Forum Activity for @kusani

There are pliers specifically designed to remove frets, some builders may use a very thin knife, working it across the length of the fret on both sides, some frets may be tapped on the very end in an upward manner (not usually recommended). Any method requires protecting the surface of the fretboard as much as possible.  There are even thin metal 'fret shields' that may be used during the process.  If the fret has been glued in it is going to be even more difficult. Just go slow and easy. 

I am sure other members may have suggestions. 

I have a dulcimer that has the 1+ & the 8+, I have trouble fretting the 9  for a clear ring (too small a space), so I was thinking I could remove the 8+ fret since I need the 9 & not the 8+.

Is a fret usually just tapped in, & would I slid something small in under it & try & lift enough to grab with some pliers?  

Suggestions & ideas welcome

thanks

Jennifer, maybe you're like me? ...and find that the two instruments feel so different to play that it's almost impossible to compare the dulcimer and the whistle against each other.   
What kind of Dixon did you get?  I like my Dixon whistles very much.  

Some whistles don't play in tune on some notes, and that can be infuriating.  But some cheaper whistles are quite nice too. Then there are the odd duds as well, even with higher priced whistles. 

Yikes Sheryl... those Carbonys are like over $400...?!  Out of my league... at least when it comes to whistles.  lolol

I like being able to reach for a whistle based on my mood that day.  I keep my whistles handy, standing in a metal cannister on my desk... like a bouquet of flowers!   

I like Walton brand of brass whistles. No tweaks, play great right out of the box. Too bad they don't make them is other keys besides D & C. For less than $15, you can't go wrong. I never played the $200 and up whistles but I'm sure it won't improve my playing anyway. Basically a whistle is a whistle,just a lot of fun on a low budget. 

The thing that really blows me away is when I learn a tune and find myself fingering away without ever thinking about where my fingers are suppose to go. Its almost like I'm standing beside myself listening to another player... Robert.

Anyone going to the Heartland Dulcimer Fest Nov.3-4 in Elizabethtown, KY?   Dulcinina

So here's my technique for hollowing the body plank.  I set the drill press to leave 1/8" below the tip of the spike.  Then I use a chisel to remove the webs between holes and smooth the edges.

 Cleaning body.jpg - 89KB

Wow, that is some spider!  :) 

While at Ken Bloom's Bowed Dulcimer workshop in Pilot Mt. NC a couple of years ago, a talented young lady played a Carbony flute in the key of D. It was lovely. If I can ever scrape up a few hundred dollars I don't want to spend on dulcimers, or tools to work on dulcimers, I'll buy one!

I Find that wind instruments vary much more than stringed instruments. Sure, guitars all have their differences, but the difference in tone between different fipple and duct flutes. For example I have a NA flute that while not quiet (it's actually my loudest one), is my softest in tone (it's cedar). I have one made out of maple and one out of mahogany, they both have much clearer, more direct sound. The wide variation of timbre between instruments is what holds my attention to them. While the difficulty and range of notes is what holds me captive to playing guitar. Not that penny whistles aren't difficult, its's a different type of difficulty. 

At a session one night a fellow took out a pair of bones to play along, after a few sets of tunes I heard someone say"Tis a pity  there isn't a bit more meat on those bones.

I'm still playing my penny whistles.  Because I like to play like six instruments and various genres/repertoires, I have to spread my music practice between them.. so I don't progress as fast as i could if I devoted my full attention to one instrument and one kind of music.  Alas!

But even though I don't play a whole lot on the penny whistle, I do find I'm still sloooowly improving.. yay, I'll take it!  

I'm amazed at how different each whistle brand and key sounds and feels to play.  I now understand why some folks buy many whistles to try out... especially since it's so much cheaper than it would be 'experimenting' with guitars or mandolins for example.      I now have over a dozen whistles... but there are at least 4 that I don't care for and will sell soon... and 3 or 4 that I want to buy and try out in the future.  lol   

It does take a while to find the kind of whistles that 'suit you'... in size, playing characteristics, and tone.  For instance most Irish trad players tend to like a 'chiffy' tone with some breath texture to it.  Personally, since I play more medieval or English country dance repertoire, I myself tend to favor the whistles that sound more 'woody' or flute/recorder-like.  The polymer or wood whistles usually sound more this way, while the metal whistles innately have more 'chiff'.  But I have a couple of traditional brass whistles that have a very appealing tone appropriate for Irish tunes, that I like to play very much too.

