Forum Activity for @strumelia

Hey Steven- I was born on Flatbush x Sterling Place !   

Thanks, Dusty! She's a Crown Heights girl, and I was a Flatbush boy.....and that's where any resemblance  to each other, in regard to musical talent, ends! She's fantastic!

@Silverstrings, McCafferty fretboards are 1-1/2 inches wide.  That is a pretty standard size.  My Blue Lion and Probst dulcimers also have 1-1/2" wide fretboards.

Terry now sells his dulcimers with notches in the bridge and nut so that the strings can be set pretty widely apart or brought in closer. I can't tell you the exact distances since I have a custom version, but I'm sure Terry would answer these questions. 

Does anyone know the fretboard width on a McCafferty Dulcimer?

Thanks for sharing the video of Nora Brown, Dusty. Very encouraging.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I know just how you feel Dulcinina. I visited a dear old friend too recently and our vaccines made it possible. It was such good medicine, in more ways than one! 

Thanks for posting this, Dusty.  Restores my faith as well.  A great way to start off my day.  I sent it to a couple other friends.

Today I am meeting up with a dulcimer friend whom I've not seen in over a year.  She lives about 50 miles from me and we used to play together once a month at her home.  So we're both vaccinated and eager to play together again. Yay.  Nina (aka) Dulcinina

Paul that's too funny!

I forgot about the limberjack.....

I just watched this video of Nora Brown on the banjo .  She is only 15.  Born in Brooklyn.  I think there is hope for the world after all.

Shelby (a.k.a. Schlubby) and Angus got along. Or, I should say, Schlubby tolerated Angus. She was known to swat him from time to time. In our household the smaller pets ruled. We had a very small bunny, Abby, who jumped up onto the back of a sofa and bit Schlubby on the stomach. He chomped down and held on when she jumped off. The cats gave that little bun a wide berth.

 2016-10-22 #11a Paul Rappell photo.JPG - 163KB

I have sold several guitars. Currently, I only own the three dulcimers and a rain stick.

LOL to "Bag of Kazoos" band! 

I guess I will add to my list (forgot about these the first time) - 

• Fender guitar - my first stringed instrument
• Gretsch 5 string banjo
• Several pennywhistles in D
• Native American Flute in B minor - High Spirits
• Old band instruments - flute, oboe. cornet
• Gretsch sunburst mandolin (my husband is playing this)

"Bag of Kazoos" would be a good name for a jug band. Or even just a folk jam.

Since folks are adding to their instrument inventory, I'll add a few since my original response only included mountain dulcimers, zitters, and other instruments I made. So in addition to all of that I have two more open back banjos, three acoustic guitars, a soprano ukulele, a D tin whistle, a recorder, a jaw harp, a couple of harmonicas. an assortment of rhythm instruments (spoons, Catspaws, limber jack, etc.), a small tambourine, and bag of kazoos. Oh, an electronic keyboard which I don't play, but my wife does. There might be a few more instruments around the house that I've forgotten about.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Skip, you bring up a good point, about other instruments. I've been suffering from GAS (guitar acquisition syndrome) much longer than DAD (dulcimer acquisition disease). My first love, fingerstyle guitar (since 1973), has been my true passion for nearly 48 years. I've settled into a stable of 6 guitars and 1 guilele. Many other instruments (primarily stringed instruments)  have come and gone over the years, but I'm simplifying to just guitar, dulcimer, and Native American flute (I have 5). In fact, my last banjo is moving on to a new home this week. I was in band all through school, where I played flute, then alto saxophone. Music has been such a joy in my life.

I don't have a pet right now. However, my sister's beagle, Madison, loves the dulcimer. She has told me that she prefers the dulcimer & singing over instrumental. 

It's interesting to see that many folks have more instruments than just mountain dulcimers.

