Forum Activity for @robert-owens

Thank you John & Ken for your quick responses and great advice! I think I have the tools and wood that I'll need to repair it and reinforce it, etc. I guess my main challenge will be repairing/replacing the tuners, and then I have a question about the bracing.

As for the tuners, I've seen some photos of Arthur Dixon dulcimers that have simple friction tuners, but these are geared (see additional photo attached), even though they have knobs made of wood and seem to be handmade. Are there tuner sets available that would be a close replication of these? Maybe I can salvage the two remaining knobs, and carve the third one needed, and use them with some new machines? But actually, the existing tuners are working pretty well as is, in terms of turning pretty freely (even before any cleaning/lubricating), so maybe I can salvage them, and just make a new knob to replace the missing one. Also, that rod that is sticking out seems to have been what was holding the tuning machines down in the box (with apparently another rod on the other side (which is now missing). Maybe I could figure out a better way to securing these original tuners into the box. Any ideas about that?

Then, to Ken's question about the "supports" that appear to have been installed between the top & back braces...is that a common part of mountain dulcimer construction? I can see how they could offer some more rigidity, etc., but I'm not sure how necessary they are, since the fretboard makes such a stiff "brace" holding everything together, right? I could certainly replace them, if that makes sense (one is missing, which I would have to replace).

Any other thoughts/advice/referrals?

Thanks much!

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Wow....That peg box looks like it came up from the ocean floor in an old viking ship....

I think [if it was my project] I'd start by cleaning out those broken pegs and other "stuff" in that box, cutting the strings away first. It almost looks as if the string tension was high enough to snap the pegs {rotten?} off without spitting the box? if it is still sound, clean and replace pegs with re claimed  violin pegs, self carved or for "function" , machine tuners...YOUR preference.

The rib crack[s] can be a little tricky, if you only want function, a thin strip of opposing/angled grained wood clamped internally should do the trick. The broken curve on the upper bout is the most challenging, as you need to get it back to the original curve, and reinforce it so it doesn't do it again. Either make a solid piece clamping form using the "good" side as a template, or I have seen using plaster of paris to make a mold of it, making a form perhaps 3-4 inches thick to give something to clamp to.

From what I can see, your top and bottom seem to be intact. Looks like all of it was put together with hide glue, hot water and a 3M pad should clean old glue residue fairly well. Once the old glue is cleaned off of the wood, MY preference is Titebond II, perhaps keeping these repairs from being needed in the next 60+ years...?

 Don't know what your "shop" has for tools and clamps and such. Shoot me a message and I can send you some thin stock for cleats and reinforcement....

Best of luck on your upcoming battle.....

That looks like an interesting project. From your photos it looks like you have most of or all of the pieces you need. Since you have experience, what do you specifically need to know about this dulcimer. The cracks look like they can be repaired with the usual methods; super glue, clamps, and cleats. I've never seen a Dixon dulcimer. The pile of wood pieces appear to be braces for the top which should match up to the light spaces on the underside of the top. There are four light spaces on the bottom which indicated to me that there were supports under the top stretching from the underside of the top to the bottom plate. It looks like these were glued between the bottom and the braces. It would be fun to look inside an intact Dixon dulcimer to see if this is the case. Look in that pile of wood and see if there are four sticks that would work for this. It looks like you are missing on tuning peg. I have no idea what substance is filling the peg head. Please ask specific questions about anything that puzzles you. What other parts do you think you are missing?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I have a 1962 Arthur Dixon mountain dulcimer, from Whitesburg, KY, that has been in my family since it was built. It has a fair amount of cracks and other damage, and am hoping to restore it to playing condition. Although I've restored guitars and other stringed instruments, this is my first attempt at restoring a mountain dulcimer, so I need some advice, and possibly some parts. I will attach some photos here. Anybody out there who could help? Thanks!

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(The Wayback Machine) 

Now we are really showing our age. Rocky and Bullwinkle (Really Rock) Smile 

I'm sorry to hear of Don Neuhauser's passing. We need to be training new talent as we get long in the tooth!

Actually there is a way to find the time information appears, and each time it changes. Go the the Internet Archive (aka The Wayback Machine), https://archive.org/, and enter the web address you're interested in. You will find all the times the Archive has captured an image of that web page.

@lilley-pad Don passed away a few years back.  

