Forum Activity for @gwyn-calvetti

Just before boxing this dulcimer up to ship I played one last tune... Simple Gifts or some variation thereof... Robert.

Thanks Lexie. I was pondering buying the one that Cynthia bought - guess I pondered too long!

Gail, I don't have a JI from Robert, but bought one made out of Buternut and can highly recommend his workmanship.

They are great to play noter/drone or chord and the sound is that silvery old time sound. Mine is my most lovely and a treasure. Robert models after A.W. Jeffery's and it is a gorgeous design.

Also Robert is a great person to work with, very kind and considerate.

Also Cynthia Wingington bought a JI from Robert recently and she seems to love it, she would be a good person to talk with about it.

Good luck with your "Sweet Strings"

Robert, how much do you charge for one of these? I love the sound and it's a beautiful instrument.

Nice playing and demonstration there Robert! If I may ask, why did you go with a slightly shorter vsl for the just intonated dulcimers you'd made?

Really lovely Robert, I really REALLY love hearing you play them, not to mention that sweet sound.

Congrats on selling this beautiful sweet instrument Robert, I am sure the buyer will be very pleased.

We are getting rain off and on in Central MT, here's hoping for rain for your crops and your Dulci-stuff.

Yeah, I thought she would buy it, she sure liked the sound of mine.

Sounds very much like the first one I bought from you Robert. Now, I hope you do keep the 2nd until you can build a third!

Robert it is not only beautiful, aww that sweet, sweet sound is exceptional, I love it and best save my money.

I really REALLY! like playing on a just intonated scale dulcimer. I seldom play in DAd anymore. This model is made of poplar and is light as a feather. Here are a couple sound clips. first in Daa the second is Daa, Dac and Eaa... Robert.

If you were a little bit closer, I live in Urbana.

I use banjo strings on my dulcimer all the time - they are easier to find - and it gives me extra wound strings for the banjo - I change the wound strings far more often than the wire strings on my banjos.

I would suggest buying several sets of strings at a time from www.juststrings.com , where they are as little as $2 and changer per set. For 28" VSL you'll want 20w or 22w bass strings, 12 ga. plain steel middle drone strings and 10 to 12 ga melody strings.

Banjo Strings work well if you need a loop end. Sometimes they can be found as individual strings. Just cut the string about 3-4" from the peg it will be wrapped around, and carry on. In case you aren't aware of the string sizes you have currently, take your dulcimer with you to the store. They can measure them.

Of course, you can also order strings from dulcimer builders/shops. You'll need to know the gauge, unless you order them from the builder.

Good luck,

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Just squeeze the ball with a pair of pliers and they will crack right in two.

Following on from what David has said.

If you can only get ball ends and you want loops, ask if they have anyone who knows how to 'crack' the ball out for you and leave a loop.

I know re-stringing is not everyone's favorite thing in the world to do, but I decided I would restring a couple of my dulcimers over the weekend. Just finally finished the last one a bit ago At any rate, I had strings from juststrings.com, but I know people have mentioned other sites they order off, so my question is which string sites or sites do folks get there strings from?

FOTMD and Everything Dulcimer are the two preeminent dulcimer websites of the entire Internet. Dulcimers are not a fast turn-over item, so i would not hold my breath for a buyer in just a few days.

Clue ! OK, I know that you are busy ! Bristol origins ?

JH

JH....dream on...

I refuse to google that phrase, 'cause it would be like cheating.

Strumelia, fifty dollars 'on the Nail' for your K Young, just to free up your options ! (fifty five if you can tell me where 'on the nail' has its origins ?)

JohnH

If I didn't already have my wonderful Keith Young mountain dulcimer, I'd be seriously unable to resist this beauty. droooooool.....!

Helen, does it fit various dulcimers?

Do you have a picture of one you have made?

They used to be $65.00. Everything keeps going up. Try a wooden fan blade with 2 dowels spaced out and a couple pieces of the rubber stuff you put in the bottom of kitchen cabinets. The stuff sells for about a $1.00/roll at your dollar store.

Hey, that fan blade idea sounds good. I keep thinking about buying a McSpadden possum board, but look at the price ($70) and can't convince myself to pay that much for one.

Personally, I don't think a possum board adds that much volume to a standard dulcimer. I have McSpadden possum boards on my standard dulcimer and my Ginger, but I don't think adding an extra $100 or more to a dulcimer to have a built in possum board is worth it. I have a couple of amps that I use occasionally, but my favorite is the little Honeytone amp, which sells for about $25 or $30 on the web or Amazon. It connects easily to a flat head dulcimer. Do not use with a scroll head. I use this small amp for small groups. Hope this info helps. BTW, you can also buid yourself a cheap possum board with a wooden fan blade from one of the big box hardware stores and a couple of dowels to hold the dulcimer up.

I'm EXTREMELY careful with all my equipment and all my instruments (anal, in fact), and I had one of the Snarks break off. So, it does happen. See my earlier comment about how the "broken" Snarks can actually be great to use on a dulcimer. So, don't worry about that. Like Dusty said, if you are careful, it probably won't break. Snark has several models to choose from. Would suggest a chromatic one for sure.

Dusty Turtle said:

The only complaints I've heard about the Snarks is that sometimes the head snaps off the base. But that's got to be user error, so if you take care of it, it will be fine.

I use the Snark SN-4 for my dulcimer - it will sit on the soundboard for tuning and is a little more convenient. It also has a built in metronome - it often sells at the same price as the red clip-on Snark.

I've had a few of the easy clip-ons and find them mostly all the same. I just bought one of the new Snark SN-8 (new black) models on Ebay and only paid $8 or $9, so look around and don't pay too much. I must like it since I have two of the SN-2 (red) models. The only complaints I've heard about the Snarks is that sometimes the head snaps off the base. But that's got to be user error, so if you take care of it, it will be fine. And I don't think you can beat the price.

There really aren't a whole lot of variables. How fast and accurate is the tuner? How easy it is to read? Other than that, some have a crappy metronome built in and most allow for calibration, so perhaps you can play along with a piano or autoharp or hammered dulicimer that is tuned to itself but a tad off. I personally never use those features.

James, I think you will love your Snark. I have one too.

I use the Snark chromatic (red) for my dulcimers and all my other instruments. One cool thing about the Snark. If the arm breaks off at the ball joint, keep the tuner part and use it strictly for dulcimers. Just lay it on the soundboard (I put it right over a soundhole) and you can tune very easily. I broke one of mine and was going to pitch it, but then thought, wow, a custom dulcimer Snark tuner. Works great. I've only broken one so far. Waiting to break more, because they work so well this way.