Forum Activity for @ken-hulme

Yep.  We're at the point where we need to see what's going on.

Ellen's right.  An Electric dulcimer is, like an electric guitar, a "solid-body_ -- a piece of fancy 2x6 or whatever with cavities cut into it to house the electronics.  

The vast majority of dulcimers are Acoustic instruments -- hollow bodies in which the air vibrates to make the sound.  Many makers (including Ron) offer an acoustic-electric option, which involves a pickup attached inside the body with a wire leading to a socket usually imbedded in the tailpiece.

I think there's some confusion here. There is a big difference between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. But Ron Gibson isn't making an "electric" dulcimer. His are acoustic instruments (ie., there is a back, a top and a hollow middle). He offers the option of having a "pick up" added. This is simply a wire that is inside the box that goes to a funky metal piece in the butt end of the dulcimer so it is easy to plug into a sound system (which one wants to do when playing an open mic or at a church). He also sells a mini-speaker that is easy to use too for a very affordable price.  Mine has the "pick up" but about 95% of the time I am playing without a speaker. You can order a dulcimer from Ron without a pick up. Here's a youTube by Larry Conger on the topic that clarifies much more:

Diane, if it were possible for you to add a few photos to this thread, it would definitely help those who are trying to figure out what's wrong with your dulcimer's setup.  A mountain dulcimer shouldn't sound 'awful' and shouldn't need lots of strength to fret the strings either. I'm thinking there's probably something else going on here that's causing problems for you.

Thank you Ken Longfield...my daughter took a look at it and tried to play it and said it was awful.  She noticed that the frets have grooves in them also and she said with her callouses she was also having trouble pushing the strings down to play.  So, I guess I'll have to learn how to "repair" the frets.  Sorry for the ignorance and thanks for all the advice...

It sounds like the tension on the bass string is greater than the tension on the other three strings. Once you remove all four string you should be able to push it back in place with your fingers. If the nut is very loose, you can use a drop of white glue to hold it in place, but don't use too much. You should be able to remove the nut if you need to make adjustments like lowering the action. When you restring the dulcimer, start with the middle strings first and bring them up to proper pitch. That should hold the nut in place while you add the melody and bass strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Dulcimers don't have a left or right.  They have a head, a tail, a near (player) side, a far side, a top and a bottom.  Did the nut shift towards the near side or far side?

If the nut has shifted that radically without being serious tapped with something or falling, your strings are far too loose, which would be a major factor in your "issues".  What are you using for a tuner?  It's possible you may be tuned to DAd but in the wrong octave (too low), which would explain floppy sour sounding strings...

String tension should hold the nut and bridge in place.  Bass string rubbing the headstock where it enters the slot to the tuning shafts isn't normally an issue, as it is outside of the nut-bridge VSL.

You "repair" the loose nut by pushing, or gently tapping the nut back to where it is supposed to be and then tightening the strings. If the nut won't simply push back into place, set the dulcimer on top of a towel, on the dining table or a counter, before doing any tapping. Use a short 'punch' -- a stick, dowel, or piece of chopstick -- and a hammer.  Put one end of the punch on the end of the nut and tap the other end.

Thank you Ellen :)  It looks beautiful!  I think I may get one, but not an electric & unfortunately it looks like there are quite a few on the site. 

I adore my Ron Gibson dulcimer. I get compliments on it all the time (The blonde dulcimer on the right in the thumbnail photo). Mine is maple and walnut. It has a nice deep box and a lovely sound. 

I'm in the market for my third dulcimer & was wondering if anyone owns a Ron Gibson & what's your opinion?  Thanks

Thanks for all the replies.  I'll have to get down to the music shop tomorrow & purchase a few to make sets & go from there...anyway while I was at work yesterday & practicing I noticed that the nut has shifted about 1/4 inch to the right & that the bass string is rubbing the wood of the head stock on the side!  Obviously it's loose & I hadn't noticed...could having a loose nut cause some of the issues I'm having?  And how does a person repair it?  And why do I have that much space in the slot for it to shift?  Sorry about the neediness but I'm not a builder...I can't even play that well...lol 

Bidding ended at $90.98

I still have the 1997 receipt Keith wrote for my teardrop, with all the specs... but unfortunately it does not mention finish.

