You got a great find there.....Dave. This will be a big learning time for you and you'll be glad you bought that dulcimer. I'm interested in what those "fine tuners" are and how they work. The notches at the nut side are for putting the strings in different places to what you're used to. nice choice for a builder to make. aloha, irene
Hi. I just bought this instrument and had some questions. It's a Keith Young #545, made in Nov 1980. It looks like solid cherry. Thought maybe someone who is familiar with these could help me out. I've attached some pictures.
What strings should I use?
There are only two fine tuners on the instrument. I have some old cherry stashed away and I think I can recreate them, but were there originally one for each string?
The bridge floats. I assume it was built that way? (I find no evidence of glue).
One of the sides appears to separating from the bottom just a hair toward the base. Any reason not to just leave this alone for now?
The finish has what appear to be water spots. Not sure of the original finish, but the instrument feels 'dry' like maybe it was an oil finish. I'm pretty good with leaving the finish as is, but can I safely clean it, and if so, what with?
There a multiple notches for the strings at both the nut and the bridge. The setup for a four string is pretty easy to see, but why the other notches?
Thanks in advance for any help and advice.
Welcome Pondoro. You will find many new friends here. While this is a dulcimer forum, there are many who play ukulele and harmonica. Bodhran? Now you lost me. I'll have to Google it.
5 min later: Now I know. A one sided shallow drum. Interesting.
Hi Pondoro. I envy your years of bodhran lessons! There are several instruments I yearn to play well... but alas I'd need three lifetimes to do so. 
How sweet that your wife is encouraging your music adventures! I hope you enjoy it here on FOTMD.
Hi, I've played the harmonica for 45 years or so, the ukulele for twelve, and the bodhrán for three. I've actually taken lessons for three years on the bodhrán. Anyway I want to play an old time American instrument and my wife is funding a mountain dulcimer for Christmas. So I'll soon be trying my hand on that. I like pretty much all music, but I'm looking forward to old time folk tunes and Christmas songs on my dulcimer.
I think you're probably right, Strumelia. ED had a list of dulcimer clubs and instructors and other resources and gave the appearance of being comprehensive. I will be forever grateful to ED for introducing me to the dulcimer and allowing me to ask all sorts of (what now seem to be ) ridiculous beginner questions. However, I found some of the resources there outdated. When I searched for local dulcimer groups I found about 5, all of which had be defunct for years. I hope these new resources will be kept more updated.
I was thinking Big Data is as dizzying as Big Mon .
What a cool poster! I'm wearing one of my HOTD tee-shirts even now. :)
And here it is! I love it. I don't wear t-shirts with designs on the front so it was wonderful that you made this into a poster. I haven't hung it yet. Looking for a special place.
I think the demise of everythingdulcimer site may have had something to do with people feeling inspired to create new sites to house Tab collections, event calendars, club lists, teachers, etc... perhaps to help fill in the gaps that ED left behind. It's admirable that people are doing this. But it's no easy task, for sure!
Unfortunately, there's little money to be made from dulcimer sites in general. And running sites of any kind efficiently requires regular input of time, effort, and maintenance.
I've always liked to make FOTMD to be more of a social friends network, with discussions, groups, videos, audios, photos, and messaging. Not so much an archive for databases of information, or tab. In fact (unlike on ED, which did not offer video/audio/photo sections), I periodically delete members who are long inactive, along with all their site content. I want to keep things 'in the now', and I try to avoid accumulating a monumental amount of old information and multimedia files. This trimming keeps the site reasonably manageable in scope for me.
That's interesting that McSpadden is actually reaching and soliciting such information, Dusty. "Big Data"... is that anything like Big Scioti ? lolol
Stephen, I only learned about Eulberg's site when I asked him if I could list the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering on your site. I had no idea either.
Perhaps at some point you two could indeed coordinate the two sites somehow. And Steve E. does not include regular dulcimer groups, so perhaps the two lists can fulfill different purposes.
I recently received an unsolicited email from McSpadden checking on the details of my local group for some kind of database they are gathering. I guess lots of folks are trying to create big data on the dulcimer world.
