Forum Activity for @hugssandi

Love your update!  I wanna get in on those alfalfa sprouts...  My grape vine is looking good, but I think it will need another year before it produces.  We have blueberries on the bush that the birds always get before we do.  No blackberries yet, *I think*, and it will take another year or two before my hazelnuts produce.  We did make the front prettier and have plans for the back, so that we can live outside more. (Upcycled picnic table, seating, etc.)  I actually pulled up my square, raised beds for veggies, as we need to buy dirt, and it's gotten late again this year.  :(  I'm regrowing a cabbage my windowsill~does that count?  

I was given a little $ gift and did just order Sara Ivanhoe's 20-Minute Yoga Makeover.  I was sick for so long that we got out of the habit of our nightly walk and need to pick it back up again.  My littlest and last is weaned, which is bittersweet but opens up a new world for me.  OH!  ~and I've fallen in love with the chickpea~  

My .032 strings got here.   The notes I was tuned for was C4 C4, G3 G3, C4 C3.   Originally .012 .012, .014 .014, .012 .022.  I tried the bass string C3 C2 as .022 .032.    The .032 when tuned for C2 was too lose and would buzz on the fret-board and against the other .022 bass  string.   Now I'm going back to the original setup.  So my experiment failed but it was fun trying.  

That's WONDERFUL, Lisa!!!  Anyone know when Play Music on the Porch Day is this year?

N9LO:

Love your 'ugly' stick. Would love to hear it

This clamp is lighter than a C clamp & does the job but it is a bit in the way.

 clamp.jpg - 138KB

I have a Dean Markley 3001 XM Transducer pickup, it works well on my instruments that do not have a pickup installed. It can be put on & taken off any of the dulcimers & I change it back & forth. There is one dulcimer that when I press down on the pickup, the sound is such a deep bass - it's terrific. 

Question:

How to hold it down tight? Something to hold it from under the dulcimer to the top of the pickup - a C clamp is a bit large. Something like a capo in a very large size maybe  -  Any ideas?

 pick up.jpg - 72KB

I'm pretty good about growing alfalfa sprouts in the kitchen in quart mason jars all winter.  I keep a constant supply going for us, and boy they sure taste wonderful when they are absolutely fresh as opposed to store bought sprouts. It's easy, you just have to remember to rinse them once or twice a day while they're growing.  Since I keep the jars in the dish drainer next to the sink, it's not hard to do. The sprouts are our biggest source of fresh greens all winter.  It's great to be able to pile them generously on meals or sandwiches.

But now... it's Spring!  I've been doing a lot with the beehives and thus kind of neglecting my vegetable garden so far.  Today I finally pushed myself to get half the veg garden rows hoed up and planted with some onions, a few cabbages, and a whole lot of various tiny lettuce babies I bought in flats.  Boston lettuce, romaine, and leaf lettuce  -all those in both bronze/red and green-  and some iceberg.  Still three weeks away from planting tomato plants, which I'm pretty big on too.

There's nothing quite like the nice Spring feeling of pressing little green babies into the freshly hoed earth, with earthworms popping up here and there and bees humming by.      I like this time of year for the garden far better than battling the weeds at mid Summer...

The nice thing about vegetable gardens is that you get a little pleasant exercise outdoors while also producing healthy stuff to eat.  A win-win situation!

You will love the porch. I have a patio & feel it is an addition of my home, except in winter and spend very much time out on it.

 spectacular view.JPG.jpg - 84KB

Well, fast forward to Spring and yes , we've got the new 14 foot square back kitchen screened porch lined up, in the works!  The workmen are set to start tearing down the old porch in a couple of weeks, and once they start it shouldn't take more than 3 weeks to finish up.  I can't WAIT!!!    

This is going to be a major upgrade to our at home lifestyle.  I am envisioning sitting out there enjoying Summer salads, playing music, sipping ice tea in the shade while overlooking the beehives and the veggie garden, lanterns and crickets in the evenings (and screened, so no mosquitoes!)... 

Looks really nice.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

SWEET!

That's a sweet-looking dulcimer, George!

Steven

Wow!  This is such a beautiful dulcimer!!!  Can't wait to hear it

Thats a GEM!

Man, George, that sure is pretty.  I can't wait to hear it.

Couldn't wait to post pics, sound clip (s) ? coming. 

 glenn1.jpg - 138KB

http://www.bluelioninstruments.com/faqs.html

About 2/3 way down.

I'll post picture and sound clip over the weekend!! I'm really impressed with the sound from this, seems thinner bodied, but nice mellow, decent volume for it's size.

My scale length is 28".  It is for my "Ugly Stick" I just made.  It is called "Ugly Stick" because I built an "Ugly Amp" to go with it.

You didn't mention what part you are planning to play.  If you are going to play a true bass line, as implied by the CCGGCc tuning, then the CCGGcc tuning will sound funny when you play the melody strings.

If you are trying to play melody with a deeper drone then the CCGGcc tuning would make more sense.

I think you had the right idea to begin with.  cc GG Cc is what I would have used (melody to bass;) should have given it a sound similar to a 12 string guitar

I have my dream dulcimers, 2 by Kevin Messenger a Presnell and Thomas reproduction, one by Robert Schuler modeled by Jefferies, but one I have wanted is made by Bobby Ratcliff, like Ken H. has.

