Thanks, Ivan. That eliminates the Korg CA-1 as a possible suspect (or purchase).
Ivan Bradley said:
In reply to folkfan, I have a Korg CA-1 and, no, it doesn't show the octave reference for the note.
Never had a tuning fork, but still have the pitch pipe that I had to have for my college music theory class. Never could get it to register correctly as I tend to be a blow hard type. 
The tin or penny whistle was an instrument I tried to play once upon a time and had trouble getting the right notes on it too. And there is the added disadvantage in that I couldn't sing while playing it. So I could never remember the tune I wanted to play. 
Robin Clark said:
BTW - whatever happened to tuning forks 
In reply to folkfan, I have a Korg CA-1 and, no, it doesn't show the octave reference for the note.
Looks like folks could have a whale of a time with this and be doing it on porpoise, including bass and drum players.
I have a Peterson Flip[per], it's nice but pretty sensitive. Also, it's better for the shop because it'skind of big.
Ken has been a victim of body snatching. The soul of Shecky Green now inhabits his corpse.
Just remember, you can tune a piano, but you can't tuna fish.
Oh look at me; I'm fishin' for a joke and I'm flounderin'.
But every sole in heaven believes in cod.
Don't blame me; Ken started it.
Those are Tuna Forks, Robin, used when one eats Tuna, not Tuning. With Tuning you use chopsticks, of course.
Electronic tuners are a great help. Particularly those that work on vibration as they are a Godsend on stage or in pub sessions. But most of them are not key accurate (some of the Paterson tuners have settings for various keys) and therefore on many key tuned instruments the tuners are off-pitch beyond the root note. I would suggest tuning the fretted root note on the melody string with your tuner and then tuning the other strings by ear from that note. You can use a tuner to get close but the final tweek really needs to be by ear.
I had a fun tuning 'moment' at a gig yesterday. Nick asked for a C chord to tune his guitar to before kicking off on a bluegrass tune. So I played the chord on my dobro for him, which of course doesn't have any frets at all
BTW - whatever happened to tuning forks
I, too have a Seiko SAT 501. Yes, I like the "cents off" feature, too, and it does differentiate the exact pitch of notes spanning the entire 88 keys of the piano. I can't remember what I paid, but I think it was about $20.
Skip, It isn't the Korg-OT-120 or a Peterson. The name Peterson didn't ring a bell at all with my poor old wandering brain.
Ken, I like the cents off feature on the Seiko SAT501 and I'll have to see about that.
Does anyone have a Korg CA1? And if you do, does it show the number for the octave. All the pictures I've seen of the screen on the CA-1 simply shows an A, but not it's position as A1, A2, etc. The Korg GA1 for guitars seems to be pictured showing the octave number.
FF I bought one recently, a Seiko SAT501. I think I paid $16 for mine before shipping, although you'll see them listed for over $25. Check Ebay and Amazon. I like this one because it not only shows you which octave, but has an audio signal as well.
This it? Peterson makes one also.
http://www.amazon.com/Korg-OT-120-Octave-Chromatic-Orchestral/dp/B0...
Recently at a festival, I was helping a young boy tune his new instrument. He'd had a really nice tuner, but I didn't write the company's name down. I think it was Korg, but can't remember. What I liked about this tuner is that it gave a pitch reference. Instead of just listing D, it gave D3, D4, A3, A4, etc and it was chromatic. Does anyone have a similar tuner??? All of mine, new and old, including the Korg CA-30 just say A,B,C,D,E, etc.
So I've go a tuner that knows is ABC's, now I want one that counts, too. 
Sorry john, I should have said so!! I have of course used other types of finish on instruments over the years (egg whites?) but seem to have settled on the method I have described for its speed, ease in use, and a finish which goes on improving as it ages. You have handled some of the results!
best wishes
John
(was that bookshop signing story true...........?)
Exactly what I would do Lottie ! More power to yer elbow !
John
Lottie Miller said:
You could always use one or two coats of shellac, to seal the wood, rub it down with wire wool and use a wax as a finish it will have a smooth, matte sort of finish. This is my first one though, but I've used beeswax on other wood projects in the past and it had lovely results, a really subtle lustre, and it smelled good too.
john p said:I've got one to do at the moment.
Flame Maple (Like the one in the FOTMD banner), bare wood.
Any reccommendations ?
I'm not keen on very shiney finishes so french polish is out.
I've used Tung/Danish oil before, which is semi gloss. It's not as labourious as French polish, but can take a fortnight to complete.john p
Ken Hulme said:
"Suitable preparation" - hire three guys at 50 pounds per hour, eight hour minimum.
