They have freed me of alot of my money over the last nearly 40 years. They are my "candy store".

Elderlys is my store here in MI. Been going there since 1974. They have great prices and service. Can't go wrong there. Glad to hear you'll be all set to ride and play.

I'm thinking the McSpadden might still work ok. 1/2" probably won't matter. Since the gigbags are softsided, they give a little. If you were to order one, I'd see what their return policy is from where you are getting it, just to be sure. My larger one would be much too big for what you need. I don't know much about the Applecreek gigbags, but I still think for riding a bike, where you don't want something shifting around on your back, the backpack straps would work better. There would be no shifting around. You don't want your mind on keeping the dulcimer on the right spot on your back, you want your mind on the road, when you are riding. Just my opinion, though.

Mandy, Here's a picture I found showing how the McSpadden case lays on your back, with the two backpack straps. Its from the Evart Dulcimer Festival (my sister andme on our way to class). Hope this helps you see how it works.

Mandy,

Yes, my husband and I ride. We've ridden DALMAC, 6 times, which is a 5 day ride from Lansing, MI to the Mackinac Bridge (connects the two peninsulas of MI). It's about 350 miles. When we get to the bridge, we are escorted across the bridge by the MB Authority. It's really cool. We've done several other rides here in MI. It's good exercise and you get to see the sights that you don't see and appreciate in a car. Glad to see you are getting excited about riding. Nice thing is, you can ride however and wherever you want.....it's your choice. Taking the dulcimer along for the ride is a great idea. It's not a heavy instrument, so it would work well for that.

Mandy, why wouldn't a typical gigbag work, like Ken suggested? I have two different gigbags, one is a McSpadden and the other is a bit larger for my FolkRoots dulcimer (it's not a Folkcraft brand, its universal). Both have backpack straps which are adjustable. You can put it over both shoulders alowing the dulcimer to be positioned vertically on the center of your back. They are very comfortable. The bags are nicely padded, too, to allow for decent protection of your dulcimer. For your purpose (riding on a bike), I really think it would work great. I'm a long distance bike rider, so I know the position you'd be in. Knowing how these gigbags work and feel, I think you should give it a try.

Rick is the only maker that I know of that makes the D psalteries. All the makers usually make chromatic versions...which have pegs/strings on both sides. The one side are your natural notes, like the white keys of a piano and the other side are your sharps/flats, like the black keys of a piano. The D psaltery would be very easy to learn, but limited to playing in the key of D. My chromatic, from Unicorn Strings is nice in that it comes with clear plastic note guides that show the note of each string. It really helps learning, put you have to know how to read music. They can be removed later on as you get better or you can leave them on, as they are not obtrusive. I love the idea of its being chromatic, so I can play in any key.

Rick makes fine psalteries. I have a Unicorn Strings 2.5 octave chromatic psaltery. They are fun to play, sound beautiful and accompany the dulcimer nicely. They are great portable instruments. Good luck in selling your dulcimer.

Barbara, that is cool! Thanks for sharing it.

Folkfan, love your courting dulcimer, how does it sound? It's on the order of the Sweetwoods Travel Dulcimer.

The only one I can share is a picture of a dulcimer where the sound holes are actually natural holes in the wood. Not real unusual to some, but it isvery neat.

Thank you, Macy Jayne. Looks like you are well on your way with your Kantele. You did a beautiful job on the instrument and learning the song. I also appreciated the link to the video where you bought yours.

Thank you, Barbara, for alerting Macy Jayne to this post.

I'd love to get additional feedback from others out there. It's a pretty sounding instrument and it's not common. That's what makes it interesting.

I appreciated your suggestion about Ken's video. You didn't know if I saw it yet or not. Maybe Macy Jane will post...I don't know her. Thanks for the post.

Barbara P said:

Sorry I couldn't be of any help frets alot.

Barbara, Yes , I did see Ken's video. But he didn't talk much about some of the things I was interested in or actually play songs on it. So, that's why I thought I'd see if I could get more information here.
Barbara P said

Have you seen this video on Youtube? I think Ken Bloom gives a nice overview of the instrument:

You can also ask Macy Jane who just built one. She's a member here and I am sure she could answer some questions.

I'm taking a guess that some of you dulcimer playershave alsodabbled with the Kantele. If so, does anyone want to answer a fewquestions and/or share their thoughts/experiences....

How difficult is it to learn?

How do you play it?

How many strings do you recommend?

Just curious for some input. Thanks.