Penny whistles are less expensive than dulcimers by far, so it's easy to have a collection!  

Here's something I sometimes say(privately) to Brian when people in a jam play one of our favorite tunes at 100 mph so we can't savor it or play all the little musical things we like to do in it:  "Well at least it was over with a lot faster."    

Val, I love both of those you posted!  

Here's one along the same lines.  A professional musician I know once said this (I don't know if he made it up or not):

"If you're playing in a jam and you can't hear yourself playing... then you're playing too loud."

(implying of course that if everyone followed this, the whole jam would get quieter and everyone would again be able to hear themselves.)

What's the difference between a fiddle and a violin, you can spill porter on a fiddle you can't on a violin.

If you remember the names of your tunes, you don't have too many.

Not names, really, just identifiers -- "the Uncle Ed",  "the Hogfiddle", "the Walking Stick" etc.

Yes, I do...They complain if their strings need changing and tell all when they travel to distant lands for a road trip!  rofl

Love "Orphan" as a name....I have three flea market finds-my first dulcimer ever is BOB-the maker was named BOB.   My Folkroots is named after the gentleman I got it from!

"All music is folk music.  I ain't never heard a horse sing a song."

-- Louis Armstrong (. . . or maybe Leadbelly . . . or Big Bill Broonzy . . .)

Half have names and half don't.   (Do you think they talk to each other?)

My dulcimer with a swan head and tail feathers is called Swannie.  My first dulcimer was found abandoned in a fleamarket  and I call it the Orphan.  Haven't figured out a name for my Folkcraft nor little travel Applecreek.

If I were to give my dulcimers proper names, I'd be like Ma Kettle and never know one kid's name from another.  (Anybody remember Ma & Pa Kettle on tv about a million years ago? ) 

I like the saying about how old-time music isn't as bad as it sounds.  :)

I have named mine "Sweetie". Not very original but she always has a sweet note or sound for me in spite of my just starting to learn to play. I would have gone with "Dulcie" but that is what I named my hammered dulcimer.

That makes it sound like a "wicked" sounding instrument!

Kusani, just slap some black paint on it like Mr. Thomas did.  Paint covers a multitude of errors.

The name of my last build is VERY descriptive!  I experimented with a couple stains and it failed; hence named: The Ugly One.    Despite appearance, it sounds fairly good. 

Love those names!

Thats a super idea!!!   

I had two custom made mandolins for many years- an F5 and an octave mandolin... both with similar inlays and made by the same luthier.  I called them The Little Snapper and The Big Snapper.  They were gorgeous.  I sold them last year, both to the same person.

"People think I take some sort of masochistic pleasure out of putting out music that's gonna be unpopular."

- Billy Corgan

(lead singer Smashing Pumpkins)

Some of mine have names: Rosa, Lucinda, Mr. Salty.  One or two remain nameless.  

Mr. Salty got his name when I was playing for my kid's 1st grade class and someone said it looked like a "peanut guitar."  Indeed, the hourglass shape does resemble the shape of a peanut and the lacewood resembles the texture of a peanut shell.

I've been using words from the Bible, usually the Psalms, as names for my new dulcimer builds. 

It's getting more difficult to find words that can be names also! Mephibosheth? Maher-shalal-hash-baz?...

This is a list of names (including hubby's)

Broadway, Skinny, Kat, Ollie, Bud, Baby, Wally, Milly, Boxer, Annie, Bob, Tiny Tim, Shane, Pocahontas, Sweetie, Logan, Merl.

Great idea!

Mine are by Maker, Seller, User, wood type...really anything I can distinguish from the others!

I have been "naming" mine by the month that it was made. ("October"  is just getting started, though.)

Just curious.....does anyone "NAME-nickname" their dulcimers as I do???   I will get a list of mine together and post their names!

Jean Ritchie is supposed to have said something to the effect that  "...if it's got extra frets, somehow it's not a dulcimer anymore..."  But I can't find who told me that quote originally a year or so back.

Sometimes between songs at a gig, I'll say to the audience:  "We've had a request from the audience... but we're going to keep playing anyway."   Always gets a laugh.