I recommended that Lisa might want to look at Feather dulcimers, which come in various smaller scale lengths and are sturdy enough to take camping etc. Again, all this is good info that can be found in our Fotmd's Little Dulcimers Group.
Folkcraft also makes a travel dulcimer, but they are expensive; $495.00. First Act dulcimers, as KenH mentioned, as of spotty quality. If you can find one, a little work and they can be made playable, although i don't think they are very sturdy.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I have retuned to DAa. Trying that out.
Lisa --
Like many things dulcimer, it depends... on what you consider "short" and "inexpensive". Personally I would not touch a First Act dulcimer. We'd had far too many reports here and elsewhere about poor fret spacing and shoddy workmanship making them mostly unplayable. Same thing with the Seagull Merlin stick instruments.
We seldom even think of dulcimer in terms of their overall length. But a 30" overall dulcimer will probably have a VSL of under 24". There are several that fit that size criteria including Dave Lynch's Travel Dulcimer at Sweetwoodsinstruments.com , David Beede's Eedy Beede model, and McSpadden's Ginger. But they are not "inexpensive", with prices from $225 to over $500.
Inexpensive but not short are the cardboard dulcimers, from a couple different makers, with about 27" VSLs and corregated bodies. Overall length perhaps 34". Priced from $75 to $90. They have superior fret spacing so you get good, clean notes, but are basically the same size as conventional dulcimers.
If you have relatively simple woodworking skills you can build a simple box dulcimer with any VSL you want for about $50 in materials -- two sides, two ends, top & bottom, staple frets and autoharp tuning pins. Although technically a zither, not a dulcimer, I am just about to start building one similar to the attached photo. It's going to be 24" overall, 4" wide, and about 1" deep, with a 20-22" VSL. I'm building it specifically to fit in a suitcase for upcoming trips to England and Scotland, where I've been asked to play and there are no available loner dulcimers.
Lisa, you wrote me privately for advice on this, so I gave you my personal opinions on it already. However, I'd encourage anyone interested in shorter dulcimers to join our Little Dulcimers Group and read some of the threads on it... lots of good info and recommendations, also @dusty-turtle posted a great list there comparing sizes and makes of short scale dulcimers!
-remember folks you need to JOIN a group in order to read all the replies to threads in the group, and see the comments.
Okay, I'm going to toss this out there.
I'm in an area where there's no dulcimers for sale. I'm looking at good used ones for at home, but is there an inexpensive one out there to take camping, or on a bike ride? I'm thinking around 30".
I know you get what you pay for, etc. I'm interested to hear about success stories for short, inexpensive models, something I won't get heartbroken over if it gets damaged, but is still playable. I'm interested in accurate fretting, as opposed to wonderful tone. I'll expect great tone from an expensive instrument.
An older Naylor Dulcimer factory? I've heard they had issues after the late 90's, but what of earlier models? I've even read a few good reviews for the First Act ones as a cheap travel dulcimer, as they were made from real wood, not plywood. Hondo?
Thanks, Lisa
We can continue discussing these current thread questions here in this thread (post on!), but I'd like to suggest that if anyone has additional NEW questions, that they create a new discussion in our Beginner Group with their new question in the title... if it's not directly related to the questions we're already discussing in this thread. I try to encourage folks to create a new thread if they have a question with entirely new subject matter. That way other folks can find the helpful info in the future if they do a site search for those terms. Thanks and carry on! 
If you're serious about wanting to learn to play Noter & Drone style, the Berea Traditional Dulcimer Gathering is just what the dulcimer doctor ordered! The Gathering focusses only on traditional dulcimers and dulcimer playing -- noter & drone or fingerdancing. As we say -- "no chord playing allowed" -- and 99% of the people who tune DAd play chord-melody style which is not traditional. Most traditional dulcimers were set up to play in DAA, Ddd or ddd -- or their other key equivalents. So, we are gently "discouraging" people who habitually tune DAd because the focus is going to be completely on Traditional dulcimers and dulcimer playing.
@ken-hulme , if you want to "gently discourage" someone, I suggest you try maybe using a slightly smaller sledgehammer. 
@pondoro asks: "Saw the info for the gathering in Berea, it seems DAd is not allowed? Should I learn DAa instead? How often do you all retune? Between songs in a set?" Pondoro, I think it's not so much that DAd is 'not allowed' at Berea. It's more that by being in DAA for noter style you'll be starting out in synch with almost all the other players there, you'll be able to follow the same TABS if tabs are used at all, and most importantly that DAA (1-5-5) tuning in noter style will give you more of the typical needed notes on your melody string to play the majority of simple traditional tunes likely to be played at that gathering. It'll make things way easier for you to pick up playing the tunes along with the other folks there. And since you will not be chording at Berea anyway, in switching from DAd to DAA you won't need to learn a new bunch of 'chord fingerings' anyhow. It'll be pretty easy, especially if you learn two or three super 'easy-peazy' noter style tunes in DAA before going there... like Go Tell Aunt Rhody. Try tuning to DAA and playing the TAB for Rhody HERE . Here's another very simple beginner DAA tab for a real fun traditional song to play and sing: " Single Girl, Married Girl ".
