Mike Sanderson is still an active vendor in Northern Michigan and is listed as a vendor in the Original Dulcimer Players Newsletter...........Paula Brawdy should be able to find away for you to get in touch with him...........you might send her a private message and see if she can help. I am told he makes a fine dulcimer too...........and it looks like you have one.
Indeed, Ken provides the essential info here: a beginner's dulcimer is intended to be as inexpensive as possible. So you will not find self-trimming tuners or ebony overlay or a bevel to rest your arm or a radiused fretboard or any of the other niceties that you may discover you want on your ideal dulcimer. Hopefully the builder took his or her work seriously enough that the intonation and action are good.
But certainly if you find a beginner dulcimer to continue to serve your needs, there is no reason to have to abandon it for something more expensive. I know someone out here in the Bay Area who bought the same beginner dulcimer that Ken refers to and two years later bought a more expensive one, only to discover she preferred the beginner dulcimer, so that is what she plays.
My first dulcimer was not technically a beginner dulcimer, but I bought it before I really understood extra frets or fretboard overlay and stuff like that. I still have the dulcimer, but I consider it a loaner and let people borrow it while they decide if they want to get serious and get their own dulcimer.
Here's the other dulcimer I have. There's a label inside that says "Michael Sanderson" and "Sylvan Music" and "Harbor Springs, Mich.," with what I assume to be a serial number in the low 100s. It's got a deeper, richer tone than my Roosebeck Grace Mountain.
Does anyone else have an instrument from Mr. Sanderson? I looked around and found only two pieces of information about him, which is from 2000 or so. The instrument (the label inside) is from 2011. My mother bought it from someone in June 2016, and I inherited it from her.
What sort of wood does this look to be?
Thanks everyone. The exercises will be very helpful, Ken.
Marg, what kind of strap do you wear for your thumb?
I know I have arthritis in my thumb so I'll have to be careful about how long I play. I have Herdim picks and will switch off. Thanks again for your input everyone.
It sounds like you have the same problem I do. If it is the same problem, you have arthritis in the joint at the base off the thumb. Not curable. Playing less helps but does not eliminate the problem. A thumb splint may help if you can find one that immobilizes the joint but still allows you to hold a pick. There is a surgical procedure which might help but make sure you have a well qualified hand surgeon perform it. It consists of splitting tendon in your arm and bringing half of it down and packing it into the space at the base of the thumb joint created by removing some one. Recovery is about six months and you will probably have less hand strength than before.
Such a great quote!!!!
Ken has given a good overview.
I'd like to add this- when i've gotten 'beginner' instruments of any kind and then later on purchased higher end examples, I sometimes keep the beginner one and start calling it my 'travel dulcimer' (travel banjo, etc). It becomes an instrument i can take anywhere without worrying about it as much as I'd worry about my more expensive instrument.
Your 'beginner dulcimer' can eventually graduate to being your wonderful 'travel dulcimer'...and it will no longer have to suffer any stigma! 
Generally "Beginner Dulcimer" means a less expensive instrument -- perhaps with a cardboard body, or a body made from birch veneer rather than 'planks' of walnut or maple or whatever. Also a less expensive set of tuning machines, perhaps friction tuners rather than geared tuners. Also, the action of a beginner may not be optimized for a particular style of playing.
The important factor is the precision of the fret layout, regardless of whether the body is made from Leggos, or cardboard or the finest lumber money can buy. If the layout of the frets is not precise, you simply will not get the proper notes, and that makes any instrument worthless.
No reason a "beginner" dulcimer can't be just part of your suite of instruments. I have one of Harpmaker Dave's Student Models which he slightly customized for me a number of years ago. It has a deeper sound than I prefer these days, but otherwise works as good or better than any of the other dulcimers I've owned or built.
Here's the Hand Health article I put together 'way back when; from an exercise taught by my fencing master to promote wrist flexibility primarily. I'm not sure how much effect it would have on the base of the thumb, but, as Salt Springs suggests, it might help:
http://www.everythingdulcimer.com/files/articles/28/hand_health.pdf
There used to be an article on Hand Health that Strumelia had on another site as I recall. Perhaps she can tell us where to find it if it is still available.
