Forum Activity for @greg-gunner

As with any instrument, everyone will have their personal preferences. Assuming you are playing a standard dulcimer and not a baritone or bass dulcimer, the bass strings tend to fall into a range of .020-.024.  Middle strings are usually in the .012-.016 range.  Melody strings range from .010-.014.

A lot will depend upon your preferred tuning and the amount of tension you favor.  My preferred tuning is D-A-A and I use a wound bass string of about .022 and unwound middle and melody strings of .012.  This usually gives me the degree of flexibility that I prefer.  Others prefer less flexibility and use heavier gauge strings on their dulcimers.

Someone playing in D-A-d with a preference for more tension may prefer a bass string of .024, a middle string of .014, and a melody string of .012.  Some prefer a heavier melody string.  

Try one of the suggestions given by myself and others.  If the strings are too floppy when tuned to your preferred tuning, then replace the strings with a heavier gauge.  If the strings feel too tight then replace the strings with a lighter gauge.  Eventually you will find string gauges that feel right to you.

Ken, I sure will. Susie, it's being made by Richard Beard.  He offered a lot of custom options for much less than some of the other  larger companies.

Here's some of my choices:    All Santos rosewood, with tight grained spruce top, and ebony fret board. +1 and +6 frets. flamed maple edge binding, and ebony edge purfling on the top. Nitro lacquer polished finish. The tuners will look like ebony pegs, but are really planetary mechanical look alikes.

Here's the back board glued up with a maple center stripe.

 100_5558.JPG - 375KB

Checking on the Folkcraft website, the Folkroots dulcimers that have a 29" vsl the string gauges are:  .012, .015, .024RW. Howard Rugg may see this and comment on what he initially put on the dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Over the years I've had several custom dulcimers built for me.  And build several other custom dulcimers for myself.  Either way a new made-for-you dulcimer is always fun to plan and anticipate, and finally learn to appreciate.  Enjoy!

Hi Mark -- the overall length and fretboard length don't matter when it comes to strings.  You need to know the distance between the nut and the bridge.  As KenWL says, then you plug that into the Strother's calculator  along with the desired open notes for your base tuning:  DAA, DAd, CGG, CGc or whatever.

A starting place for you. The Strothers calculator is on the light side, you can usually go heavier a couple of gauges with no problems.

http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

www.stringsbymail.com

https://www.juststrings.com

Or get individual strings from your local shop. Get 2 of each.

Hello, Mark. Others with more dulcimer experience than I have will probably pipe in. But a good place to start might be a packaged set, or at least those gauges. The D'Addario set is .012, .012, .014, .022w. You may vary from this set as you settle into preferred pitches and tunings. But this seems like a reasonable set.

There is little difference among string makers, except perhaps with the one wound string.

You can use the Strothers' string calculator to get a good approximation of the strings to use. I think it tends toward the light side. http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html  Just follow the directions.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Looks like nice wood. I trust that when it is finished you will share that with us as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That is beautiful! Two of my current dulcimers are custom.....one by Doug Berch (sassafras/walnut) and one by Folkcraft (butternut/walnut). The wait is agonizing, but well worth it! Looking forward to seeing yours completed. Who is building it?

I have recently commissioned a custom dulcimer build. Has anyone else? I'm very excited. Here's the wood we have decided the back, sides, scroll head, finger board, and end block will be made from.

Santos Rosewood

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Hello Folks - 

This is my first post - hope it goes through OK.

I just took ownership of a 1979 FolkRoots D50S dulcimer. Solid spruce top and laminated walnut back and sides. It is a long scale (36 1/2 " overall length with a 29 1/8 " fret board and 2 1/2 " depth)  It had no strings on it, and I am trying to determine what gauge and brand would be best for it. I know that they should be loop ended. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.  -  Thanks  -  Harpin` Mark

No judgement here.  Everyone has a preference to suit their own playing style and their own needs.  There's probably a way to measure the amount of tension on each string precisely, but that's not really necessary.  Obviously, the string tension has to lie somewhere between the minimum amount of tension necessary to produce a clear sound (without rattling) and the amount of tension required to break the string.  My own preference is for a string with some flexibility.  One that responds to hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, chord playing, etc. with ease.  However, I fully understand why some desire less flexibility when playing noter-drone style.  It's all a matter of what "feels right" to the individual with the instrument in their hands.    

