Forum Activity for @bob

Question about Homer Ledford dulcimer finish

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

If there was a photo to see the spots you are concerned about it may be easier to give a suggestion.

That being said, however, if it's just a cosmetic rather than a functioning issue, I would lean towards letting it be and keeping  it in its current condition.

If you have ever watched "the Antiques Roadshow" you can see what appraisers think of 'cosmetic restoration' done on historic pieces, which is what I think you have.

Steel strings are the norm for mountain dulcimer.  Never, ever trim the first set of strings on an instrument until they've been played in for a few days.  If adjusting the nut/bridge you don't take the string off, just slack them enough to move the strings off to the side.

Personally, I would tune DAA.  That way your scale starts at the 3rd fret and you have a few notes below that "low do".  

 

There seems to be something amiss with the graphics.  Every time I try to download them the period before jpg is ignored and it tries to open them as a text file. Just give the files common names, you don't need .jpg or .jpeg....

updated by @ken-hulme: 12/03/18 04:03:58PM

Question about Homer Ledford dulcimer finish

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

What number is your Ledford?  Look inside.  There is a Master List of the known Ledford builds, which contains a variety of information.

I have to say, if you really are "dedicated (to) DAd", you may not be happy with that classic instrument.  Homer didn't build them with DAd or other Mixolydian tunings in mind, and didn't always use a Mean Tone intonation so his dulcimers would "played well with others"...

Question about Homer Ledford dulcimer finish

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I'm fairly new to FOTMD and this is my first discussion post.  I recently acquired an older Homer Ledford 3-string dulcimer with staple frets (for all you "Homer heads" out there - 1967, birdseye maple back, butternut top, quilted mahogany sides, cherry scroll, pegs, and tail block).  It's in excellent condition and sounds great.  My question is about the finish on the birdseye maple back.  There are two 2" spots where the finish is a little dull and cloudy looking.  It's very minor, but it's the the only real flaw and I wanted to know if there is a way to even out the finish on the back so those two dull spots disappear.  I've used lemon oil on furniture with good results, but I'm hesitant to use it on my dulcimer.  Any suggestions?  Or is it better to leave it as is, to keep it "all original" even with small flaws?  Thanks in advance for your input.  

Dulcimer Players News 1975-2012 Searchable On-line Archive

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

John Dunn -- here you go:  

Dulcimer Players News 1975-2012 Searchable On-line Archive

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@John-Dunn, have you tried asking @Ken-Hulme for a copy?  It used to be publicly accessible at Everything Dulcimer, but I'm sure Ken can post a copy.

updated by @dusty: 12/02/18 06:10:05PM

Dulcimer Players News 1975-2012 Searchable On-line Archive

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Trying to locate Ken Hulmes article "I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What?" 

Would greatly appreciate help locating it.  Many thanks and Best wishes from Oz.  John

PHOTOS!! Without pictures, it never happened!

How did you decide to anchor the ball-end guitar strings?  With pins?  With small nails with the heads snipped off? By creating loops from the ball-end strings?  By drilling holes through the fretboard (like a guitar bridge) and anchoring with guitar bridge pins?  Some other method?  Inquiring minds want to know?

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I've made 106 bowed psalteries.   I do put fancy letters on the right hand side....I iron these on before I put the finish on.  I have a decoration that I add as well, making the bowed psaltery more mellow.  All of my psalteries are altos.  It's too late at night to see if I can post photos....and yes, I'd love to make some little bowed psalteries to go with Dulcimers...that would be fun.  That's a great suggestion.  aloha, irene

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Colored string for the c and fs

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Use painters tape ..little bits andvwrite the notes..after you realize it is cdefgabc  over and over and then a strong colired diff for the g and c will give u the geography of the psaltery...also mark the c and f sharps and the b flats as those are the most used

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

black-dog-bess, making my own note guides like the Unicorn Strings note guides is something I've considered. I will probably do that, making the letters with my P-touch label maker. I also thought of using a plastic sheet (clear report cover) as the base for the note letters. I have learned/played so many instruments in my 45 years of playing music. So learning the note placement on a Psaltery is definitely doable. However, at this point in my life, I see the note guides as a quick way to play songs and enjoy the instrument (which is what I was doing, until I sold it). By playing, the learning will happen. Thanks for your post, it is consistent with my thinking. Then, the suggestions of the others posters here can also be done.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I have 3 bowed psalteries. The first is a used Unicorn Strings chromatic. I liked the idea of the plastic guide they use. It is just a piece of plastic with areas cut out at the top and bottom so the guide hooks around the top and bottom zither pin. Since I am dyslexic, I need all the help I can get to know where the notes are! For me color coding is just one more translation my brain has to make so give me the note names!

