Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

@matt-berg The main reason I could identify the tuners is I have 8 of them here in my house.  

I stand corrected for misidentifying the tuners.

I can vouch for the quality of this type of Schaller tuner-- they were on a Blue Lion I came by used several years ago.  As has been suggested, the tuner screws on these rarely need attention.    

If the dulcimer is a Blue Lion as Robin suggested those are Schaller tuning machines. Here is a link to the Schaller website. These are very high quality tuners made in Germany.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Planetary pegs are probably the best type of tuning peg to use on a dulcimer.  They are also the most expensive, but consider how they're made:  There is a main shaft with a gear on it in the center of the peg's casing, with 3 planetary gears arranged around it that make the turning action smooth and accurate, and change the turns ratio from 1:1 to something like 4:1.

Yes just to clarify-  those screws are not supposed to function to 'hold' the string's tuning in place after every time you tune. They are just supposed to make it a little easier or harder to turn the tuning peg- tightening or loosening the tension of the tuning machine, not the string. As Dusty said, it might be only needed once in a great while. If you notice a tuned string slipping lower in pitch because the peg will not hold it at its note, then that might be a good time to tighten the screw of that peg just a little- only until the peg holds the string in tune sufficiently. If you tighten the screws too much they can strip/stop working.

The tuners in the photo @lilley-pad posted are of very nice planetary-type tuners and are not inexpensive.  In the photo, they're on what I'm pretty certain is a Blue Lion dulcimer.  The type of tuners pictured can be seen here on a Blue Lion: https://www.bluelioninstruments.com/Dulc.pix/IIW.jpg  

You should not normally have to do anything with those screws. Over time, however, the tuning pegs might get too stiff or loose and you adjust them with those screws.  You probably only need to adjust them once every ten years or so.  If you don't have a problem tuning your strings, don't mess with those screws.

Some tuning pegs have much tinier little screws, and sometimes they are on the other end of the post.

That is the same impression I got, matt. On very simple instruments you often see these types of screws that are meant to hold the tension of the string, and typically they cannot support more than 10 lb at most

Anything beyond that starts to dig into the plastic

Those appear to be ukulele tuners.  I tried them once, I thought they worked poorly and never used them again as they do not work well with steel strings.   as far as I could tell, you tighten the screws and then tune the string and hope the tuner holds.

Hi kids just trying to increase my education here I noticed a pair of tuning pegs. I was wondering what they are called and what are the little adjustment screws on the end for?Are you supposed to loosen the screw and then tune the string and then tighten the screw back down tight, I don't get it.  Seems like an awful lot of work if that's the case. Hope the photo was attached

 Screenshot 2025-05-05 2.17.35 AM.png - 332KB

Such wise counsel from Strumelia. That is a very special dulcimer and one to treasure. Like her, I think it must have been meant for you. Play it and enjoy it.

If it plays well (and i suspect it must), then if you intend to play dulcimer, even just a little for fun, why sell this at all?  It's a hassle to sell and ship a nice dulcimer that needs to be well protected during shipping. And also a hassle for a beginner to find and buy another dulcimer that might have problems that are not apparent to the seller. 
In my humble opinion, you are a lucky person. just start playing it and learning. Learning to play a dulcimer is not hard, and you can add to your playing skills as much or as little as you choose. It's great fun to play beginner tunes.
Maybe that dulcimer was meant to be with you for a while in its journey! 

My brother pointed out in the video link I posted that the 2nd fret played sounded flat. Of course it did. I played the extra 1.5 fret that I installed. Here's the scale played with skipping that fret.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/TfBKTuRxxdmPuRA77

I bought it at an estate sale because it was just too beautiful. However, I don't play! I am just a beginner and don't expect to get very advanced -- I prefer listening to others play and learning about the history and stories of the dulcimer. I am considering selling it to pay for a more basic dulcimer for myself, and get this in the hands of someone who can appreciate it more than me. Not sure how to price it, and would love to know more about it before I decide to sell.

(I am new to this forum and not sure how to reply directly to someone's comment)

Very nice!  One suggestion springs to mind, seeing all of that face carving:  Ron Cook of Ron Cook Studios in California.  Ron built many, many instruments (including dulcimers) in the past, but is now retired. 

He is famous for putting intricate carvings of faces on his dulcimers, and although THESE faces look somewhat different than Ron's faces, it's a possibility.  (On the other hand, I think Ron put labels in all of his instruments, so there's that).

Good luck in finding out more of your dulcimer's history!

