Hi Dusty, just saying I'm going to be meeting up with Leo Kretzner and as many Dulcimer Players that show up at the Shelton Park Dulcimer Statue, corner of W.Bonita Ave and Harvard Ave.N. in Claremont CA for International Appalachian Dulcimer Day!
I'm glad y'all enjoyed the article!
My wife and I took a trip to Mountain View Arkansas about 12 years ago and got to visit the dulcimer shop. Also got to listen to the jam session on one of the porches there. Did buy some tuning pins to make a hammer dulcimer from the dulcimer shop.
I recently found a dulcimer @ an antique store in Texas and had to do some repairs. I used spray can lacquer for music instruments, bought @ Rockler, on the top and back of the dulcimer and orange oil on the fretboard. Be careful when using GooGone. If you have acrylic nails, it will melt them. I have some experience with luthier projects. Also have a lot of luthier tools and can repair most hand wood instruments.
That's a good article on the Dulcimer Shoppe and McSpadden. Thanks for sharing it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Congrats on your new baby, Megan! What a beautiful dulcimer.
Yes, that was a really nice article.
Love my McSpaddens!
Thank you Strumelia and Dave! Please do post pictures when it arrives, I'd love to see it! I wholly relate to the Christmas sentiment--I was refreshing the tracking page all morning yesterday in anticipation! I hope Santa's UPS truck visits you soon. :)
I imagine we have many FOTMD members who own a McSpadden.
Meghan, That is one of the most beautiful Dulcimers I've ever seen!
I am right now waiting, like a kid for Christmas, for Ron to finish my custom instrument. I'll post pics when it arrives!
What a lovely dulcimer Megan! 
Hope it's OK to piggyback on this thread--I just wanted to chime in to say I ordered a Ron Gibson thanks partly to these forums. It just arrived today & I'm extremely happy with my decision, so thank you to those who weighed in on the original question!
I went for a 4-string Barbara Allen model in cedar and walnut. I haven't played many other quality dulcimers to compare, but it feels great to play and has a really lovely rich sound. Ron was very easy to work with and I was impressed with the price and turnaround time for such a nice instrument. Hopefully this helps anyone else who is on the fence and searching these forums for info. :)
The IADD stickers arrived today. The coloring came out significantly darker than I had expected, but they're perfectly fine otherwise. The yellow lettering is easy to read against the background, but you have to look closely to see that the background shows the soundholes and fretboard of a dulcimer.
If anyone wants one (or a few), contact me by PM.
That's a terrific subject to cover, Patricia.
Early music is one of my passions. Much of it utilizes compelling drone intervals that are familiar to drone style traditional dulcimer players.
I also belong to the Cockburn Facebook group and received numerous responses to my inquiry about when Bruce first picked up the dulcimer. The consensus has been since the early '70s, but only on a few songs such as 1975's "Arrows of Light". The group admin, Daniel Keebler, who has known Bruce, since, like forever, posted this history byte...
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=5488628841150568&set=p.5488628841150568&type=3
I am looking forward to the latest episode, Patricia. 
Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast - Episode 56
Early Music and the Mountain Dulcimer
In this episode we’re exploring Early Music on the mountain dulcimer. Although the mountain dulcimer didn’t exist until centuries after the Early Music time frame, its tonality fits perfectly with the temperament of Early Music. With music from Howie Mitchell, Holly Tannen, and Jessica Comeau.
You can listen to all the Hearts of the Dulcimer Podcast episodes directly on our website: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast or anywhere you listen to podcasts.
Every episode has its own resource page with photos, videos, and song lists. Here's the resource page for this episode: https://dulcimuse.com/podcast/resource/056.html
Thanks for listening!
Patricia Delich & Wayne Jiang
One of the saddest 'Christmas' songs ever written. Joni's "River" is about regrets of a lost love. She says it's about sadness or loneliness around Christmas time.
Joni is a recipient of the Kennedy Center Honors this year.
Her song River (which was on her Blue album) has just had a wonderful new animation film created to accompany it:
I've always loved this song - haven't we all had moments in our lives where we just want to skate away? Has anyone ever played this on the dulcimer?
Thanks a bunch, Dusty!
Of course, @robin-thompson. I'm sharing the image specifically so that others might make use of it.
@dusty-turtle, I like your sticker image and wonder whether I may share it on social media?
The VSL on a Black Mountain is a little longer than you stated, but they cost less than the Gingers. They are pretty decent dulcimers. Just trying to give you ideas.
https://blackmtninstruments.com/buy-dulcimers/
I just ordered some square stickers using this design. Shipping costs may prevent me from sending them around to everyone, but feel free to download the image yourselves.
I'm sure it would be a good choice, but, at $500+ without case, I don't know if it is within her price range.
The Ginger DOES come with a real nice soft case.
Oops. I thought I had indicated that our local group is tuned DAA. I guess I assumed that mentioning the Apple Creek dulcimer and posting here had covered it. Sorry.
I'm collecting the suggestions.
As Susie noted, things like the Little Dulcimers List tend to drift out of date. There isn't a strong sustained demand for 24 VSL instruments. I've built several, but don't add my name to the list, 'cause I build straight sided things for personal use. I could use my home-built band saw to do a sawn frame build, but I won't.