I also got 2 Rich Long diatonic in the key of D psalteries. He said that he had a friend who jammed with dulcimers and asked him to design a psaltery limited to the key of D that would be quicker to use with dulcimer jams. I also jam with dulcimers so not having to saw back and forth for the C# and F# really helps me. I made my own guide for the notes. I just found a report cover in the office supply section at Walmart (nothing but the best for my musical friends!) and cut it to shape. Probably sharpies would have worked to write the notes on the strip but I was wanted something looking more uniform. At Guitar Center they have strips called Guitar Buddies or something like that that have the names of the notes to help people learn the fretboard. Unfortunately, they are on a strip so you have to cut out the individual notes and stick them on the guide--I'm willing to do this for a more finished look. I sometimes use a small piece of gaffer's tape (supposed to be a tape with very little residue that is used to set up stuff for exhibitions) to stabilize my strip if it wants to wander around. I cannot say it will not mark your instrument. I only use them temporarily and have never had a problem. I store little strips of the tape on the handle of my tuning wrench.

Hope this helps, I think many more psalteries would be out of their cases making music if the notes were marked.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Mine does, too, it's just in and out in temperature changes and my own ear tends to be more "forgiving" ( a.k.a. lazy) than some with perfect pitch.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Lois..it is worth tuning the strings..the sound is amazing and has a different ambiance ..mine stays in tune pretty well..

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Years ago I bought a very nice 2 octave +1 psaltery made by Harbor Town Dulcimer Shoppe.  The tag says P.O. Box 48, Rockaway Beach, MO 65740 with a phone number of 417-561-2728.  It has the notes on one side with the  accidentals on the opposite side unnamed.

Without the notation I would never have tried it.  I have used it in my programs, but tuning 28 notes can be a pain.  It was before I fell in love with the dulcimer.  My husband tries to get me to return to it, but it's very low on my priorities.  Haven't tried to sell it, but admit it's possible.

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Well now....this was interesting in that I wanted to know how his voice sounded after the comments here.   I went to youtube and hear, I WONDER AS I WANDER....very interesting voice and it could be an aquired taste.   When singing the "R"....it can stand out too much.   Then I didn't know that he wrote this song.  I've loved and performed this song often on the harp and will do so this year too.  I listened to Joan Baez and another one sing it.  Such a beautiful song with a message of great worth.  aloha, irene

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Several people asked to see the article, so here it is.

Niles was a colorful character and arguably an important American artist. It is interesting he remains controversial a half century after his death.

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Some were pretty strange looking.  He seemed to enjoy monkeying with fretting patterns on dulcimers.  I had to ignore the fretting pattern on a Nathan Hicks dulcimer he glommed onto in order to reproduce a Hicks dulcimer for our "Banjimer".  I'm not sure what the original Hicks pegs looked like either, since J.J.Niles threw some violin-family pegs in the mix.

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I've seen photos of some of Niles's creations so get what you're saying, Strumelia.  

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

A lot of the instruments he made over his lifetime were inventive hybrids of various instruments or instrument parts (like in one case using a cello body) in varying combinations. He was a big experimenter in design.

Many also had very creative fret pattern arrangements.  I think if an instrument has a diatonic (or partially diatonic) fret pattern, that doesn't necessarily mean it's a 'dulcimer'.  

Many of his hybrid instruments were quite showy, clearly intended to impress. Certainly JJNiles was well known for making 'grand flourishes'-  in his concert music performances, in his writings, his luthier output, even in the multitude of composed (and posed) photos taken of him. He was a unique person.

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@Banjimer Greg, I think I can only take JJNiles's singing in homeopathic doses.  :) Yet would like to hear, on a good recording, how he used plucked zithers. 

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Try Googling "John Jacob Niles You-Tube".  There are a few selections from his recordings available there.  Be forewarned.  His singing will need to be listened to in small doses.  It's not for everybody.  

I sampled three or four of his songs and didn't hear much dulcimer playing.  Although the dulcimer may have not recorded well considering the emphasis was on his voice.

Personally, I couldn't take his singing, so there may be some dulcimer playing buried in the available recordings.  Good luck if you intend to listen to the recordings all the way through.  

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I'm interested in hearing plucked dulcimers used in various contexts.  And know Niles made some wild instruments. . . I'm up for hearing some wild.  :)

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

The Grumpy Old Men got a private showing of Niles' instruments last spring during our Gathering in Berea, when we took a road-trip to Lexington.  Dr. Revell Carr, director of the John Jacob Niles Galley and the Center for American Music, and his staff, graciously removed all those instruments and more from their display cases so that we had a room full of dulcimers to fondle and measure.  Yes Niles played the "dulcimer" but many of his instruments were larger than a dreadnaught guitar body and carried as many as 10 or 12 strings!!

Folks who attend the second First Annual Berea Traditional Dulcimer Gathering, May 16-19, 2019, may also have an opportunity to visit the Gallery and Center and see those instruments.