Hello everybody, does anyone know if Don Neuhauser is still making instruments? His Dulci-Bro Resonator.

Going by the pictures I've seen on the internet looks like he makes a pretty good quality instrument. The bad thing about the internet is there's no real time stamp so you don't know if the information that is out there is really old or new 

Yes, I remember that as well, Robin. Good to be reminded!

While I'm thinking about it, John Henry was, to my knowledge, our elder participant in IADD.  And he met Jean Ritchie many years ago on one of her trips to the UK.  Also, Val Hughes noted some time ago that it was Jean Ritchie who introduced the mountain dulcimer to Ireland.  Val contributed audio recordings here at FOTMD for IADD.  

Thank you @nate for these clarifications. I observed the same phenomenon on my spectrograms, indeed. Let's not forget that if we make a string vibrate, the sounds perceived are those produced by the entire instrument, that is to say, air and wood. By comparing different dulcimers built in different woods, I noted a whole variety of responses, for the same frequency, depending on the wood used. These variations affected both the number of overtones perceived, their amplitudes at attack and decay, and their sustain.

Thank you for taking the time to articulate your results dulcidom! I have been playing around with these ideas quite a bit. I have a one string dulcimer that i have tuned to exactly 100 Hz and a weighted pendulum that i have been moving down the length of the string and then observing the results in a spectrum analysis software. One observation is that on an instrument like a dulcimer, the overtones that sustain are not always the overtones with the sharpest attack. If one were to look at peak amplitude of frequencies immediately after the "attack" i have found them to be different from the ones that sustain the longest. 

I ran into a problem with a wound bass string once. There was a bit of a buzz which I tracked down to a broken winding. See the attached photo.

I identified the problem when I ran my finger up and down the string. It was visible to my naked eye once I knew where to look.

A simple string change fixed it.

 Damaged Winding-labeled.jpg - 496KB

I have found that the first strings to 'go dead' and sound crappy are usually the wound strings.
The easiest course of action here (pun intended) is to simply put on a new string and see if that solves it. I know that having extra strings and putting on a new string can be kind of a big thing to new players, but it's pretty routine for experienced players of stringed instruments. (not saying I do it all that often... i don't ) 
Chances are a new bass string will sound nicer for you no matter what the issue is right now. Think of changing the string as similar to giving yourself a new toothbrush- you don't necessarily 'have to', but it's not expensive to do and may give you good results.

P.S. do you know what gauge strings should go on your dulcimer according to its scale length from nut to bridge, and the tuning you usually play in? And do you have extra strings?

Specifically with the language of tinny, My first guess would be that the strings are not seated correctly in either their slots at the bridge, or their slots at the nut.

Hi @mdwannabe.  First, strings get stiff and stale just from exposure to air.  They also get grimy from being played, but strings age even if they are not played at all.  And wound strings age much faster than do plain steel strings.  So you might consider just changing your string.  Try that before anything else.

I am not sure what exactly you mean by "tinny."  Is there perhaps a buzz?  If you fret the string, does the "tinny" sound remain?  Try fretting at each fret and see if sound gets better.  If it is equally tinny up and down the fretboard, perhaps it is not sitting cleanly in the nut or bridge and a small adjustment might be necessary.

I'm sure one of the builders here at FOTMD will have better ideas than I do.

I have a June Apple Dulcimer that played really well when I got it but I took it out again and the bass string has a horrible tinny sound when it is played. I don’t think it has been played enough to need new strings. 

It's cool

I have emailed Fiona regarding the DPN article.

I can Zoom if we can find a mutually acceptable time. Like Robin, I don't know that I have much to add.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm willing to Zoom yet don't know that I have much to add. 

Just as a thought ... with all this discussion, you guys might want to do a Zoom and talk it all through in real time: More efficient, reaches better conclusions, and you'd get to see each other face-to-face.

International also allows us to celebrate the Appalachian Dulcimer’s European roots.

I, too, like the juxtaposition of international and Appalachian. When one looks at it geologically, the range begins in the southern United States and travels northeastward through maritime Canada, Ireland, Scotland, and Norway. The mountains were originally part of Pangea, actually the central Pangean mountains. A significant feature of these mountains is the presence of coal. The mountains also include costal areas in Greenland, France, Spain, and Northern Africa.

