Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

The hitch pins on Folkcraft dulcimers can accept either ball or loop end strings. While I prefer the ball end strings on my Folkcraft, loop ends will do in an emergency (for me). Just make sure the hitch pin is thin enough for the ball to fit over it if you should use ball end strings. If you have a supply of loop end strings use them. I've found that for me the best gauges for the 27 inch VSL are: 0.011 melodies, 0.013 middle, and 0,024 bass.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Art, you can use loop-end strings on anything.  Ball-end strings are hard to use on some dulcimers, but you could always break the ball out with heavy pliers, or run the free end through the ball to make a loop, though it doesn't look very good.

Can I use loop-end strings on ball-end pegs? "New to me" Folkcraft coming from Ebay, but it looks like it has pegs rather than screws.

Art 

John Frazier, my husband, just passed away a month before his 90th birthday. He made 349 dulcimers, as well as several harps and a few banjos. See his memoir for more info and photos.

https://www.amazon.com/Life-Remembered-John-Kent-Frazier/dp/B08HTDG4BT/ref=sr_1_10?dchild=1&keywords=patricia+harrer+frazier&qid=1634054489&s=books&sr=1-10

At the last Quarantune 5 concert yesterday, there was a nice tribute to Bill.  Tull Glazener changed his avatar screen so it was a picture of Bill and then when the concerts were over Stephen Seifert led a short jam that centered on Bill's arrangement of Rock the Cradle Joe.

The Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club has a whole page dedicated to tab donated by Bill and his wife Barbara.  You can find it here .

I agree with everyone that this is sad news. He will be missed not only by his family, but by all his dulcimer friends as well. He was an excellent builder and musician. Rest in piece Bill.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

So sad, So young & So much more to give. I love the dogwood sound holes on his dulcimers & I bet many members have one of Bill Taylor's dulcimer. Now a piece of history and a piece of his love to go on. 

Thoughts & prayers

Very sad - Bill was my first mountain dulcimer teacher - 5 days of classes in Cullowhee.  I will always remember his talent as a musician and teacher, his kindness, and our conversations about fishing.

I had Bill for several workshops at Mountain Dulcimer Week in Cullowhee. What a fine gentleman, great teacher, and musician. I don't own one of his dulcimers but know many people who do and love them!

R.I.P. Bill

Sad news. Taken too soon. I hope his family can find some peace in his passing.

Yes @dusty-turtle ….. thank you so much for sharing this interview!  
I was happy to see Emma’s Song was even mentioned!

Thank you for that link, @dusty-turtle!  

Here is a 2005 interview with Bill in Dulcimer Players News .

Emma’s Song - written by Bill Taylor is on Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer- Volume One.  Bill wrote this song the night Emma was born.  The version that is on Masters of the Mountain Dulcimer is very special as it was recorded 15 years later, and featured Emma on the flute!

I always have been and always will be a Bill Taylor fan!

Well you how they say if you give someone a hammer everything looks like a nail.  Dulcimer players want to tickle strings with their fingers.  Drummers want to hit stuff with sticks.

This makes me so sad🥲. I have a beautiful Bill Taylor dulcimer, which is actually what led me to FOTMD!  He was amazing, and I had the opportunity to meet Bill at the first Knoxville Area Dulcimer Club retreat many years ago. He was so talented, so humble, and so much fun!  He sang and played the best ever version of “The Preacher and the Bear”!  And “Emma’s Song” is, to this day, one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard!

Rest In Peace Bill 💙

Though I never met Bill Taylor, I have seen others write wonderful things about him.  My heart goes out to his family.  

That's so sad.  I know Bill was not only a great luthier but also an important part of the dulcimer scene in Tennessee and generously shared tablature arrangements.

I have a stunningly beautiful Bill Taylor dulcimer. It's not my main playing dulcimer, so I periodically think I should sell it. But then I take it out of the case and fall in love again.

Tennessee dulcimer maker Bill Taylor has passed away. Here is an obituary:

https://www.knoxnews.com/obituaries/kns040386

Thanks Dusty!

At least they had an appropriate (musician) sense of humor. (Although,  a drummer may disagree.)

That's funny!

Positive?  Maybe not.  Mildly funny?  Perhaps.

I recently bought matching stands for my dulcimer and guitar.  The instructions for how to attach the base to the arm read:

"Do not overtighten.  You can crack the wood.  Maybe not a job for a drummer."

And similarly, the instructions for attaching the hanger to the arm read:

"Do not overtighten.  You can strip out the insert.  Keep the drummer away from this."

For the record, the assembly went very well.  Clearly dulcimer players are more gentle creatures than are percussionists.

