I hear many names of dulcimer builders. I have three dulcimers; all from Cedar Creek Dulcimers. Two are backpackers and the other their answer to McSpadden's Ginger.
I never hear any comments on Cedar Creek. As a beginner and certainly not a trained musician I may be a poor one to judge but I really like all three.
Just wondering.
One reason for letting instruments acclimate to their environment before opening is that with gloss finishes they will craze when subject to rapid changes in temperature. This is much more likely to happen than a problem with the wood. Temperature and humidity will effect wood expansion and contraction and glue joints. The use of modern glues has pretty much eliminated the glue joint problem. It is always better to err on the side of caution than to be eager and sorry.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Some instrument dealers actually put instruction stickers (I'm thinking Elderly and Sweetwater) on the shipping box imploring you not to open the box for several hours during cold weather. After seeing all the remarkable changes that can happen to wood even in a stable home environment, I've decided to believe them. It's tough not to let your curiosity get the best of you, but since your instrument may have traveled through so many different environments before it got to you, I think it's worth letting it adjust to it's new home.
Barb
I have a Blevins large bass or something kind of dulcimer. It has wooden tuning pegs. Pretty amazing instrument.
No date or anything else. Mysterious!
Is there, by any chance, a date on the label?
I bought a used Dulcimer and can't find out anything about it on google or this group search. Inside it says:
The Original Mountain Music Dulcimer, Another hand crafted product of MUSIC CRAFTS of California, Los Gatos, CA 95030
Just purchased from a friend - made October 25, 1974 - Capritaurus model 300 Special. Spruce top, rosewood body, ebony fretboard. It's in mint condition. Super happy!!!
Barbara, my baritone dulcimette is about 28.5" long and 7" wide at its widest along the lower bout. If your local music store is worth anything, they might be able to order a viola case from one of their suppliers. You could then bring in your Ginger and determine whether it would fit or not. If not, they should be able to return it no problem. It's worth talking to them.
You will have to adjust the inside of the case to adapt it to the dulcimer, but you should be able to see how to do that when you see them both together.
Very cool photo, Charles. I was going to say something similar to Strumelia's comment (though I certainly couldn't identify the date of the photo by the clothing -- wow!. Bluegrass was invented in the 1950s, so these guys were some kind of string band. Think of Charlie Poole and the North Carolina Ramblers, although that trio used a banjo instead of a mandolin.
If you want to hear what they might have sounded like, Columbia Records put out a 2 CD compilation of stuff that was originally released on old 78s from the mid 20s to the mid 30s. The CD is called White Country Blues. I highly recommend it.
Thanks for the tips, Dusty, and for the picture of your viola case adapted for a dulcimer. It looks like neither bout of the Ginger would be wider than the widest part of the Ewing baritone. The measurements of my instrument are length= 29 5/8 inches + 3/8 inch for the strap button, 5 3/8 " for the upper bout and 7 1/8" for the lower bout. The only music store here in Juneau is definitely a guitar and ukulele shop, mostly staffed by wannabe rock musicians; however we do have a symphony orchestra and a junior symphony. I will call the arts council on Monday and see if I can hook up with a viola player through them. If that doesn't work, I will see how I can do with the measurements and visuals and order something through Amazon. I hope to get a case ready before heading the the Menucah festival in Oregon in April. Thank you for the helpful advice.
Barbara Berg
Juneau, Alaska
"Music brings a warm glow to my vision, thawing mind and muscle from their endless wintering." --Haruki Murakami
Yep, I was going to say Albert Hoffman as well, without seeing the other replies.
Charles, I think this is between 1925-1935 judging from the collars and clothes and the photo itself.
There was no bluegrass yet, but maybe they were doing some country/hillbilly/fiddle style stringband stuff of the time- it was popular on 78 rpm records. Also Jimmy Rodgers was big- 'blue yodeler'/country railroad blues.
Neat photo of the trio, Charles! I agree with Robin...it looks to me like Albert (?) Hoffman.
I agree with the Hoffman part. Could be Albert.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings sweet song."
I took a look-- looks like Albert Hoffman to me.
You've got a great photo, Charles-- a treasure!
Thanks, Ken! I couldn't make out the first part, but it looked like on the second part a capital S and maybe a T or L and then Affman. It's not a name I recognize from my family, but the mandolin player looks like my brother.
Like John said, i would advise them to let them acclimate to room temperature before opening if they are coming out of a UPS, FedEx, or post office truck. I picked up a ukulele I ordered at the post office this morning and opened it right away when I got home. I reasoned that it had been in the heated post office for about 4 1/2 hours and I carried it to my parked truck (about 30 seconds in the cold) which was warm and drove home (about two minutes) pulled in to the garage. I then walked to the house (about 30 seconds) and then went inside. I placed the box on the table, heated a cup of coffee in the microwave and then opened the package. No problem.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That's a good looking group of fellows. I couldn't make out writing, so I'll take your word for it. Thanks for sharing this unique find.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
This old photo hangs on my "studio" wall. I found it in an old shoe box of family photos. It looks like it was taken in the 1930's, by a pro ( it's mounted on cardstock with decorative borders ). They look like a bluegrass trio with a fiddle, mandolin and guitar. The only other information is written in pencil on the back. I can't quite make out what it says..."Staffman" maybe? I think it's a cool photo and it inspires me.