However, I do recall talking on the phone with him about the finish he was going to use... and the only thing I remember was that it was a simple finish of some kind that required a very fine sanding or rubbing between maybe two coats of it.  Could have been lacquer, maybe wax, or maybe just linseed oil.  Not sure it that helps much, but i recall it being a very simple finish of perhaps a single ingredient, and I think two coats with buffing in between.

I dug through my file on Keith Young, but found nothing about the finish he used on his instruments. My suspicion is lacquer, but I am not 100% certain. Here is a link to a  Wood Magazine  article about how to identify finishes. I hope this helps you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

(bumping this thread because I moved it to a better location)

@john-c-knopf It could happen!  

Looks like somebody's gonna get a great deal tomorrow!

Hi all -   Was browsing Goodwill auctions and saw this beauty listed on the Goodwill auction site. I shouldn't be looking as just received my McCafferty but it's fun to look. Label says built in 1973. Maybe someone else on this site is looking for one? Admin, please move this listing to the For Sale area if you deem appropriate. 

Capritaurus Dulcimer

Eventually, @Diane-R, you will need to experiment, develop your own preferences, and find the right strings for you.  Kusani has a preference for plain steel on the bass. I find plain steel does not have enough power for a bass string.  I also prefer heavier strings, so I use .026 wound on the bass, .016 on the middle and .014 on the melody. But I would not recommend that for others unless they've been playing for a while and specifically want to play in a flatpicking or other style that demands tighter strings and more volume.

My advice is to start with the kind of setup that was probably intended when the instrument was built, which was likely a wound .020, .022. or .024 on the bass, .012 or .014 on the middle, and .010 or .012 on the melody. 

Start there and then you can experiment with replacing the wound string or getting slightly heavier or slightly lighter strings or squeakless strings or whatever.

Plain steel 0.020 string should be available in a local music store. As Kusani said, "opinions vary." I use squeakless wound strings for chord/melody playing. I like the plain steel on my noter/drone dulcimers. Your dulcimer looks like a Tom Yocky instrument. If it is I would think Tom set it up to take a 0.020 - 0.024 bass string. If it is set for the 0.024, the slot may cause a 0.020 gauge string to vibrate in the slot causing a buzz. This can be corrected by any luthier or even yourself depending upon how handy and confident you are. I hope the new set of strings will work well for you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hey, @Nanners -- welcome and happy strumming on your new dulcimer! 

Opinions vary on the plain steel, many of us do not like the 'squeak' you get from the wound strings. I don't. There are 'squeakless' base strings that are some what better; but I still prefer plain strings. Try both and see which you prefer. There is no 'right' way on this one. 

Thank you Ken.  I will try down at the music shop where I bought the others and will let you know.  But I do NOT want the plain steel for the bass string correct?  Thanks again, I really do appreciate the help & advice. 

Enjoy playing mine: high D and Bb, a couple of each.  You may soon venture into the NAF realm as I have.

Isn't learning music on new instruments fun!!!!

Hi y'all! I'm Nanners, a newb from Austin. I just love the sweet, sweet sound of a dulcimer! I saw one for the first time in Mountainview, Arkansas when hubby and I were there for a bluegrass festival a couple of years ago. (We lead a bluegrass/folk jam on Tuesdays, him on guitar, me on fiddle). Time passed, and a couple of months ago I was in a local music store with a friend looking to upgrade her Mandolin... there were some dulcimers hanging on the wall! I picked one up and decided it was time to finally do this dulcimer thing. So here I am trying to learn a new instrument. Wish me luck!