And today is National Banjo Day! (according to the Deering Banjo Company, April 8th)

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@dusty I, too, like that juxtaposition!  Yes, all embraced the worldwide aspect wonderfully!

We did all embrace the word "international."  The reason it was even a discussion was because of my initial question, which stemmed from having learned of National Guitar Day (probably from a Sweetwater ad) and wondering whether we should have a National Dulcimer Day.  I don't recall any resistance to Robin's suggestion of "international."  It is both more inclusive and also appropriately celebratory regarding the dulcimer's spread beyond the hills and hollows of Appalachia.  (And I personally love the juxtaposition of "international" and "Appalachian.")

No apology necessary as I didn't think you were implying that anyone was against it. I thought we all embraced it enthusiastically.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@ken-longfield My apologies-- I never meant to imply anyone was against "International".  I just remember my thinking at the time was it would be helpful for it not to just be "National".  Again, my apology for creating misunderstanding!   

Robin, I don't recall there being any objection to "international." It seems to me that we all embraced it. Marg had asked a question as to whether it would conflict with celebrations in other countries. I'm not sure if we ever considered "worldwide" rather than "international."

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I haven't yet looked at the threads to refresh my memory.  I recall when we were kicking around thoughts, I wanted all FOTMD members to feel welcomed to participate in the day, so advocated for "International".   

The conversation started, I think, in January and we launched in March. I made a flyer I think for that year, you can see it on the Positive thread, I tried too post it here but they say the file is too big, funny it wasn’t four years ago.  I probably had to downsize it then too.  The date is on it for that year. 

Upon first glance at the positive thread, it seems the conversation started with Dusty suggesting that there ought to be a national dulcimer day, as there is a national guitar day, which was quickly expanded by community feedback into international Appalachian dulcimer day. Is that a fair summation?

Here on FOTMD, Ireland and the US were represented this year.  If there were other countries, please, someone point me to music I may have missed.  On fb, the US, England, Ireland, and Australia were represented yet there may have been others-- I hope so!   There were folks who shared still photographs of instruments to celebrate, too. 

I shared other photos of Dusty's sticker from a couple different dulcimer cases on fb.  Dusty, your sticker may not be as famous as you are yet it is working to catch you!  

I'm not a graphic artist, but maybe we could come up with logo for the day. I was thinking of something like a globe with an Appalachian dulcimer across it or perhaps a mercator map of the world with a dulcimer across it. Anyone want to submit some logos for consideration?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song.

Dusty is correct in his explanation. The first event was year one. I have the sticker. I could use a few more to share with dulcimer friends to promote the day, so I'll be sending you a PM Dusty. I didn't get involved as much as I would have liked at the beginning as I was recovering from open heart surgery at the time.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@nate, the discussion did indeed start on the Positive Thread, but my memory is that once we decided on a date and a name, I started this discussion here.

This year was year 4.  But remember that year 1 was not at the end of the year (like a birthday) but at the beginning. So one year in was year 2, etc.  Next year will be year 5.

Earlier in this thread I shared the image of a sticker I had made.  I just got some more, so if anyone wants a couple, send me a PM.  I also made the banner that Robin used to advertise the day here at FOTMD back when we had those banner ads. I'd be happy to offer those images for a DPN article if we want to go that route.

Here is the sticker:

And here is the banner:

Hey folks I'd love some clarity about the exact nature of the origins. It seems to me that the discussion in the positive thread started when @dusty brought it up 4 years ago, and this thread was started 3 years ago, but others are saying the holiday is 5 years old. Did this all start with Dusty's suggestion of having a National Dulcimer Day in the positive thread?

I'm typing this here so I'll remember:  Dean Robinson and Dan Geddes both made nice graphics for posting on fb to promote the day.   Dean's may have been made last year or the year before.  Dan made a couple graphics this year, I believe.  Very nice of them to have done so!  

Hard to believe we are turning five…if we are going to do a DPN article of the IADD history, we need to do it sooner than later. Our DPN editor has recently accepted my recent article for the November issue.  It would be nice if we can be a feature for the first issue of 2026.  If all of you who were involved in the initial conversations that brought about this grassroots celebration of the Dulcimer would write up a paragraph to share your take on how this all began, I will create an article with those paragraphs and send it on to Fiona. I will go ahead and contact her in the mean time to try and secure a place for the first issue of next year.

IADD is ready for kindergarten at 5 years old.