This is one of the things I love about the dulcimer. It can be simple, and yet I know I will also be learning new things and advancing my whole life!!!!
I love the classics, userno4! ~that's all great stuff~
I'm not sure if this is but so helpful, because this is vastly smaller in size than what you're asking, but I have fallen in love with my 17" Feather Dulcimer. I loved playing my Walnut Creek, too, but there were songs I never could get that I seem to just play out of the blue now. That makes me think a 26.5" (and I see you added 25") might be beneficial to some.
I don't know nearly as much as the others here, but my opinion is that sometimes beginners are not ready to commit to paying a lot. Some who are more professional and perform a lot tend to get/need higher end dulcimers for concert settings and better quality sound from what I've read, though I've not experienced what that means. I don't see myself there, so for whatever I perform (church) mine are just fine!
I like a 27" vsl the best. 28 1/2" is also good. I play noter/drone and I find these to be the most comfortable for the way I play.
Steven
Looks like a Roosebeck to me Grace Mountain model
.......check it out on Amazon.
Yes, it looks a lot like that, so I'd say, that's it. I haven't measured my instrument, and I'm not sure the description of the wood is an exact match — it's hard to tell if the bridge and the neck are the same wood; maybe it's just a difference in the grain — but it does seem to be the same. Same tailpiece. Same tuners. Same f note holes and same arched bridge, plus of course the contrasting light and dark colors. Mine has an extra screw at the end for holding a strap, and it has only three strings (through slots for four), plus of course the 1.5 fret, but these three differences are easily explained as after-market changes.
I can see where ' Herco Thumb-Flat pick.' wouldn't be dropped but if the pain is from the strum itself the pressure used would still cause pain. I also have thumb pain where the thumb joins the waist. I wear a strap for my thumb & it helps but ... I find herdim triple sided nylon picks are large so easier to hold and easy on the strings to strum, not causing undo stress in the strum or stress on the thumb.
Good luck
If a dulcimer has good action & a sound you like, why would it be a beginner dulcimer and not just a dulcimer, part of our collection of different dulcimers?
I have hear some say they have a 'beginner dulcimer'- I'm sure price of a dulcimer is part of starting out & some dulcimers do sell for less than others. But is a dulcimer a 'beginner dulcimer' or are we beginner players and couldn't the dulcimer be fine for later when we are more advanced?
When does a dulcimer become more advance or professional, what should we look for as we begin to advance in our dulcimer journey?
Yeah, a more correct placement may require making a third cut between fret 1 and 2. But I'm not sure I want to spend the money for that. And it does seem to tune within my tolerances.
Looks like a Roosebeck to me Grace Mountain model
.......check it out on Amazon.
The 1.5 fret should be just slightly closer to the 2 fret than to the 1 fret...because the space between note steps get closer together slowly as you go towards the bridge. Looking at your photo, the luthier at the string shop was absolutely right- someone did a poor job installing that 1.5 fret -it's not in the right place at all. Plus in the side view it looks like they may have made two attempts with a fret saw. To reinstall that fret in the right place will also require some repair of the fretboard cut(s) where the current fret is removed.
I'm a strummer and practice/play at least an hour each day. I also play with 2 groups a week which amounts to 2 hrs each of playing with them.
So I think I stressed my hands a couple weeks ago. The 10 min I referred to was just to start playing again, I never heard of the Herco thumb flat pick but will definitely look into it.
Thank you for responding. If the pain persists, I definitely will consult a doctor.
Thanks friends- I am tossed up between a 26.5 and a 25". Thanks for sharing your choices and why.
What style of right hand are you using -- strum, fingerpick, flatpick? How many hours per day/week are you playing? You say only 10 minutes a day, but if that's so, the injury is not related to your dulcimer playing. If it persists for another few days make an appointment with at least your GP, if not a specialist. If you are strummer, look up the Herco Thumb-Flat pick.
I really don't think you'll notice any difference between 27 and 26.5 -- look at the spacing tables, the differences are pretty tiny. I prefer longer scales --27-28"; I've played a 32" and it was HUGE! I've played a 20" and it was too cramped.
UserNo4 said "Another problem (perhaps) is that the luthier at the string shop said the 1.5 fret was installed too close to the 1 fret; it should have been closer to fret 2."