The real dream would have an original Presnell or Thomas.

I built a 6 string and I have a question about string gauges and tuning.  The people I play with tune CGC.  I tried CCGGCc.  It sounded good but the lady that teaches suggested I try CCGGc-c  which I am trying to say is that the first bass string is low c and the next bass string is another octave lower kind of like a baritone.  I was using a 12-12, 14-14, 12-22 and am thinking of making the bass strings 22- and 30 or 32.  What do you all think?

Vs a stick on or under saddle pickup, I guess. I lose track of what I write sometimes. 

skip

"There's also a MIC setting for using the amp with a vocal microphone."

what does a vocal microphone mean?

Hi Marg,

I'm unfamiliar with Cube Jam, but I will have to investigate it now.  :)

I also use a bit of chorus & reverb bit not acoustic. Love the tones I am getting.

Have you use the recording app you can download for free - Cube Jam. replies are not good for this app & I have to agree, I cam't record. OH well, maybe the app guys will fix it 

What's hard is that it changes from season-to-season.  I remember wanting a Yocky, I remember wanting a big 'ole Tennessee Music Box, I remember wanting a Schnaufer 6-string, I remember wanting a double back...  Now I am just so happy with my little Feather Dulcimer (a Wren), Teagan, that I feel complete.  At least for a while, anyway....

Hi Dulcidude,  let me try to explain what you are seeing...

1) to see the list of Groups that you are a member of, as Dan said hover over your link name at very top of site and you'll get a drop-down menu which can take you to "Groups I Belong To".

2) on FOTMD, almost all Groups have been created by the site owner (me).  Thus, if you go to my page and click that TAB called Groups, you'll see a large list of groups that I created.  If you go to most other members pages, you won't even see a TAB called groups becuase they didn't create any groups.

You DO however, still see the (empty) Groups TAB on your OWN page, and your list will be empty when you click it.  BUT other memebrs when they go to your page will NOT see a Groups TAB there at all.

So, if you are a regular member (not admin)... you will always see the Groups TAB on your page, but the list will be empty if you did not create (and therefore own) any groups.  You will NOT see a Groups Tab on other peopel's pages unless they have indeed created one or more Groups.  You will see the tab on Dusty Turtle's page, because he has created one or more groups...and on my page.  You will NOT see a Groups TAB on other people's pages if they have not created any groups (in turn, they will see the empty tab on their own pages, but not on yours)

Here I have logged in as a regular (test) member and this is what other regular members see when they're on your page:

 tabs.jpg - 274KB

Double clicking the group on the "groups I belong to" page will take you to that group page.

 I think that's groups you've started.

Well, I know I started this thread off, but times change and dreams sometimes change, too.  After playing a Jeremy Seeger "traditional" for a few months now I'm not sure about the big body.  The Seeger has great volume, in fact, some might say it's LOUD and it's a pretty shallow body.   So.... 4 independent strings, body shape unimportant (either hourglass or teardrop,) no (zero, zip, nada) extra frets, some kind of geared tuners and an ebony fretboard overlay on a 26.5" vsl.  Oh and a pickup, maybe a Schatten.  Who is to build such a beast?  I know of about 6 to 10 builders who could do it well, so I'll leave it at that.  Woods?  Oh Yeah, Spruce top, Body - mahogany, walnut, butternut, poplar, cherry?  Though I don't believe the choice of wood is unimportant, I'm flexible. The Seeger's Cherry top, mahogany body is really sweet sounding to my ear.   So... all you luthiers out there who'd like to donate one to me, I'm ready to try it out!

A 'dream dulcimer'? There is always seems to be a new one, or a return to a prior choice, as I change/adapt/grow/? [words don't fit]. McSpadden, Bear Meadow, Aolelus, Folkcraft [currently have], Blue Lion [ditto], and others, have been on my list during my relatively short association with dulcimers. Some have been much too costly, but not all. Some I made.

The thing is, once acquired it's no longer are a dream, it's a reality and I dream again.

speaking of dream dulcimers I would trade my Blue Lion llR for a Custom McSpadden KOA.if anyone is interested.

Matthew, I received my McSpadden Custom in curly maple but with a spruce top a month ago. I bought it with money I had from selling another instrument and I was looking for something different. It really is a dream, perfect tuning and intonation, the builders at McSpadden save their best work for customs and the finish on it is incredible. I would love a Custom Koa from Mcspadden.

Got my dream dulcimer -- a Bobbie Ratliff Virginia Hogfiddle with Holly back and sides, Butternut top, and 1" wide unbleached Walnut fretboard.   Three strings spaced for Noter & Drone play, staple frets,  solid block Walnut scroll head holding the autoharp tuning pins and a Walnut hollow D tailblock.  

I would like to own Gary Gallier's personal "go to"  dulcimer. 

I have played it for about 6 hrs. total, so I know how "dreamy" it is!

It's not for sale.

It's my dream, though!

Hi Marg.  As you know, this amp comes with a few effects and also presets to emulate the sound of some classic guitar amplifiers of the past.  I mostly use it on "acoustic", and with a little chorus and a little reverb.  When used with no effects and on "acoustic", the sound is just that - it just sounds like my dulcimers, only louder.  For what this little thing is (and the price I paid for it), I love it.