He plays great, but kudos to the lady playing the spoons! Thanks, Rob!

I'm probably the odd man out here. I hate the feel of loose feeling strings. If I'm chording 15# tension feels ok but playing noter/drone I prefer 17-20# tension. 
But I also have different dulcimers for different tunings so the string tension stays pretty much the same on all of them.

Thought I recognized the playing;  here's one of my favorites of him:

Oh Wow, what a great discussion.  I'm going to try the lower on some of the other duclimers.  And I've found that I really do like ONLY 3 STRINGS.  I'm so grateful for all I learn on this site.  Aloha, Irene

WOAH.....that shows some great playing....no comment on the kid smoking a cig.  sigh. I'm going to watch that again.  I loved that rough kind of singing....that's not his "first rodeo."  aloha, irene

Now, that's some playing! 

Jean never talked about lowering string pressure for anything... I don't believe she even thought in that way.  Since she played noter & drone with a pick, the effects of string pressure just weren't all that important.  Many of the olde time dulcimers had VERY high actions by modern 'soft finger' standards.  

Wow!

Wow!  That playing is superb. He's really got the bounce in that dulcimer.  Film looks interesting too, but I could listen to that dulcimer all day.

No comment on the kid smoking a cig.

As I've added more dulcimers to my collection, I've begun to label the cases with the tuning that seems to fit that instrument best.  My standard dulcimers tend be tuned to D-A-A, C-G-G, or sometimes even Bb-F-F.  My criteria for selecting the tuning is usually based upon string tension.  In other words, I change strings or tuning to get the "feel" I like.

I've also discovered that my reproduction dulcimers sometimes require a lower tuning to prevent the wooden tuning pegs from slipping under the increased string tension of the higher tuning.

John K.,

I remember reading that Jean Ritchie preferred C-G-G tuning.  I think her instruction book used C-G-G tuning.  But did she ever talk about lowering the tuning to make the strings more responsive to the touch of her fingers?   I suspect her choice of C tuning was likely based upon what was considered traditional in her family.

Ken H,

Good point.  I also tune down on occasion to better suit my voice.  Although a noter wouldn't give the same "feel" as the fingers, it would be similarly affected by string tension.  I suspect requiring less downward pressure on the noter would result in smoother playing.

Dusty,

I hadn't considered that string tension might have the opposite affect when flatpicking.  More tension = Faster Response.  Less Tension = Slower Response.

kjb,

Do you ever tune to a C tuning because it feels more comfortable on the fingers or only when playing with other musicians in the Key of C?  Do you prefer the lower tuning for fingerpicking because it is more responsive to the fingers?

I often tune to CGC so I can play in C with other instruments.  Also like it for fingerpicking. 

I regularly tune to C or C# when I fingerpick.  I don't use fingerpicks, but just my bare fingers, and I like the extra "give" in the strings. 

However, when I flatpick I want the strings very taught, as any extra give means the note is sounding slightly later than when you pluck it since the string bends before it makes any noise.  In other words, its harder to flatpick fast and accurately with looser strings.  So for flatpicking I tune to D and move my picking hand back towards the bridge or even tune up to D# or E.

I guess what I'm saying is that looser strings provide greater right-hand control when playing with fingertips but less control when playing with a pick.  So I adjust my tuning and my playing accordingly.

These days I play mostly in C --- Cgg or Ccc as the key of C fits my voice better.  Playing with a noter, the string tension is quite as important as it is for tender finger players.  I find that your ordinary D string set can usually go down to B without being too floppy, and up to E and maybe F for they get tight enough to break a bass string.

Greg,

You remember that Jean Ritchie used to play in the key of C a lot of the time?

Me too.

Obviously, the dulcimer can be tuned up or down to play in alternate keys, but what about adjusting string tension for comfort?

I've been noticing lately that I have a preference for less string tension.  Both my left hand and my right hand seem to be more comfortable when the strings are more flexible and have more give.  In practice, this means I frequently lower the tuning as much as a whole step to create the fingering sensation that I prefer.