It may be called a half fret, but it isn't exactly half way between the 1st and second fret. The location can be calculated if you know the exact VSL (distance between the inside of the nut and the inside of the bridge). There are any number of fret-spacing calculators that will give you the precise location if you know the VSL.
Using your electronic tuner you should be able to tell if the existing 1+ fret is in the right position. For a given open string tuning, you know what note that the 1+ fret should be -- check it with your tuner; it should be right on or perhaps a couple cents either way.
My 9-year-old daughter and I are listening to an audio version of "Anne of Avonlea" when I drive her home from school. We've already been through "Anne of Green Gables," and before that, "A Wrinkle in Time" and "A Swiftly Tilting Planet." I just finished listening to "The Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe," which I read decades ago in college. I'm not sure if I should go onto the next in the series or start up "Pride and Prejudice," which my daughter is almost finished reading through. In the fall, I listed to the space trilogy of C.S. Lewis as well as "The Great Divorce" and "The Abolition of Man."
I do READ, and read nonfiction, but that's a start.
Someone suggested I find the builder of the dulcimer if I'd like to add a fret to. The label inside says "Sylvan Music, Harbor Springs, Mich." It's dated 2-9-11 (so no antique here) and has a serial number. It also has the signature "Michael Sanderson." I found two online references to him leading a workshop at a folk festival in his region of Michigan, but that's it.
Is anyone familiar with his work or how to contact him? On occasion, I get to that part of the country, so I might be able to return the instrument to its maker and see if he would put in that fret for me.
I have small hands for a man plus a deformed pinky on my fretting hand (left) and prefer 26.5 or less.
I usually use 26.5. I have a 22 1/4 that I play most of the time lately.
I've added frets to my dulcimers and some other folks dulcimers. So far the only difference I've noticed is in the appearance of the fret board, not in how they sound or look overall. All of them sound the same as they did before the added frets were installed. I don't play using a noter though and usully use hammer-on's instead of slides. So fo me adding frets is very much a personal preference. Besides you can always have some of each.😆
Just wondering, with all of the various sizes an styles of dulcimers out there, what is your favorite VSL / Finger Board length between bridge and nut?
I have been making 27 inchers and think I might try a 26.5 inch one on my new dulcimer (less finger stretching...)
Excellent point, Kevin. Also, McCoy Tyner (jazz pianist) wrote a piece "Mode for Dulcimer." In all the pictures I've been able to find of him playing a dulcimer it's one with no extra frets.
Mountain dulcimer for me is my newest instrument. Until then I played chromatic fretted instruments, guitar, banjo, mandolin, etc. So my first thought when I got a dulcimer was that I would not find much versatility with it and would eventually want extra frets added. But I've since come to the belief that it's diatonic for a reason. It's a, dare I say, "simple" folk instrument created to be played by anybody. Hence adding frets takes away from the simple folky charm of the instrument to the point where it won't be a dulcimer anymore. Mine has no added frets and I don't miss the "missing" frets. I work with it in the way it was intended as far as the fingerboard is concerned, capo, change tuning, etc. Just sayin'.
A week ago my rt hand thumb hurt so bad I couldn't play. It's mostly in the joint and meaty part of the thumb. I could not hold a pick. No, I do not have a death grip on the pick. So I did not play for about 5 days, did alternative heat and ice. It's only so-so. I play for maybe 10 minutes a day. But the thumb is still sore and I don't want to stress it anymore.
Anyone else have these issues and what suggestions do you have. Dulcinina
For the record, here's a top-side view of the dulcimer. I have no idea who built it, so if for some reason someone recognizes it, I'd appreciate a comment.
The yellow spots you see on the top side of the fretboard are tiny pieces of post-it notes I had in place at one point.
I prefer having a 1.5 and 6.5 fret but that's just me. But I will say that having someone other than the original builder might cause problems. Here's a close-up of the fretboard with fret 1 (left) and 1.5 (right). The other frets on the board resemble the fret on the left.
Another problem (perhaps) is that the luthier at the string shop said the 1.5 fret was installed too close to the 1 fret; it should have been closer to fret 2.
This thread is great! I can't wait to dig in!
