Forum Activity for @dusty

 Cool!  Now that your famous, don't forget us little people who knew back when . . .

 marg, Pristine2 is a member here as well, though he is not as active as he used to be.  You might consider contacting him to see if he has any information.

As an old psychology professor used to say, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.  I think those weeping hearts look really cool.  Maybe that's all there is to it.

That's great! Enjoy the fame.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Gorilla Super Glue is what I had around the house, so that's what I used & clamp it.

The leather works just like if you were to wrap a piece of elec. tape around your thumb but the leather is more of a padding for the thumb with no stickiness.

Check out ken's post below, he gives a number of ideas you could try. I like my thumb to still be like a thumb so, I like the softness of leather vs. something hard in using my thumb to slide. I tried a thumb pick also, didn't like/didn't work

 thumb leather.jpg - 103KB

 A sharp-looking group.  But where are the madding crowds thronged around to listen?

Their loss, I guess.

Marge, what kind of glue are you using on the leather?  Post a picture of your leather thumb slide if you can.  I tried a thumb pick for a slide but wasn't satisfied.  So far, my old finger works the best. dulcinina

Of all the activities mentioned, you're the ones who had the picture in the paper. Always good to be recognized and appreciated. 

Old Time Music on the Front Page

The Morgantown paper must have had to fill up space Friday.  They put us on the front page.

dusty,

I saw on a everythingdulcimer post 11/2008, pristine2 (when he came over)   was going to pick up a carrell teardrop that has the same soundholes & stretched out head piece as my fiddleback. I wonder if he was able to get any info on it?

Interesting, I was just watching an old video he did on adjusting a bridge

dusty,

Both interesting discussions, I am surprise there isn't a book or something about the meanings of the different soundholes.

thanks

I can't answer your question, Marg, about the meaning behind the weeping or bleeding hearts.  Someone asked that same question a few year ago on Everything Dulcimer and got no answer.

But I thought you might be interested in this discussion a few years back about the different sound holes on peoples' dulcimers.  I joined that discussion when I only had one dulcimer. I think I'll have to post again since I now have several and several others have passed through my hands.

If we go back 30+ years, there wasn't as many sound hole designs as now - does anyone know 

the meaning behind 'weeping hearts',  'trailing hearts' or 'crying hearts'?

When was this sound hold started & is it just the combination of traditional heart & traditional f-hole?

Some builders have a signature sound holes, has anyone done a study of who has or had what designs?

Is the photo attached (Sam Carrell, 1984) sound holes 'weeping hearts', 'trailing hearts'  or just a combination of heart &  f- hold?

Any ideas?

 e mail weeping hearts.jpg - 105KB

Love the idea of your stone pick, looks like a worry stone they had years ago. Rubbing it when you are not playing with it, should shine it up or smooth it out more. I also had picked up a stone I was hoping to use as a pick but it is just a little too thick. 

I have lots of interesting noters I have either made or found around the house that work really well, only wish I could put them to good use.

I enjoy thinking of new ideas in making things work, keeping learning the dulcimer adventure exciting.

ken,

After playing around with different ways to fasten the leather for my thumb, I have ended up glueing it & that keeps it more an even thickness all around. I'm working on my 3rd attempt of this design & even with it not yet right, it is working fine. I can use my thumb to slide or cord or hit middle or bass strings without feeling like I am filing my nail off. Works a lot like the elec. tape I would use but more pading & not sticky.

Working great, thanks

Wow! Great advice here- thank you everyone.  I can see why people need more than one dulcimer 

Great advice from everyone.  Trevor mentions he will be fingerpicking, so yes, good to have equidistant strings!  Id like to mention though that for Noter players, it can make more sense to remove the inner of the melody pair instead. That creates a bit of extra space to allow the tip of the Noter to avoid hitting the middle string as it slides up and down. In fact, when I have custom instruments made, I always ask for a bit of extra space between the melody string(s) and the middle string.  I thought this was worth mentioning even though it does not apply in Trevors instance here. 

And, of course, if you try removing the outer string and don't like the feel of it, you can always put a new one back on and see how you like it with the inner string removed.

Patty's right on this, Trevor. You want to keep the three remaining three strings as equidistant as possible. On most dulcimers that will mean you remove the outer string.

Thank you, Patty.  That makes sense.
Trevor

The outer string is usually the one most say to remove as the inner string is about the same distance to the middle as the bass is to the middle. I was told to do that by Rob. It worked for me although at first I had a tendency to hit the board. 

I'm sure this has been discussed before but I can't find it so apologies for raising it again.  My dulcimer has two melody strings.  If I wish to remove one, e.g. for fingerpicking, which one should it be - the inner or outer string?

Many thanks

Trevor

ken,

(Think outside the box!)

I can do that, I have tried the thimble or plastic tubing before but don't like the stiffness since I also use my thumb for middle & bass strings but I do like the idea of leather.  I can Wrap a strip of smooth thin leather around my thumb like the tape but it's not sticky, I just need to come up with the best way to fasten it. I tried it out this evening & it protects the thumb but leaves me able to cord or hit the middle or bass string. Works like my thumb but it's protected.

thanks so much

Marge -- try a large, deep thimble -- plastic or leather. Or a short section of thin plastic tubing  I make archer's Thumb Rings out of wood (they are also made in horn and bone) for shooting a bow Asian style, and there are a wide variety of thumb rings which might be adaptable.  Think of your thumb tip as a flattened cone from the tip to the first knuckle.  Now look for thumb sized cones...   Maybe bakery piping bag tips?  A short piece of copper tubing?  Think outside the box!