I like tung oil as a non-glossary finish - takes about 4-5 coats over a day or two.....
Ken, if that is a serious comment, you must have more money than I had thought!!! Sorta like me getting in three guys to cook me up a B- be- Q ??? Surely suitable preparation must be something that is as applicable to cooking as to anything that requires a certain outcome ?' Horses for courses I suppose, but after a long time of working and finishing wood I am always ready to concede when someone can offer a better method than the one I am used to ?
My regards
JohnH
john, if you still have 'ripple marks' from planer or whatever, no matter what you put 'on top', they are still there ? 'Sand and Seal' describes a process exactly, get rid of surface imperfections (sand) and then (seal) to provide an impervious surface. Easy to describe and easy to execute, IMO ?
John
john p said:
Thanks both, I'll look into that.
I don't like the way you put suitable preparation in italics John Henry, whats involved here.
Never come across 'sand and seal', is it the same sort of thing as button polish ?
john p
After suitable preparation , two or three coats of 'Sand and Seal' ( shellac based) , light rub with 0000 grade wire wool between coats to remove nibs, use the same used wire wool to apply a good qualitiy paste wax, buff with soft duster, and repeat until desired finish is achieved. Almost instant, more or less fool proof, (depending on the care exercised during preparation), almost instantly renewable, and completly natural looking , IMO ! ( I use 'Liberon products)
JohnH
I've got one to do at the moment.
Flame Maple (Like the one in the FOTMD banner), bare wood.
Any reccommendations ?
I'm not keen on very shiney finishes so french polish is out.
I've used Tung/Danish oil before, which is semi gloss. It's not as labourious as French polish, but can take a fortnight to complete.
john p
Many years ago I worked for a High Class Joinery firm which employed a dozen or so men in its polishing shop, all of whom, having worked at their chosen craft for many years, showed distinct signs of acholisim !!! Meth based finishing products, and no real concern by the firm concerned for basic Health and Safety ! Out of interest Lottie, what is the trade name of the 'ready to use' product ?
JohnH
Ken Hulme said:
French polish? You are as sucker for punishment, aren't you! That's a lot of work! Good luck. Most of us just paint on a couple coats of something and call it good.
Advice - find some location that is as lint/dust/everything free as possible that has superior ventilation so you aren't inhaling too much shellac aroma.
French polish? You are as sucker for punishment, aren't you! That's a lot of work! Good luck. Most of us just paint on a couple coats of something and call it good.
Advice - find some location that is as lint/dust/everything free as possible that has superior ventilation so you aren't inhaling too much shellac aroma.
John
You wanted to play a particular piece of music in dulcimer tab form. It's for DAD tuning.
Try the attached. It's set out complete, twice through. First time is single note melody only. Second time is arranged for playing right the way across the fretboard, some simple, some more complex arrangements - play around with it depending on your stage of dulcimer development!
If you're not familiar with Tab or are confused by any of it, drop me a line.
Enjoy!
Geoff
For the record, I agree with Ken, re tuning has advantages for the player. It helps make the differences in modes much clearer. From posts I've read, I am sure that very few dulcimer players have a good understanding of modes. A lot of the confusion stems from using one tuning, capos, and extra frets to bypass the use of other tunings. When you find a way to duck the tuning issue, you never learn what the tunings have to teach you.
OK, no more soap box. Transposing from DAA to DAD may work if you have a 6+ fret. If you don't, you will find you need the missing 6+ note for some songs. In these cases, a solution is to play the melody, as it's written in the DAA tab but play it on the middle string. Let the bass and melody strings drone. You can transpose by the method Ken gave above,but in some songs you will find you need to play some melody notes on the middle or bass string. If you truly want to stay in DAD, play the DAA music on the middle string. The down side to this is you probably can't use a noter, you will have to use your finger to fret the notes.
Paul
It's one of the Groups on this site, John. You can join it simply by looking it up here ( http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/mountaindulcimersintheuk ).
And Sally, as I explained, is part of the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club ( www.dulcimer.org.uk ). You can find her contact details there.
Best wishes
Hi John
Only just spotted this - why don't you join the UK chapter of FOMD? There's lot of us there, including not a few great teachers...
As Ken says, don't "transpose" DAA to DAD if it's just a melody line piece. If the piece uses chords, tell me what it is and the chances are I or one of my colleagues has it in DAD tab anyway. Just let us know!
All the best.
