Forum Activity for @kevin63

It is certainly unique. I have never seen one quite like that.

Awesome dulcimer. I have had good luck with Strother's string gauge calculator. They do show a bit light at times so you may want to go one or two numbers heavier.

Juststring.com is a good source of strings if you want to purchase singles and make up your own sets.

Beautiful, interesting instrument. I’ve been happy with Folkcraft strings. Sweetwater is great for advice, and variety of choices.

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a beautiful Bill Davis 1960’s hourglass four string dulcimer including the original felt bag. 

I would like to replace the strings -does anyone have any recommendations on the diameter of the strings I should use and also the manufacturer of strings that you would recommend?

Thank you for your replies.

Kevin 

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You're welcome.

Thanks, my friend!

Just to help you out, here is the direct link: https://reverb.com/item/35152048-aw-jeffreys-dulcimer

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi. I have an AW Jeffreys for sale on Reverb. Such sweet oldies. Let me know if you’re interested, or check out my shop. (GStringer Shop)

Hello everyone,

I came across this unique dulcimer that looks to be handmade in the 1970’s. Does anyone have any idea who the maker might be? Also what style is this dulcimer? It appears to have a European design. Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thank you for your replies. 

Kevin 

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That's pretty cool!  

We're happy you folks liked the video!  As you likely noticed, we were not playing music from the 1920's (as was indicated in some of the information on-screen)-- having to do all through distance, there was misunderstanding.  

How nice that you and Mark were asked to be part of the festivl.  The music and settings were so very nice.  Well done. Dulcinina

Absolutely loved the video Robin. Very nice!

Thank you, @dusty-turtle.  The cemetery at which we played the lullaby is a place we have visited often, taking walks there the past many weeks.  It's a good place to think.  In the outdoors, it isn't as easy to keep in good tune as when indoors yet we really wanted to make the videos outside.

I'm mesmerized by your sensitive playing, Robin.  So subtle and precise.

And I love how each tune was filmed in a different local spot.  I'm really taken by the cemetery where you play the 155 Lullaby.  What a peaceful spot.

Mark & I live in an area which has come to be known as Little Cities of Black Diamonds , a nickname coined by historian Ivan Tribe.  This year, the LCBD council asked us to participate.  So, we made several little videos and passed them along to be used however the moviemaker saw fit.  In this link, you will find the movie which was put together from some of our little videos and other episodes which were featured during the week-long fest.  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBTr1ZQH6IWuUqQno6iOxWA

Nice, Richard. Nina

looks great!

That's a great set up.   laughing on your comment, "No, the dulcimore don't stay in front of the fireplace, just long enough to pose for the picture."   happy playing....and quick to grab one and play some tunes.   aloha, irene  

Nice!

Thought I'd share a photo of my new multi-place dulcimore stand. Designed by Dulcimore Dan. The padding on the bottom supports is strips of sheep skin glued on. And, No, the dulcimore don't stay in front of the fireplace, just long enough to pose for the picture.

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ahhhhhhhhhhhh, come on.............where did you got this instrument of beauty?  Surely it has a story.  I've come back from my "girls trip" to California and went into quite a few thrift shops.....Chico, CA has the best Farmer's Market I've been to.  yep, I was looking for some dulcimer, but found a alto wood recorder for $2.00 and looked it up on line and it's worth $300.00 so I did a good score there.   Treasures everywhere right?  So glad to be back home and enjoying this larger computer instead of my phone.  aloha, irene

You have a nice instrument. Enjoy your dulcimer. I think it is a real treasure.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Tim is a truly amazing musician no matter what instrument or approach he takes!

Wow, that is beautiful! Where did you even find such a gem? It looks to be in great shape too. It must have spent most of its life sitting in a case/closet somewhere. Congratulations and enjoy.

As far as tuning, the others have great ideas. What's the VSL? I think I'd experiment with different tunings too and find the sweet spot for the instrument. More than likely, D tuning.

Hey @kevin63. I've been using an Android for years, and even though I just got an iPhone 11 for work, I really don't know how to use it.  

What you need to do is re-size the image. If you try to send an image by text or email, the phone will automatically ask you if you want to resize. If you are not performing one of those actions, you can still resize a photo within the Photos app, according to these instructions .

I hope that works for you. I have to admit that I usually transfer photos to my laptop and play with them there where I have full editing capabilities, so I can't tell you exactly what you need to do.

Indeed, that's a fine looking instrument. It's amazing how rich the wood looks.

We tend to be snobs about wood and denigrate plywood, but I have one dulcimer with a plywood top and it has a real punch to it. My guess is that the combination of the larger boxes of the Capritaurus dulcimer and the ply will mean you have a pretty powerful instrument there.

If you are going to play with other people, you will want to tune to D, and since the dulcimer is a true diatonic (no 6+ fret), I agree with @john-gribble that DAA would be a good choice.  However, if you are playing by yourself, see if you can find the sweet tone.  Put your mouth near the sound hole and "hoo in the hole," meaning sing different pitches into the soundhole. It is possible one or two might resonate more profoundly than the others. If so, tune your bass string to that tone and the other two a fifth above it.  That's where the dulcimer will sing the most powerfully.

At some point Howard became very meticulous about the dulcimers he produced and has records of every single one. This must indeed be a really early model before he developed that bookkeeping practice. You have a genuine historical artifact there.

What a nice looking instrument. I would tune it DAA low to high and play it in the traditional noter or finger dance style.

The Hearts of the Dulcimer film has quite a bit about the Ruggs brothers. Google for that website.

Hello everyone,

I recently purchased a beautiful early CapriTaurus dulcimer. See photos.

Howard Rugg the craftsman who made this dulcimer said he guesses its from 1969-71 when he just opened his shop in Felton, CA. He said it was made before guitar machine tuners. It is mahogany plywood body, solid wood fingerboard and tailpiece with violin tuners. 

He said he and his brother designed this dulcimer and his brother made the jigs. Howard assembled, trimmed, sanded, and finished them. The crew would polish, string up and ship them. He also said the plywood sounds great! Also, that this dulcimer is a very early model. 

Inside the sound hole you can see an ink stamp and not a paper label. It reads CapriTaurus Dulcimer made in Felton, California. It has round sound holes verses hearts. 

Any thoughts or suggestions playing this type of dulcimer?  

What are some different tunings that would sound nice?

Any other thoughts or knowledge about this dulcimer or CapriTaurus maker?

Thank you for your replies.

Kevin 

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Hello:

I’m trying to upload photos taken with my iPhone 10. I keep getting an error message that says my photos are too large, maximum is 2.0. I’m not sure how to reduce the size of my photos. Any suggestions using an iPhone to take photos.

Thank you for your reply. 

Kevin 

Friends, The Mountain Minor movie folks have released a soundtrack.  I'm thinking about ordering a copy of both the movie and the soundtrack.  

I just started working on the Irish jig "The Gander in the Pratie Hole."  It's an interesting tune because the A part is in D major but the B part is in D mixolydian. So the first part has C# and the second part has C natural.

Exactly right.  Those bits are designed to work in a multitude of situations.

Ken,

Thank you for the detailed description on setting the bridge/nut height.

There is a lot of excess material on the new bridge so it make take me some time to get it sanded down. I'm guessing that they make them so big as different instruments may have deeper bridge slots?