I just learned that Steve Eulberg maintains a list of dulcimer concerts, workshops, and festivals at Dulcimer Crossing. The link is https://dulcimercrossing.com/dc_events.html .
I like that you can SORT that list by the column heads, like by State... or by start date. Seems like it has a lot of entries.
It's difficult when events don't have a way of very quickly seeing their location. (like if it's in the small print, OR if the poster only puts the local city or town...like we know where that is, lol)
I just learned that Steve Eulberg maintains a list of dulcimer concerts, workshops, and festivals at Dulcimer Crossing. The link is https://dulcimercrossing.com/dc_events.html .
There are a lot of great people here that will help you!
You are beginning a wonderful journey! Have fun!
Sheryl,
Glad you like the Kandinsky Dulcimer poster! Would love to see a photo of it framed! :-)
Just received my poster from Dulcimuse. I can't wait to frame it! So much more vibrant than I expected. Thank you!
@fredr Welcome! There's lots to see and hear-- enjoy exploring FOTMD!
Hi Everyone I am new to the group and also to the Mountain Dulcimer. Saw and heard my first one in July last year, the memory stuck. So a year later I Found a new to me McSpadden and here we go! I have never played an instrament before and there isn't a Dulcimer teacher near me.
That being said, I am thankful to join your group and look forward to learning from you all.
Thank you again
Just received my poster from Dulcimuse. I can't wait to frame it! So much more vibrant than I expected. Thank you!
Glad to hear that the new strings are working out for you Clare. Have fun playing.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sounds great, @Diane-R! New strings look better, feel better, and sound better. I know a professional guitarist who changes strings every month. I try to do so every 3-6 months on the instruments I play regularly. I am not sure why some people keep the same strings on for years. They just get hard and start hurting your fingertips, as you can testify.
Thank you Strumelia! I'm absolutely thrilled! And all this time I was afraid I was losing my dexterity... 
So happy to say that I received my Folkcraft strings and the playability is so much easier! I can actually do hammer ons and pull offs again! Cannot believe the difference! I can actually play the chords without pressing down with much force. It actually sounds like a dulcimer again! 
Thanks for all the advice and patience...
Boy that really is a beautiful dulcimer Atilwi! And thank you Terry for the info on the pickups! I appreciate it! 
Dulcinina I love that story! That dulcimer must be very happy to have a loving and appreciative new owner. 
Here's an update and intriguing history. I bought the McSpadden after trying it out and questioning the young man selling it. The guy's girlfriend's parents bought a house with partial contents and the dulcimer was among them. No one knew what it was! When the owner developed dementia, her children sold the house with several belongings left in it. The new owners gave the guy the dulcimer for helping them move.
The dulcimer was found in the bedroom with the owners manual, warranty and books and music. From the loose tab sheets left, I think she may have belonged to a dulcimer group as the music is the same that I've acquired from my groups. I called the fellow back and asked him to find out the name of the people who sold the house. Maybe I can locate them and find out more.
The dulcimer really sounded good despite of the aged strings. I offered him $100 less than he was asking and he readily agreed, having no vested interest in the instrument. We both were happy. I polished it when I got home and ordered strings from McSpadden. I don't care for the strings our local music store carries.
So, I'm learning patience while waiting for the strings and just admiring my new to me dulcimer. Dulcinina
Well, we kind of got off track here. I have to agree with Richard that $225 would be a more realistic price.
Ken
The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
This is a beauty! Congratulations on a great addition!
Great find, Richard. Enjoy your second hand dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
When I use the term 'traditional' I am only referring to the folks in Appalachia and building their mountain dulcimers. The first standard sheets of plywood were not introduced in the U.S. until around 1928 for general building construction. I doubt they were available for building instruments (dulcimers) in those remote geographical areas until later years. This is not a commentary on the quality of sound of plywood, just an observation of what may be traditional and more contemporary.
I agree, Richard, a really nice find. Good for you!
Don't know why the pictures loaded vertical. They were horizontal on my file on the computer from which I loaded them.