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Robin, virtually all John Jacob Niles's recordings have his dulcimer-playing on them. He used his dulcimers strictly for song accompaniment. They were huge, low-tuned instruments and he played rhythmically free arpeggios, strumming across the strings with either his thumb or fingers.

After starting this discussion, I followed up on the suggestions, writing Ron Pen, visiting him and Niles's instruments at the University of Kentucky, meeting and spending a day with Jan Potts touring the area, and writing a piece about Niles and his dulcimers for The Dulcimer Players News. It was published a couple of summers ago. Unfortunately the version which made it to print had some errors. If anyone would like to see the corrected version, drop me a line.

updated by @john-gribble: 11/29/18 06:39:07AM

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Robin, I'll need to pull that CD out and look it over.. it's been quite a few years now since i wrote that review.  I can do this tomorrow around midday.   :)

John Jacob Niles's dulcimers and playing

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

@Strumelia Was there much play of Niles's dulcimers on the cd you reviewed some years back? 

what was your first song on the dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I remember it well------my wife and I were walking through "Heritage Village" in Largo Florida shortly after we moved there in 1991 and saw a lady playing an instrument that we had never seen. She told us all about her mountain dulcimer and said she was going to be giving some lessons, so with my vast musical knowledge (absolutely none) I said why not. I bought a cardboard dulcimer kit, assembled it and started out with "Boil them cabbage down" which started out my wonderful journey with the dulcimer. Many thanks to Camille Hospadaruk for her patience in teaching me and to my poor wife that had to listen to all my mistakes.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Thanks for the responses and ideas, I appreciate it. Love hearing about others' instruments too. There are many options out there for makers. I contacted Master Works and found out a little more about wood choices with theirs. Decisions!  

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

As far as marking notes, I've used little short pieces of colored tubing that slip tightly over the tuning pins.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Don't be afraid to try alternative tunings. I have one model tuned to C minor. Another in diatonic on right side matching my dulcimers. With two bows I use left side lower notes as drone notes. Upper strings tuned to flats. And another in classic chromatic. Enjoy your psaltery.... Robert

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Hmm.. I'm thinking if one doesn't want to risk marring the finish by using stickers to indicate certain notes on the psaltery, then you could maybe just tie (or even wind and then tie) a small piece of colored yarn around certain zither pins and cut the ends short.  Once you got familiar and didn't need them anymore, you could just cut the yarn off... or cut certain ones off one at a time as you learn more about where the notes are.

updated by @strumelia: 11/26/18 12:40:33PM

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Hi Susie
I have a unicorn alto BP which I would like to sell ( but I guess the transport costs from Germany will be too high for your consideration? 😊) and a Rick Long soprano. I would suggest to try to learn where the notes are with the help of the position of the half tones on the left side - as with piano keys - and would not put a paper sheet with note names underneath the strings.
The idea of the dots for the c and g (or f) would be a good help.

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

Hi..i play bp..just got into it..i own a 2 octave spring creek ps made by terry kirby from ohio..it is lovely...i also have a 3 octave baritone that is like 3 feet long...it is amazing but big...terry kirby just puts a thin piece of paper down the two area where the zither pins are and has the name written next to the pin..you could also put a red dot where the c is and a blue dot where the f is as on a harp...use a sticky dot  to know the geography of the strings..pam

Bowed Psalteries

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

I found an old discussion about bowed psalteries, but thought I'd start a new (current) one. I owned a psaltery a few years ago and really enjoyed it. I ended up selling it as I got into other instruments. Now I'm jonesing for another. I know there's a forum specific to psalteries, but I wanted to stick around here for this discussion. 

I'm leaning towards a Master Works 30 string psaltery. My sister had one and I liked everything about it. My previous one was a Unicorn Strings. It was real nice and sounded good. I liked their plastic note guides for learning. I wish I still had those, because they were handy. Has anyone ever made their own note guides to help learning the note placement?  I read music, so that really helps in learning. We travel a lot in our motor home, so the size of the instrument makes it handy for traveling. Plus, some dulcimer festivals also have psaltery workshops that can be fun. 

Any dulcimer players out there who also play a psaltery?

Any discussion on the topic you'd care to share?

 

Argh! Organizing your music!”$&?!!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Since you seem to be interested in multiple/double screens, MS pro can do them using 2 tablets via it's 'slave' function. 

Argh! Organizing your music!”$&?!!

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I really want an e-ink Gvido ( https://www.gvido.tokyo) but they are outrageously expensive.   I'll probably end up getting an A4 e-ink reader like the Boox Max2 instead if the double screens music readers don't go down in price ( https://onyxboox.com/boox_max2).

No problem, Ken.  I've benefited from many of your suggestions on noter-drone playing over the years, both on this forum and on the now defunct ED site.  Thank you for so willingly sharing your experience.