Someone posted in Everything Dulcimer they were selling a dulcimer for a friend - Walnut Valley Dulcimer.

   Turns out thats just the info. I have been needing to know where this dulcimer (that a someone's grandfather had) came from - kit or not. The  arched fingerboard,  the inset maple ball and the chamfered strum hollow. 

 The dulcimer is a great adventure.  Always with a bit of patience we find out more about what it is we are wanting to know.

m.

.

As a writer my manuscripts are often page numbered "X of Y" because the software does the updating of both numbers automatically as I type. 

However I've never seen or heard of a builder numbering instruments "X of Y".  That implies that he/she was only ever going to build Y number of instruments either in total or of a particular model.  

From what I know they are a USA company, and was building dulcimers in 2009. He built enough dulcimers so that there should be some recognition, and the build was good. Not just a hobbyist. I just restore an hourglass that has a number 18133 but I doubt he ever built that many, so it may be 18 of 133 or 181 of 33 or etc. The date on the dulc is 01-09.

I agree with Dusty -- position dots are not necessary on the dulcimer because the wide and narrow fret intervals of the diatonic fret layout are their own indicators...

Each builder has his/her own finish preference -- some like rub-on or brush-on urethane, others have a spray booth for varnish, lacquer or urethane.  Many of us prefer the more satin look of an oil finish --  Tung oil, True Oil, and boiled Linseed Oil are favorites. 

Frankly a "machine made" fretboard is as accurate as it gets for fret placement. 

For what it's worth, @art-s, position dots are not really necessary on a diatonic fretboard.  The pattern of fat and skinny frets tells you everything you need to know. It's very different than a guitar or mandolin where all the frets look the same.

The Folkcraft kits are very good.  Even their cardboard kits make pretty darn good dulcimers.

Thanks Ken. I heard back from them. 27" vsl is correct. They include a 6½, but not a 13½. I asked about position dots. The kit fretboard does not have them and they can't add them, as the fretboard is "machine made". However, they offered to swap out the kit fretboard for their "design your own" fretboard for a reasonable fee and l will have the freedom to add the inlays and extra frets.

It probably won't make much difference, but I feel better about having the fretboard handmade rather than by a machine.

My "good builder" has a few fiddles under his belt, so we should have fun.

One more thing. What did you finish yours with? Again, I'm sure my friend has a varnish he likes for his fiddles, but that may not work on the dulcimer. 

Almost time to go log in to QuaranTune5. 

Thanks again.

Art

I've built several Folkcraft kits, but not since the move to Indiana. It looks like the kits now come pre-fretted with a 6 1/2 fret. The vsl is probably 27 inches which was pretty much the standard vsl on Folkcraft dulcimers at one time. The hourglass kit should have about the same dimensions as an FSH model. They are very nice kits and make a good dulcimer depending upon the skill of the builder.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@ken-hulme Dang heel spur! 

I walked 2 miles yesterday in a local park, with "some discomfort",  as I'm experiencing a heel spur.

It was a nice day here and would've been perfect for hiking.  I hear you on the joints end of things, @slate-creek-dulcimers.  :) 

Flat tire on the bike today so I hiked 7 miles. Perfect temperature for hiking. My joints can definitely tell it this evening. 

Thanks for those lyrics, John.  It's amazing to see how many songs have used that melody.

The lyrics are the second set  in this collection: https://books.google.co.jp/books?id=xy1CAQAAMAAJ&pg=PT2&lpg=PT2&dq=%22temperance%22+song+to+Rosin+the+Beau&source=bl&ots=t1a2c1jBH8&sig=ACfU3U0Mx0-u_EhPoHoGqxsGvXSTdafnyg&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjN1_7v26_zAhVGGaYKHT-AC3YQ6AF6BAgOEAM#v=onepage&q=%22temperance%22%20song%20to%20Rosin%20the%20Beau&f=false

I can only report what little I know about the Washingtonians. They were something of a precursor to Alchohoics Anonymous, but fell apart when they became involved with the anti-slavery and prohabition movements.

So Geoge wasn't  a tee-totaler. Maybe he didn't really cut down the cherry tree. Or was occasionally a little "loose with the truth." 

I never heard of that tune, @john-gribble.  Interesting. It's another for the list, certainly.  Do you know where we might find some lyrics?

I am pretty sure, however, that George Washington was a drinker.  I had read somewhere that well into the revolutionary war he used to drink a toast to George III, and I don't really know if that's true or not, but when I looked into it I found a lot about old George's drinking habits.  Check out this website , which explains that he was partial to madeira wine and porter beer.