In addition to my dulcimers, I have a bodhran, half a dozen or so diatonic harmonicas, a chromatic harmonica, several pennywhistles, a full size keyboard, and 5 autoharps [three chromatics, two 2 key diatonics, FC and GD] and a 15/16 hammered dulcimer I made and still have. I've tried guitars and a banjo but they didn't, physically, work for me.

I guess I have IAD, but music is such a fascinating subject and has so many facets and challenges it's easy to overindulge! Especially for a non-music oriented retiree [no music instruments at all before retiring].

Nate -- we've mentioned this before -- dulcimers are NOT guitars.  String gauges and tensions are different.  FWIW, 26"-26.5" is a little on the short side for dulcimer VSLs.   Use the Strothers String Choice calculator; know that it runs light in gauge, and you can go up a size or two.  Don't worry/think about string tensions. 

As Dusty says, one you figure out which gauges work for you, just buy singles from a local music shop, rather than sets.  However, since most of my instruments have the same few VSLs, I tend to buy in bulk from www.juststrings.com; packs of a dozen strings of a given gauge .09, .010, .012 in my case. If I'm building an instrument with special requirements, I pick up singles locally.  Another thing you can do is buy 10-12 ft small coils of music wire of your commonly used gauges, and make your own strings -- it's not particularly hard.

Since  your apartment building is so prone to Porch Pirates, perhaps you should get an "accommodation" address.  I have one a local 'pack & ship' store nearby 

For example, I am in a dulcimer group that plays traditional music. However, I tend to play Renaissance, Celtic, Manx, Baroque, and a few pieces from the Middle Ages when I am by myself. 

Some really neat collections here. I can get a feel for the type of music that is played, just by looking at the collection. Such a variety, between members. Thanks to all who have shared so far, it's been fun to follow.

@steven-berger So, you're who has that checkerboard TMB John built-- I remember it!  You've got a cool collection of instruments which, I imagine, give you lots of joy in making the kinds of music you want to make.  

@susie I can imagine those little Gingers are much handier to have when traveling and space is at a premium.  Enjoy your little DAD Ginger, your final dulcimer (you think).  

I decided that my McSpadden Ginger (intonated GDG) needed a sister, so I ordered a walnut (w/ sapwood) - spruce Ginger (intonated DAD) to keep her company. I'm enjoying the smaller dulcimers (they also come in handy in our smaller motorhome when we travel). It's in at my music store where I ordered it though, but I can't get in to pick it up until Wednesday. I think this is my final dulcimer.

Robin, I see that you also have a new one on order. I'd love to see pictures of the BL after you get it. 

I have:

All poplar Tennessee Music Box (with checkerboard on back) by John Knopf

All poplar Will Singleton by John Knopf

All poplar J E Thomas (painted black) by John Knopf

Black walnut/butternut top Boar by Bobby Ratliff

Various woods kit by Bobby Ratliff

All wormy poplar Betty by Dan Cox (came with wormy poplar coffin case)

All cherry custom by Johnny Pledger

All black walnut by Johnny Pledger

All hickory teardrop by Folkcraft

All sycamore 5-string by Bill Berg

Padauk/spruce/maple Strumstick by Bob McNally

I also have:  SJ100+  Jumbo guitar by Gibson,  WL-250 banjo by Gold Tone, Tackhead banjo by Eric Prust, Mountain banjo by Jon Peterson, Mountain banjo by Nate Calkins, Gourd banjo by Barry Sholder, Nickel-plated brass resophonic guitar by OMI, Copper-plated/engraved Tricone resophonic guitar by Republic, Boxcar resophonic guitar by Gretsch, Weathered steel Style-O resophonic guitar by National Resophonic, Swan concertina by McNeela, a couple of harmonicas, a kalimba, 3 Civil War era fifes, and a Civil War era tin whistle.

Whew! L think that's it!

@susie Do tell!

I'm going to have a new little one in the family on Wednesday.

If you check some online companies you may be able to specify shipping in a small package by USPS and hopefully the parcel will fit in your mailbox which I assume is secure.