Looking for the McSpadden Ginger has an interesting result. When you Google it the page says " 26" Fret Scale Dulcimer ". You have to click on a particular Ginger model to get the "23 3/16" fretboard" and "Optional setups are ... and D-A-AA" information. I'm sure it would be a good choice, but, at $500+ without case, I don't know if it is within her price range.
Folkcraft will build your choice of scale: 23", 24", 25" and up.
A McSpadden Ginger sings beautifully in DAD or DAA with the strings they recommend for D tuning.
A Ron Ewing dulcimette (not the baritone dulcimette) is designed for DAD tuning one octave higher than standard. The string tension in D is higher than I like, so I usually tune mine down to C or lower. I, too, am toying with the idea of a baritone dulcimette because the little Ewing dulcimers are marvelous :-)
I have one of Ron Ewing's baritone dulcimettes and I absolutely love it. Tight construction, low action, crisp, clear sound. However, it is tuned usually to G or A rather than D, and the VSL is only about 21 inches, so it may not be perfect for this case. That's why I recommended a McSpadden Ginger.
That's why I asked Wally what tuning his friend wanted. I agree, your baritone dulcimette is gorgeous and has a great voice. It sounds like she's just starting out, so my guess is she'd want a dulcimer in D tuning, to learn and play with groups. Many of these little dulcimers are for those of us who already have standard dulcimers and are looking for alternate tunings and fun little dulcimers to complement what we already have. Maybe Wally will get back with us and let us know. Hey, even I am still toying with the idea of a Ewing baritone ducimettte. 
I have one of Ron Ewing's baritone dulcimettes and I absolutely love it. Tight construction, low action, crisp, clear sound. However, it is tuned usually to G or A rather than D, and the VSL is only about 21 inches, so it may not be perfect for this case. That's why I recommended a McSpadden Ginger.
We have a friend who is looking for a small dulcimer. She is currently playing a borrowed small Apple Creek instrument. She has tried "full size" instruments and is uncomfortable with them.
I would describe her desires as follows:
24 inch VSL
Hourglass body
Geared tuners
6 1/2 fret
Holes you can't drop a pick in
Good sound
Not looking for a specific wood
New or used OK
Moderate price
Any suggestions?
Does your friend want standard D tuning?
Many of the little dulcimers are set up for alternate tunings (usually G or A). So that's something to keep in mind.
Check out Ron Ewing's baritone dulcimette.
Ron Ewing makes finely crafted instruments in a variety of shapes and sizes. His dulcimers are worth a closer look.
The McSpadden Ginger is the obvious choice. The VSL is just over 23 inches. McSpadden will set it up either to tune like a standard dulcimer to the key of D or a 4th or 5th higher to G or A.
Susie mentioned the " Little Dulcimers Little List " that I put together several years ago. It needs to be updated, since some of those luthiers are no longer active and there may be some new kids in town. But it's still a good place to start.
Wally -- I could do something like a finished version of that kit your wife won last year at Berea. Mushroom frets and geared tuners instead of staple frets and wood or autoharp pin tuners.
I do like my tab (still not posted) but after many tries & not liking any of the dulcimers sounds, or picks, or tones, I created - stopping for today - but this is what I have. Trying maybe to put too much in (explosions, marching, crying, hope) and it just sounds the same. Oh well
m
I have two McSpadden Gingers, which I love. You can have them set up for standard D tuning. They check most of the boxes you have listed. They are quality made, sound great, and are a joy to play.
Also, in the groups, check out the "Little Dulcimers" group, where you'll see a "Little Dulcimers Little List". Very helpful when looking for a smaller dulcimer.
We have a friend who is looking for a small dulcimer. She is currently playing a borrowed small Apple Creek instrument. She has tried "full size" instruments and is uncomfortable with them.
I would describe her desires as follows:
24 inch VSL
Hourglass body
Geared tuners
6 1/2 fret
Holes you can't drop a pick in
Good sound
Not looking for a specific wood
New or used OK
Moderate price
Any suggestions?
I'm not sure if you mean a totally fretless fretboard or no half frets so I'll give thoughts on both possibilities. I've only played for 1 1/2 years. In that time I've experimented with noters in varying sizes and materials(wood, metal, plastics, glass). Throughout my experiments I discovered several things. I could immediately rule out a material by how well it slides. If there's too much drag it's out. If it absorbs too much string vibration it's out. I started getting frustrated and that's when I started hitting frets with my noter as I would slide. I had totally lost focus on how I was holding the noter. At that point I started reading about fretless fretboards. I decided against it because I realized the value of landmarks. There's a sweet spot within each fret to aim for. My current noter is a 1/4 inch delrin rod. I use a thumb on top index finger support underneath that slides along the fretboard. Fret bumping is a thing of the past!
I am a diehard diatonic player. My Dulcimer does not have 1/2 frets. I have over 100 songs in my personal tab library all either original DAA or ones I've transposed to DAA. I have played DAA on a chromatic instrument and was confounded by fret spacing.
It is completely logical to keep options open for tunings and or mode that 1/2 frets offer. And the flexibility while playing in a group is almost a necessity!