Working through those two tabs alone in DAA will really get you your sea legs for Berea, Pondoro. 
And HERE is a very simple explanation as to why DAA tuning may be actually easier than DAd when playing in noter style.
Lastly, don't worry nobody's going to want to retune after every other song at Berea. That'd be too much work and nobody's getting any younger...hahahah! Seriously though- most likely they'll play a whole bunch of tunes in DAA before making a switch to perhaps DAC to play a bunch of lonesome sounding tunes for a while. Everyone there will help and encourage you, and it'll be easier and more fun than you might think!
DAd tuning Bonus : Here's a traditional song with TAB and fun lyrics that is in mixolydian mode (so it uses the 6 fret and not the 6.5 fret), so if you want you can play it noter style in DAd tuning with the 'home' note on the open string. Here I tabbed it in a reverse tuning in the key of G, but my TAB numbers will work just exactly the same and you'll have all the notes you need right on the melody string if played in DAd tuning: Oh My Little Darlin' .
Hope this helps!
Looking at dowel selections at HomeDepot, Lowe's, and my local True Value hardware stores, I see of dowels made variously from oak, maple, and poplar. All those are considered hardwoods. Lots of folks don't want softwood dowels for their fine wood projects. Sometimes there are pine dowels offered too, but those are softwood and not what you'd want for a noter. If you're not sure you can ask the sales person to make sure the dowel is from hardwood, but most decent sized hardware stores do carry some hardwood dowels. In a pinch, people sometimes even use popsicle sticks, which are made from birch (another hardwood, but it's cut thin so may not last very long). 
Irene -- sounds like your friend got a great dulcimer, and maybe not such good advice from her local club. You should encourage her to set the dulcimer back up as a 6 string; and encourage her to learn to play in other tunings beside DAd. Playing noter & drone style in DAd on a dulcimer with a 6+ fret does not give the player the same advantage as it does chord-melody players, plain and simple. I played noter & drone on a six string (no 6+ fret) for a number of years, and it gives you a GREAT sound (but needs a bit more care because you have to fret two strings not just one).
String gauges -- as Ken Longfield says -- you MUST know the VSL to get the right string gauges. Then use the Strothers String Calculator. Packages of strings are sometimes labelled -- DAA or DAd -- and they'll be close for most VSLs between 25 and 27", but not necessarily right. If she buys packages of strings, she should get 2 packages and replace ALL the strings (one at a time -- never take off all the strings at once).
Send your friend a copy of my I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? article.
Pondoro -- As Ken Longfield said, you can play noter & drone in any tuning with any dulcimer. But the vast majority of tunes out there in Dulcimer Land do not require the flatted 7th note which is what distinguishes DAd from other tunings. DAd tuning with a 6+ fret does not give a noter & drone player any advantage the way it does modern chord-melody players.
If you're serious about wanting to learn to play Noter & Drone style, the Berea Traditional Dulcimer Gathering is just what the dulcimer doctor ordered! The Gathering focusses only on traditional dulcimers and dulcimer playing -- noter & drone or fingerdancing. As we say -- "no chord playing allowed" -- and 99% of the people who tune DAd play chord-melody style which is not traditional. Most traditional dulcimers were set up to play in DAA, Ddd or ddd -- or their other key equivalents. So, we are gently "discouraging" people who habitually tune DAd because the focus is going to be completely on Traditional dulcimers and dulcimer playing.
As a noter & drone player you're going to want to learn to play in ALL the common Modes (Ionian, Dorian, Aeolian & Mixolydian) and Modal Tunings; and maybe other as well. N&D players re-tune frequently (it's only 1 string that is re-tuned after all; and only takes seconds). Many of us play a set of tunes in a given tuning, then switch and play a set in another tuning.
As far as noters -- I recommend to my students that they use a hard wood stick ( not a hardware store dowel) about the same diameter as their Index finger -- 3/8" to 1/2" or a bit more. I make a lot of noters from "pen blanks" that I buy online, and they are 4-5" long -- a comfortable grip for most hands. The harder the wood, the better. River cane Bamboo makes great noters. Here's a link to my Noter & Drone article/booklet called Get Noterized .