Hi @natebuildstoys.  I never buy packaged string sets for my dulcimers.  I buy single strings, although for some gauges that I use a lot, I buy them in bulk through JustStrings.com or Folkcraft.

But the first step is to figure out what gauge strings you like.  I prefer strings a little heavier than most, tuning DAd, I use .026 bronze wound for the bass, .016 for the middle, and .013 for the melody.  I think .024, .014, and .012 is probably more standard.

Once you figure out what gauges strings you want, just buy them as singles at any local music store. You only have to specify whether you want ball end or loop end.

And yes, the string gauge calculators err on the light side. But once you know that, and once you've developed your own preferences, you can still use the calculator, making the necessary adjustments.

Your bridge might have to be adjusted slightly depending on string gauges. But if the intonation seems OK, don't worry about it.  On my dulcimers with moveable bridges, I tend to check the bridge placement periodically, as in whenever I put on a new set of strings or perhaps before a performance.

I don't think I have accumulated dulcimers.  But I leave them alone at night and they reproduce.

I have three dulcimers. 

1) A 26” VSL McSpadden dulcimer made of redwood and black walnut with a micarta fretboard.

2) A 26” VSL McSpadden dulcimer made of black walnut with extra 1-1/2 and 8-1/2 frets. This one also has a micarta fretboard.

3) A Black Mountain Deluxe 58 dulcimer made of redwood and cherry. It has a rosewood fretboard with a 25.88” VSL.

I love and play them all frequently. Each dulcimer has a different sound.

Hello all. I go through a lot of dulcimer strings, and because my apartment is very prone to package theives I cannot order them online, so I am limited to what is locally available.

For a while, I would always just buy packs of Mandolin strings, since they only cost a couple dollars more than a pack of dulcimer strings, and come with spares since there are two of each. They come with two 11s, 15s, and 26s. The only issue is due to the construction of some on my newer dulcimers they are not long enough.

Packs of dulcimer strings are very frustrating, and always seem to be insanely light gauge. A pack of martin dulcimer strings marketed for Dadd provide a 12 for the A string! Even if i tune the whole thing up to Ebee, the B string is still insanely wimpy, and tuned to Cgcc it's basically inaudible. My dulcimers are 26"-26.5" VSL, which i believe is fairly standard. I have looked at string calculators which suggest 12-20 pounds on each string of tension but this seems insanely low to me. THis is far lower than extra light guitar strings for example.

At this point, what I have been doing is buying guitar strings, and using only the D,B, and E strings, which leaves me with extra strings every time, but gives me far better tone than any dulcimer strings Ive found. Do others have this same issue and what do y'all do about it?

Quick side question, my dulcimers have floating bridges so its not a big deal to move them, is this necessary or valuable to adjust them for different string gauges?

Registration Deadline For The Berea Traditional Dulcimore Gathering is May 15th!
No "at the gate" Registrations allowed. 

I agree with both of your points Robin.

Whether someone has 1 or 11, the instrument can add such a joy to our lives. 

@ken-hulme Or we've made a newer player afraid of what they might become?  

On a serious note, coming to the mountain dulcimer has made my life better-- making music at home is such a joy!  

"Thanks to all who shared here. I thought we'd get a little more interest in the thread, but if you don't feel comfortable sharing that's fine."

I suspect some newer players, with just one or two dulcimers, might be intimidated by those of us who have "accumulated" more... 

Depending on how taken apart or incomplete of a dulcimer i can count, I have between 3 and 10. Five of them are playable

A cardboard dulcimer
A rectangular dulcimer made from an old crate
A Baritone dulcimer
A bundt pan "resonator" dulcimer and
A dulcimer with a frying pan for a bridge

We do our !!!

Good for you Mary, I hope you will love your TMB!

Wow! I just ordered on but it's nowhere near that size. I do Civil War Living History (music). My great grandfather was a Confederate from Tennessee!

I just ordered a Tennessee Music Box so that will make 5 dulcimers. I also have 2 guitars, a tack head banjo & a autoharp.