What a unique and impressive dulcimer. A treasure for sure.

Yes, not excavating and cutting foundation walls this time. If it flies, it will be because of frustration. Although I'm not prone to throwing things that matter.

It's in testing mode right now. I need to move the 2 melody strings closer together. Minutes ago I received a little amp/speaker/bluetooth thingie that plugs into the output jack. Not really loud, but very portable. Google photo link below. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/byTkN4caWCsD9HBg7

I'm picking away at Amazing Grace as it's my mom's favorite.

Probably easier to get out of the basement than the aircraft was.....

Nice build.....Will it fly?

What an absolute jewel of a dulcimer!  Do you own it, and if so, where/how did you get it?

It's hard to believe that someone would put that much skilled work into an instrument and then not sign it or mark it... is there maybe a label inside that got detached and is just loose inside the instrument? Did you use a flashlight?

Nicely done, @terry-jaye .  Have you tested it out yet? What starter tune are you experimenting with?

Nice!

What a lovely instrument!  Made by a very skilled woodworker, for sure.  No 6.5 fret and not a reproduction build of some kind.  It's very cool.  

Hello all. I've been aware of dulcimers for over 52 years, but never learned to play. I built one from plans in a 1973 Popular Science issue when I was age 14. I was fascinated with the graceful curves. Here's a snap of the original article.

With the very limited resources living in rural Southern Ontario, I was able to approximate the instrument. No one including the big city music store nearby knew what I was talking about. It served it's purpose as a wall decoration for all these years. This past winter I noticed the peg box had spilt. I did a minor restoration and finally purchased dulcimer strings and replaced the pegs.

I lent it to a classical guitarist neighbor of mine. She returned it stating it was difficult to play. She was being kind. After some research and viewing lots of Youtube videos, I came to the conclusion that the first 4 frets were correct. For some reason, I inserted another a slightly more than an inch after the 4th. The rest were correct but offset by that 1 inch. The instrument was unplayable and it's now back on the wall.

I decided I there was one more dulcimer in my bones and started construction on an electric one. Nine days after starting, it's functionally complete. I have more resources and time than I did for the last project. I shaped it to pay homage to the original. This one has a removable fretboard so that mistakes are easily fixed. Also allows for a chromatic fretboard if I want to go that route. I made use of  AN aircraft fasteners everywhere. I built an aircraft in my basement some years ago and those fasteners ger used everywhere It's visible on the photo above the two instruments.

Anyway, I'm learning to play the new one. I don't have a musical bone in my body, but should be able to crank out some tune in a mechanical way. I'll post the construction process in the appropriate forum. It was nice to find this site as I'll probably need some advice and assistance.

Terry

That is such a neat dulcimer. The craftsmanship and detail is insane, and the woods are so beautiful. 

Wow that is so cool

There is no maker's mark on the inside that I can see.

 20250428_184051.jpg - 272KB

@frank-dudgeon It'd be fun to try it as a trio yet our niece lives in another state and we don't often see her.  We're happy you love our little tune!  

Thanks for reposting the original That's a gorgeous melody. I can imagine a dulcimer-cello-guitar trio sounding wonderful swapping leads. 

@john-petry @dusty @macaodha @frank-dudgeon I'm happy y'all enjoyed the cello version of a mountain dulcimer & guitar tune!  I thought it would sound neat on cello, so the last time I saw my niece I talked to her about whether or not she'd be interested in learning the tune so I sent her our SoundCloud link.  

For anyone interested in comparing how the tune was translated from our duo tune to a cello tune, here's a link from here at FOTMD for comparison:

P.S.- @steve-c You may well know the location where the long-gone Peony farm was located-- roughly, behind old Unioto School just outside Chillicothe.   

That was marvelous. Thank you so much. You have a very talented niece!

You, my friend, are the inspiration! After your query, I did a search as well, finding that no one is making them any longer.....So being the struggling mercenary....I hope to make my fortune.....

That is beautiful Robin.

Thank you very much for your response John. I have already received a Hall from fearless leader Dusty in exchange for a donation to the forum. Yours look great as well.

That's really beautiful, @robin-thompson.  Although I would not recognize the melody as one of yours, I can hear your delicate slides certainly.  Your niece is quite talented.  Hopefully you can forgive her for going to Indiana for school.  

Can't find the right words this morning......a few tears though. [in the good way]...Thank you.

@steve-c She grew up in SW OH!  (Music degrees, though, from Ohio and Butler universities.) 

Beautiful Robin! Just beautiful, your niece has mad cello skills!