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/2317/ken-hulmes-get-noterized-article
When Susan got this beautiful dulcimer, her son found it at an Estate Sale, it was sooooooooo beautiful and made with great care. SUCH A DEAL....$150.00. I estimate it's worth to be about $600.00 plus. She had the right strings on it then. She moved to Arkansas and got in with a group (a great group, I'm sure) that only did DAD tuning. She was told to take off a string on each set, and she learned the chords and can keep up with the group....but when she played at home, didn't like the sound 1/2 as much. I think she didn't get the right set of strings when she replaced the strings. They were not an octave apart as suggested Ken...So I'll text her and ask the VSL and then she should be able to string it up. Her sweet husband strung it last. What I was wondering also would be if anyone knew of any dulcimer club there in San Antonio and via that...............someone could give her advice and or sting it up right with the right set of strings. I bet if she went to a music store there, she'd get some help as well. I'll get back with you on the VSL. thanks soooooooooo very much, aloha, irene
Irene, before recommending string gauges, we should know the vibrating string length of the dulcimer and whether the strings are in unison pairs or octave pairs. your friend could also use the Strother's string gauge calculator to determine what strings she needs. http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I have a "fairly newbie" QUESTION for my newbie friend that took her dulcimer to San Antonio and wants to know if there are any dulcimer folks there? She will be there for one week, and her dulcimer needs the right gage of strings. She has a 6 string one and loves to play noter drone style. I told her tonight that I'll post this question to my friends here. I check daily sometimes twice daily, so I'll be a looking. THANKS. aloha, irene
I just checked the notice for the Berea gathering. While DAd is not mentioned as tuning, some folks use it even for noter playing. One of the reasons that it is not used much is because you often need to go over to the middle string to get some of the notes for the melody which can be awkward. It is much easier to use a 1 - 5 - 5 tuning as you seldom have to go over to the center string for melody.
Now to answer your question about noter length. When I first started playing I used a noter about 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. Now I tend to use ones from 4 to 5 inches and 3/8th to a half inch thick.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
OK, got my dulcimer. Rearranged the strings because the prior owner had gotten them switched up. Tuned it DAd. I'm leaning towards noter and a pick, versus chording, at first.
I don't have a noter, but I can make one. Could one or more of you lay a favorite noter next to a 12 inch ruler and post a picture? I've got lots of wood.
I started noting with a 4 inch by 0.375 inch dowel and learned that it is really easy to make unwanted glissando effects. Is there a trick to avoid that?
Saw the info for the gathering in Berea, it seems DAd is not allowed? Should I learn DAa instead? How often do you all retune? Between songs in a set?
Thanks!!
Strings are strings -- as long as the gauge is right.
Lisa -- secret to not breaking strings when tuning is to always tune a "singing" string. Hold the tuner knob you think is the right one. Pluck the string and turn it 1/4 turn. If the singing string does not change pitch -- STOP -- you have the wrong tuner.
LOL! Ken, the secret to not breaking strings is not trying to tune it up five notes higher then it should be! Unfortunately, I got the last pack of strings from the music store, so if I keep experimenting, I’m going to have to resort to banjo strings until they get some real dulcimer strings back in stock.
Lisa
Hi @dtortorich ,
Since this is a discussion called "Introduce Yourself", most members don't think to read it in order to answer questions. If you have specific questions about music and/or dulcimers, you'll greatly improve your chances of getting helpful answers if you create a new discussion in the General forum that has a title related to your question , such as maybe "Good medleys of Christmas Carols?", "Pickling Pickled Peppers song?", etc. When members see a new discussion like that, they'll often go read it and respond in that discussion if they know answers.
When you click the top link to "Forums", you can then click on the General dulcimer/music forum.... once there, click the "+" Plus button to create a NEW discussion with your question and your own thread title.
Thanks and welcome to FOTMD! 
I think mountain dulcimer can be an acquired taste. I've forced my husband to acquire a taste. 
Thanks for my laugh of the day, Robin! 
Irene....all i can say is wow. Wonderful and amazing little peek into your music playing life. 
And.. 14? You go, girl.
Lisa -- secret to not breaking strings when tuning is to always tune a "singing" string. Hold the tuner knob you think is the right one. Pluck the string and turn it 1/4 turn. If the singing string does not change pitch -- STOP -- you have the wrong tuner.
Does anyone know if Randy W is still around? Even if his book is now out of print, perhaps if he knew folks were looking for them, he'd be willing to zerox a handful of copies for people, for a reasonable price of course.
Hey @Maddie-Myers ! , Like Dusty, I've been after that book for ages too!. I did Renaissance and Baroque dance for 20 years, and love Early Music. I've been trawling around searching for it..I wish I'd thought to ask here ..and there's been a copy here in Oz all the time
..
Lucky you Dusty ...
Thanks for all the kind words!
Susie, I would love to go the Evart, but someone else already requested that weekend off. I’ll have to ask, since generally, only one of us are allowed vacation at a time.
I’ve read your pdf’s Ken, every helpful to a newbie like me, thanks!
It’s going to be a while before I play any events, though I could see how dulcimer music would be really nice during our tree lighting/rememberance ceremony.