Given that VSL I would try .010s on the melody strings, .014 on the middle, and a .020 for the bass. You could go up just a little if these are still floppy. If you can't find them locally as single strings, PM me and I can send you a set as I described.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for the replies...the length is a little over 27 1/2".  I'm tuned to Dad & have been playing with these strings for about 2 months now almost daily and no improvement.  And with the sloppy, choppy, it's also twangy...lol  Thanks again :)

Diane, the size of the strings you use is determined by the vibrating string length (VSL) of your dulcimer. That is the distance from inside the nut to the place where the strings contact the bridge. If we knew that length, we could make better suggestions. Just looking at the dulcimer in you avatar I would guess you should have the .012s on the melody strings, the .014 in the middle, and what Dusty suggested for the bass; .022 or .024 wound string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Diane, standard sized dulcimers usually use a wound bass string that's somewhere around .022 or .024.  .014 is way too light for a bass sting.  Secondly, how are you tuned?  If you are tuned DAA, then it makes sense that your middle and melody strings would be the same gauge.  If you are tuned DAd, you might want to use a melody string that's a bit lighter than your middle strings.  If you use .012 on the middle, try .010 on the melody.  Or you might use .014 on the middle and .012 on the melody.

Also, remember that new strings stretch a lot.  Whenever I put on new strings I play for a while, retuning every few minutes and also literally pulling on the strings to stretch them.  I figure this gets the stretching out so they'll stay in tune better.

And if you haven't played in a while, you should sound "choppy and sloppy."  I find I lose technique if I just take a day off.  So taking off a few years might require a bit more time before you're back into the swing of things.

Hello, after not playing for quite a few years I finally pulled my Dulcimer out, cleaned it up, oiled it up, changed the strings ( was given .012, .012, .012, .014 plain steel ball ends) and I feel that now I sound terrible.  I sound so sloppy now and have tried to rack it up to older age but this seems ridiculous to me.  It's seems like I'm pushing down too hard and the sound is no longer smooth and flowing but choppy and sloppy!  I've even tried different picks but it still sounds awful...any advice?  Thanks 

Mine is named "Island" named by the Builder but I'm sure it also thinks it's name is the same as Sam's...lol... 

Yes, Don, a Keith Young dulcimer is valuable and collectible.  Keith is no longer with us, but he did excellent work.  I expect he used lacquer on his dulcimers, but I can't be sure of it.  Lacquer is a fairly common finish to use on dulcimers.

Don, the fix will depend on what type of finish Keith used on his dulcimers. I will look and see if I have any information on this and get back to you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Phots -- wide and up close of those blems will let us help.

Yes - I'm familiar with his playing via the old "Everything Dulcimer" site - I have a few of his books and tabs. 

Ah, okay - don't think I've ever heard of it referred to by that term. I'll check out the link.

Thanks

Kavik, the YouTube videos you posted in your message below are of @Mark-Gilston, who is an active member here.  He is a professional musician who posts videos here regularly and also offers lessons, CDs, and books of tab.

Most of us refer to that style of playing the dulcimer as chord/melody.  Many of us play in that style, or a related style that involves more single notes and fewer block chords that we might call flatpicking.  In fact, there is a whole Group here devoted to Modern Chord Style Players .

Here's a few examples of a MD being played in the style of a zither - 

The first is called "Ruhpoldinger"; it's a type of dance known as a Schuhplattler (an Alpine dance where the men will slap their knees, legs, and bottom of the shoe).

Second is the Zillertaler Ländler - a well-known Ländler.

Hope the links work. 

Here's an example of one I'm working on for MD - if you click anywhere on the notes, it should download a midi file with how it sounds on a piano.

https://volksmusik.cc/volkstanz/aberseerlandler.htm

If you search for Aberseer Landler on YouTube, you'll get several examples of how it's played. This song, as well as many Landler, is also a "Gstantzl" - a type of formulaic singing pattern that goes with a Landler with an accompanying "Platscher" - hand-clapping pattern.