Instead of the standard D-A-A or D-A-d tunings, I find myself lowering the tuning to C-G-G or C-G-c.  Obviously, I have to tune back up if I plan to play music with others or attend a dulcimer workshop where D tunings are the norm, but when practicing or playing for myself I prefer the feel I get with the lower tuning.  

The advantage of the lower tuning is a more flexible string that is less resistant to fretting, hammering, or plucking with the left hand and more easily strummed or fingerpicked with the right hand.  In short, I am more relaxed when the strings play more easily.

Obviously, there is a limit to how much the strings can be lowered, but I have found that the tuning of most dulcimers can be lowered a full step without creating any problems with loose or rattling strings.

Does anyone else experiment with tunings higher or lower than standard D tunings by adjusting string tension to achieve a more comfortable and relaxed feeling in the fingers making contact with the strings?  

This film clip is outstanding:

I hope to get to see the movie after it's released!  

Yes, I am aware of Janita Baker's DAA#d tuning.  What I was trying to achieve with the DADb tuning is to allow my fretting hand to add more complex chordal arrangements and harmonic flourishes to music that is tabulated DAD while also allowing me to strum (and not just pinch the DAD notes, as Baker's tuning would require).  

Janita Baker developed a method of playing chromatically by tuning to DAA#D. I have a four string chromatic dulcimer I tuned to DGAD. I used it to arrange Rondo Alla Turca, as best I could with four strings.

Thank you, Dusty!!  Garret

Garret, lot of individual instructors offer online lessons.  But as far as I know, those are the only two dulcimer schools online.  They share some basic similarities: both involve monthly subscriptions that give you access to a range of materials for different levels of play.  Dulcimer Crossing involves a greater variety of different instructors, for in addition to Steve Eulberg, there are lessons by Erin Mae Lewis, Nina Zanetti, Neal Hellman, Abrey Atwater, and others.  The Dulcimer School has Stephen Seifert and to a lesser extent Aaron O'Rourke.

In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I know both Steve Eulberg and Stephen Seifert personally and am fond of them both.  Both are excellent teachers with decades of experience teaching dulcimer.  If you've been playing for a while and have a knowledge of basic music theory you may find some of the lessons "below" your needs, but that doesn't mean they are useless. I often just use the tab and the performance videos to learn tunes and skip the lessons that go measure by measure through a tune.

My advice would be to join both schools for a month and poke around a lot. You might decide one works better for you than the other.  Or you might decide that you would get more out of private lessons than you would from joining either one.  But you can always cancel your subscription anytime, so there are no long-term commitments. 

Oh, and happy birthday!

Hi!  My wife is wanting to find a birthday present for me and I suggested an online dulcimer school (I think I might be categorized as intermediate to advanced, based on the music I can play that is categorized as such).  Are there any others than Dulcimer Crossing and Dulcimer School?  Thanks!

Thanks, Ken!  I've joined quite a few, including some of the ones you recommended.  Hopefully I'll find some with similar bents.  

Hi Garret;

You might want to check the list of Groups here and see if there are some groups aligned with your interest.  There are groups for 4 strings, baritone dulcimers, classical music, and many more that you may find of interest.

You can read some of a groups posts.  But to see everything and reply to posts you need to Join the Group by clicking on the button at the top of the discussion.

Hello, All!  After a very long absence, I have returned!  I am a classically trained pianist and am very drawn to the harmonic (or even inharmonic) complexity of classical music.  That's not to say I'm not interested in various kinds of music—I am.  But I am excited most by novel harmonies and chordal structures.  Because of this, I purchased two McSpaddens, one with the 1+ and 8+ frets and one chromatic.  (My McSpaddens also allow me to convert them from the standard string arrangement to a baritone string arrangement without much trouble.)  I've also bought a lot of tabulature (for three strings) but have found much of it too simple in its harmonic structures (and very simple to play, too).  I played around with various tunings on my semi-diatonic dulcimer using only three strings but have found that still somewhat limited.  I thus have focused more on trying to use a 4-string arrangement (with a DADB tuning, employing a 5th and a 3rd).  Anyone tried using a four-string arrangement, playing more complex harmonies?  I'll be grateful for any feedback!!  Thanks!