..and by the way you're not very far from one of the most active dulcimer groups, based in Redditch. Look up Sally Whytehead and the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club.
Not sure why anyone would want to "save re-tuning" (it's dead simple, only one string). But changing tab from DAA to DAd is easy-peasy John, as long as it's melody line tab. Chord-melody tab (showing notes fretted on all three strings) is a bit harder.
All you have to do is subtract 3 from each melody line number... and if the DAA tab has a fret 9 being played it becomes a 6+ in DAd, not a 6.
If however, you have chord-melody tab, you'll want to consult a Chord Wizard like the one at www.strothers.com
Cheryl, I havea few small dulcimers, including a baritone dulcimette by Ron Ewing, an Eedy Beede by David Beede, and a Youngster by Keith Young. Since, as Kristi says, Keith Young has passed away, you could only obtain one of those if someone were selling one. The other two I highly recommend, but you might have trouble getting either of those luthiers to finish one in time for this summer. It would be worth contacting them to find out, though.
There are lots of good small dulcimers, though. As folkfan suggest, Mike Clemmer makes a "sweetie" that must be wonderful since you never see anyone selling them used. Folkcraft now has a re-issue of the Folkroots Travel dulcimer. Lots of people love the McSpadden Ginger model. If I were to buy one new now, I might trythe Blue Lion soprano, though I've never heard one or heard anything about it. I could go on. But I won't. Instead I'll point you to the group I started called Little Dulcimers and the list I created there called The Little Dulcimers Little List which I think is a pretty comprehensive list of the small dulcimers that are regular parts of luthiers offerings.
http://sweetwoodsinstruments.com/specialties.htm
Sweet Woods Instruments has a very nice travel instrument. It has an adjusting feature that works well in taking humid to dry weather changes into consideration.
Hello folks! I may have to travel for work later this summer and was thinking about getting a dulcimer that would be easy to travel with. I saw the Folkcraft travel dulcimer and wondered if anyone had it and could recommend it or another brand/maker??
Thanks!
Cheryl
It sounds like you have standard planetary tuners, but you may have Keith tuners. Take a look here, and scroll down to the picture: http://www.folkofthewood.com/page2161.htm No banjo makers install them unless requested by the player, as they are VERY expensive, and unless you play the few songs that require them, you may not ever need their special capability. They were developed for changing the banjo from G tuning to D tuning while playing. The right hand keeps playing, while the left changes the tuning. The tuner is set beforehand by the player so it will only go so far in either direction. You tune the G string to G, set the upper limit knob so it can't go any higher, then tune the same string to F#, and set the lower knob so the string can't go below F#. You do the same for the B string, but the limits are B and A. I don't know of a banjo player having more than two of them, but it's possible. Watch this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0aYqshyDNrg Pay special attention to their left hands during the song, there's a good closeup at about 0:59. Earl Scruggs invented a low tech tuner in the 1950's to do this, and wrote a few songs that needed it. Bill Keith designed the higher tech model some years later, and still makes and sells them. I think they have a lifetime warranty for the original purchaser. If this is what you have, you need to find a banjo player who uses them to show you how to make them do what you need on a dulcimer. Since they are there, you may want to learn to use them. Once you know how to use them, you can use them like normal tuners, there's just some extra learning first.
If you have standard planetary tuners, set the screw in the knob for enough tension to hold the string in place, but not so much you have trouble tuning the string.
For those who may be wondering if Keith tuners are good to put on your dulcimer, they are reportedly very good tuners, but at the price of $220 per pair, I wouldn't recommend them on a dulcimer hoping to make retuning a little easier. They have to be set for specific tunings at the upper and lower limits, so you would have to loosen the set knobs for anything outside those limits. This would make retuning harder in some cases. If you set them to go from DAA to DAD and back, they would work well, IF they have enough range to go from A to D. I don't know if they have that much range, but if any one wants to try them, I would suggest contacting Bill Keith before buying them. $220 is a good start towards another dulcimer, which could be kept in another tuning. Re tuning ain't $220 worth of hard.
Paul
That's DAd... the D and A are from the same octave; the d is from the next higher octave. Tune the bass to D. Fret the bass string at the 4th fret and tune the middle drone to that note (A); fret the bass string at the 7th fret and tune the melody string to that note (d).
If you don't like the tightness of DAd, you might try tuning down to CGc... both Ionian Modal tunings, using the same tab, but key of C will have much less string tension. Getting correct gauge strings may also help. Time will help you develop calluses, but lowering that action is the best all around cure.