Well the thumb pick really didn't work for how I wanted, so till I get something like an acrylic nail I will stick with elec. tape.

 hewalker,

Thank you, sounds like you have a great fellow to invent what you need if can't be found & welcome. Is the photo of your dulcimers, I just got another one & now thinking of how to reorganize them - not a bad problem ;-)

My husband designed and makes my picks-they rest comfortably as a standard pick but swivel out of the way to allow fingerpicking without any skipped beat!

When i used to play chord/melody style (about 100 years ago it seems, lol) I built up a really hard and durable callus on the side of my thumb right next to the nail.  It protected everything, even the edge of my nail.  Once in a while the outer layer would shed off naturally, but the layers under it quickly rebuilt to take its place.  

It's funny how my left hand calluses evolve and change over time depending on what instrument I'm currently playing a lot, and in what style.  Since i now play dulcimer type instruments with a noter, I don't get calluses from dulcimer playing.  But I get banjo-playing calluses on the tips of my fingers, especially my left middle finger and my left index. 

(chalk I put on.)

So, does chalk not hold? What is chalk for then? W. May had said to just use chalk on his. I have a peg something, not drops - I will try that.

thanks

I've got 5 dulcimers with the wooden pegs and i use a product called Regal Peg Drops from Regal Music, Ely MN.  One drop holds for quite some time.  A lot longer than water or spit. (more hygenic too). LOL I think i got it throough EBAY.  It's very inexpensive and one bottle lasts for years.  One drop per peg.

( Mixolydian (D/A/d/dd) tuning.)

Bridge to nut in 28'.5    if I was to tune to DAddd, should the ddd be lighter than 12's. String Gauge Calculator shows 9, so I'm thinking 10's or 11's but not sure if 12's would be ok that sounds like what are used for this dulcimer but maybe not for DAddd

rob,

(putting water on the bass peg to swell it.)

After the water (or spit ;-)) dries would it be loose again?

So far I am not using that peg & even if I did not sure I would have the strings 4 equal courses - how do you play that? Not knowing, I would think my fingers would slip through or would miss a string in making cords.

Have it tone to DAaa now, beautiful tone. I'm not sure the pegs could hold dd but since this sounds is so nice, now sure I would keep trying on tuning up to dd

Pegs are a problem for me but other than that, what do you think of a Sam Carrell dulcimer?

Kathy -- if you look one post below your post you will see that Paul already listed his address and price of the arrangement package

That's the way my Maxwell is set up: 4 courses with double melody.  It's been a while since I've played it, but I think I tuned it D D A AA, or D A A AA.  I'm pretty sure it had 2 wound strings so I did 2 D's.  I would suggest putting water on the bass peg to swell it.  As I like to say, Just spit on it and wait a minute.  LOL

(fretting hand and not your strumming/picking hand, correct?)

yes

I have been using my thumb since I started but just lately I have started wondering if I could hurt the nail or edge, so thought of the thumb pick or yes even a fake nail. But not sure how it would work when I use my thumb to fret on middle strings. 

Thanks 

Photos

On the pegs - you can see all the chalk I put on them. I still can't get the bass peg to hold so are using the others at the moment - need to adjust the spacing over on last far one since no bass one at the moment.

The melody strings I have tune aa, sounds great & pegs hold them fine but I run into trouble getting the pegs to hold if I tune to dd. Also I notice a buzz on 3rd fret, not sure if I should just try & move strings over to another notch or raise the strings a bit with some string or paper. 

 e mail sam carroll1.jpg - 82KB

Why are the strings set up like a 4 equidistant dulcimer except the melody strings are doubled? Not sure how you play that, just on melody strings? Can I move them over to have set more like DdAdd - double on the two far strings & melody?

So, what is the best way to start, mark the bridge, remove the strings & clean than put new strings on?

If a peg wont hold, first try chalk or sand just a hair to go in slot better?

Here’s what I could find on the internet with a quick search.  The links below all seem to point to the same Starr Mitchell you see on the Almeda Riddle You-Tube Video.  You may have to copy and paste these links into your browser to get them to work.

A1997 letter to the editor of Dulcimer Players Newsletter :

https://issuu.com/dulcimerplayersnewsinc/docs/120823175704-df406671dca8494abca0a058a469091b/4

A 2001 CD titled Arkansas Original , Tune # 6 “Lark in the Morning” with Starr Mitchell Playing Hammered dulcimer

https://www.discogs.com/Various-Arkansas-Original/release/1943150

Starr Mitchell’s Linked-In Page.  She’s the Education Director of the Historic Arkansas Museum. 

https://www.linkedin.com/in/starr-mitchell-43baa124/

Starr Mitchell’s Facebook Page.

https://www.facebook.com/starr.mitchell.1

 (Sam Carrell, who worked for a time with Bill Davis)

I just picked up a Sam Carrell dulcimer, signed & dated august 1984. it need some work but with your help something I can do.

What can you tell me about these dulcimers?

It is the 5 string fiddle shape type. May just need new strings, a good cleaning & some way to have the two bass end pegs hold.