Matt, I mention the following to my customers who buy one of my dulcimers in the wintertime:
I tell them to bring the box into their house, but NOT TO OPEN IT for an hour or so! I know it's agony to be so close to enjoying a new instrument, but it will be worth it. There is a real danger of thermal shock occurring if a cold wooden instrument is suddenly subjected to warm temperatures. I don't know of any breakages so far, but I've experienced the heartbreak of seeing the fine lacquer finish of a Warren May poplar dulcimer CRAZE in front of my eyes when I took it out of its cold box too soon. It looked like the surface of old china, with fine cracks all over it. It's difficult to repair the finish.
Two people were kind enough to purchase instruments from my Etsy site during the recent cold snap. I messaged them that I would hold on shipping until the cold broke as I was concerned that the instruments may become brittle and break in the cold.
This was as much fear as knowledge.
Does anyone have experience with having instruments break during shipping due to cold weather?
Thanks, I did contact him and he wrote back, and shared an interview that had been published.
@Victorsings, I think I remember reading somewhere that Larry Barringer turned his luthier business over to Terry McCafferty, who is currently making excellent dulcimers out of Houston. You might consider contacting Terry.
Wow, thanks Don! Glad you liked this episode!
I just joined this group. I am a multi-instrumentalist and singer/songwriter living in Bend, Oregon. I just bought a Larry Barringer dulcimer made in 3/92 for $100 from a local thrift store. It's in beautiful shape and has a flower carved scroll. From what I have been able to gather from searching online, he was a well-known dulcimer luthier based in Texas.
I'm just interested in learning more about him, who he was, his instruments, etc...
Thanks!
Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 40
The Orchestral Dulcimer
In this episode we feature Oregon-based composer and conductor Mark Steighner, who has written two concertos for the mountain dulcimer. We’re also featuring Stephen Seifert, who performed both of Mark’s concertos as the dulcimer soloist.
Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast can be found on most podcast apps.
Here's the link to Hearts of the Dulcimer on iTunes: http://bit.ly/hotdpodcast
Don't use a podcast app or iTunes? You can listen to all the podcast episodes directly on our website: http://dulcimuse.com/podcast
We also have a resource page for every episode, where you can find photos, videos, and song lists. Here's the resource page for this episode: http://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/040.html
Hi Barbara. I used a viola case for my baritone dulcimette by Ron Ewing. It is about the same length as a Ginger. You can see a picture here . I just cut away the part of the case that holds up the neck. I didn't do a particularly good job, but the case works really well. It's small enough to easily fit in the overhead compartment of airplanes and the hardshell case offers peace of mind.
I suggest taking your Ginger into a music store, not a Guitar Center but a store that deals with a variety of instruments such as those that serve school orchestras. The will have lots of types of cases to check out.
There are also gun cases with customizable foam that could be form fitted around your dulcimer, but TSA would definitely notice those!
I have been playing a McSpadden Ginger for five years, and I love it. It fits my small hands perfectly and has a wonderful sound. When I need to fly with it, a necessity when I go to a festival or event in the "Lower 48,"(I live in Alaska) I am very nervous about guarding it in the overhead bins. I would really like to find a rigid case for it. I called McSpadden hoping that they would know of a hard-sided case that would fit, but they did not. I would prefer finding a case that was obviously for a musical instrument in order to avoid endless explanations with the airlines and TSA. I am also not eager to use a homemade wooden case that would be unwieldy to carry through airports. Somewhere I read that a standard viola case would fit a short-scale mountain dulcimer if the padding inside were modified to a dulcimer shape. Has anyone else tried this?
If Ken's method does not work, though I suspect it will work very well............I have used mineral spirits dabbed on and allowed to dry on grease stained antiques and other woodworkers have warmed grease spots with a hair dryer and allowed fullers earth also warmed to sit on the spot overnight and absorb the oil residue.
You might try ironing out any remaining cheesiness... put down a soft cloth or even a double layer of paper towel. Place it over the spot and iron on medium heat. that should make any grease rise into the cloth or paper towel. After that, then tung oil should be the perfect finish. I finish almost all my instruments with tung oil; I like the satin finish you get after about 4 coats.
Hi, Ken. The spot is about 1/4” in diameter. It’s grease from melted cheese. I sanded most of it out. I plan on using tung oil to finish.
How big is the speck?
What kind of 'kitchen grease" (bacon fat, vegetable oil, butter or margarine, etc)?
How do you intend to finish the fretboard when you're done -- varnish, tung oil, urethane, boiled linseed oil, etc??
Um... that will actually become rancid. I would suggest not.
How big is the speck?
What kind of 'kitchen grease" (bacon fat, vegetable oil, butter or margarine, etc)?
How do you intend to finish the fretboard when you're done -- varnish, tung oil, urethane, boiled linseed oil, etc??
I have a question for you builders. I’m building a dulcimer on my kitchen table and a speck of grease splashed onto my fret board. Is there any way to get a greasy spot off of walnut?