On another note, I got my second-hand cardboard dulcimer today, three days earlier then expected! I’m going to have fun with it this weekend. I already managed to break one string trying different tunings, lucky I bought a pack on my way home. DAc sounds pretty cool, I really dig it, though I better stick with DAa for now.
Anyhooo, it’s an ugly cuss, painted brown cardboard, the neck is pretty rough cut with no strum area scooped out, but the fretting is pretty good according to my tuner, so that’s all that matters right now. There is no fretboard, it’s just a plank with frets pressed into it. I guess I’ll name it Plank. It’s a lot of fun, and my dogs enjoy it a lot more than my penny whistles. Probably the best 27 bucks I spent in a long time.
I don’t know if I’d bother putting this neck on a better body, but who knows, I’ve got cigar boxes laying around, and a huge exotic wood warehouse is a few blocks from where I work, Bell Forest Products. They have instrument quality fretboard wood and neck wood all ready to go. They also got this huge pile of the coolest scrap wood they sell by the pound, so I might go crazy and try to make a proper box body for Plank and shoot some roofing staples under the melody string to get some of the frets it’s missing (no 6.5 fret). I certainly can’t make a worse box than the cardboard box it’s currently made from.
I’m already very fond of Plank, I think a box upgrade is in the future.
Enjoy your weekend, Lisa
I play a lot of instruments as I wanted to teach our children the joy of knowing many instruments and we did a lot of caroling at Christmas time. So when I got the dulcimer over 30 years ago, I got Jean Richie's book and one night I thought I was doing really well, and played for almost 2 hours....then I got this shout out from my husband in the bedroom, "LEARN ANOTHER INSTRUMENT!" I still laugh at that one. I found the remedy for that scene. I brought home a very old autoharp (it had typewriter keys) and he picked it up as if he played it for years. I bought him a new autoharp. We began playing together and that changed everything on him liking or disliking the dulcimer sound. However, he doesn't like the minor keys. Polynesians don't do a lot of minor songs....almost none for the Tongans. We play our music daily. He's taught me to play by ear by him choosing the songs 1/2 the time. It is such a JOY to play music with each other. I posted on this site in one of the other discussions of our family playing for a little T.V. show with 8 of our 14 children 30 years ago in Hawaii. It's on youtube somewhere. ha.
I'm ate-up by mountain dulcimer. My husband is ate-up by guitar. I think mountain dulcimer can be an acquired taste. I've forced my husband to acquire a taste.
Almost every day, I am sitting playing the dulcimer and my wife smiles lovingly and then closes the door to whatever room I am in. I get the hint.
My wife didn't mind the dulcimer, but when I got a bowed psaltery....
That’s how my wife described my dulcimer playing earlier this week. I am a beginner, and I only began playing about a month ago. That was the first time she had heard me play the dulcimer. I have been waiting until she goes to bed to play, so as not to bother her.
Later that evening, I asked her what she meant by that. She said she didn’t mean it in a bad way, but that “it was really different than your guitar”.
How did your spouse/significant other react when they first heard you playing?
Here is a link if anyone wants to leave a tribute to Mike: https://www.nelsonfrazierfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Michael-Stephen-Slone?obId=3981475#/celebrationWall
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hello, Lisa. And, again, welcome to FOTMD. Looks like we have something else in common besides Marquette; I was a hospice chaplain for 28 years. I played my dulcimer for patients and for staff/volunteers. I played for our annual volunteer banquet, for our annual memorial service, and our annual tree lighting. The dulcimer is a good instrument for help in decompressing. Enjoy it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hi Lisa, I'm in Gaylord. If you ever have the time, you should consider attending the Evart Dulcimer Fest (ODPC Funfest) in July. It is full of workshops for all levels and all instruments. I offered to meet another new player there many years ago, to help her along, and now we are great friends. If you choose to go, my sister and I will be there this year. BTW, I'm about your age, I'm 55. I play many instruments, including the Native American Flute. There are usually several workshops for NAF at Evart too. If you have questions, feel free to PM me.
Hi Lisa; Welcome to the wacky world of dulcimers. I think you're going to fit right in! A Cardboard dulcimer is a good, inexpensive place to start -- the frets are accurately place which means the notes are true. Later, if you like, you can have a wooden body made (or make it yourself) and put the fretboard from your cardboard dulcimer on new body. I did that recently for a student of mine, and it was pretty inexpensive to do.
Here's a link to an article I wrote several years ago, called I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon) plus answers to many beginner questions about the tuning, playing, care and feeding of your new friend. Good reading while you wait for your dulcimer to arrive...
https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/2316/ken-hulmes-i-just-got-a-dulcimer-now-what-article
What a great Mike Slone story! His personality comes shining through his words. It would do us well to read this! Thanks for sharing, Robin!
