Forum Activity for @lisavb

LOL, I'm embarrassed it took me so long to figure it out--I was in IT for 25 years before going to law school.

Now I've figured out the photo gallery thing, and posted pix of all my dulcimers. The cardboard one started me along the path, the walnut one carried me a good way...but the McSpadden...she is The One.  :)

Played to the CD. Wanted to see if I could do it. Still me playing, with mistakes. As I said everything else is fill in. Trying to see if I could play to a combo. Also wanted to give the Roosebeck a full try with something to blend to. It's good practice. Take out the original from the mix, and play myself into it.

Dusty, just to be clear I am not having issues with my McCafferty dulcimer. I was just checking the dime and nickel trick. I love my McCafferty dulcimer and I always get great compliments on the looks/quality from other players. Terry is having  a sale this weekend, but I did not act quick enough and the one I wanted is sold out. Snooze and you Loose!!

Since some were wondering about a 16/15 vs an EXR bass dulcimer here is a song done on the 16/15. Pure Celtic. Even a cheap Roosebeck (not so cheap in price) can sound great when reworked properly. This song would not come out as bright on an EXR. Note the overtones.

https://soundcloud.com/user-9942446/10-the-abbess-of-kildare-bridget-omalley?fbclid=IwAR0e3knC3Omoyv9AgGHzhC--67EltC3R2zYv7AutgtOULORdd39bAA0HmHY

@don-b, Are you having a problem with your McCafferty or did you just try to test it with the nickel and dime trick? It sounds like the only buzz you are getting is from improperly fretting the strings, meaning user error.  I have a McCafferty, too, and have no problem with the action or the fretwork.  If you are getting a buzz (and it's not from your own faulty fingering), then contact Terry.  He will make it right. In general, the action on his dulcimers is very low, since flatpickers generally want low action which is conducive to fast playing, but the fretwork is impeccable, and you should not have a buzz from faulty workmanship.  I contacted him recently because the pick-up jack in my dulcimer has come loose and rattles around, and I will be sending the dulcimer to him very soon, not only to fix the jack (which he has started to glue in but only after he made my dulcimer), but also to have a custom bridge made.  He is very friendly and takes his craft very seriously.

Don:  as long as you're not getting any buzzing the action isn't too low and you don't have to worry.  But if you change strings and then get some buzzing it may be because the new strings are a tad larger or less tight.  Buzzes usually happen when you fret.  If you get buzzes from un-fretted strings there is definitely an issue.

I agree with Ken Hulme. Let David Johnston take a look at it. It will be worth the wait to get any concerns figured out. Keep us posted. I know you are excited to finally have that dulcimer. I know you had a wait a while. 

regarding the dime and nickel - on my McCafferty dulcimer the dime at first fret is very tight and the string needs to rise ever so slightly to get the dime under it. At the 7th fret the nickel is loose fitting with the string just over the nickel with out touching. So should I be concerned. This appears to be equal with all strings. I also do not hear any buzzing unless I do not push down on the string correctly. When people say they get buzzing, is that with plucking open string or fretting them?

Nathina, woah, you are so cool to figure how to download a program on phone and then up it on here.   and your dulcimer is simply beautiful.   Lovely mellow sound and it will be fun when you figure how to show us you playing your lovely.  aloha, irene

@lisavb , that sounds terrific!  What a lovely mellow tone, and you have a nice touch when playing.     I'm also impressed that you figured out on your own so quickly how to get a sound clip up in your post.

LOL, @nathina!  That's why I didn't try to simply do a video.  I'm sure my thumbs would have been even worse!  Not my best rendition of that bit of melody.  Oh well.  

I get all thumbs when I even *think* I'm being watched.  I learned Tom Waits' Rain Dogs pretty decently. I wanted to play a duet with him (him on CD, not in my house) on my guitar.  Whoa, parts I was OK, parts I was a train wreck.  And he didn't even know I was duetting with him.  Sheesh.

I usually call them "its," but this one is just so curvy and graceful, seems like a LADY.  :)  I'm no good with trees' reproductive habits...I majored in zoology in undergrad!

So I found an app to download to my phone to make a simple MP3.  I think she sounds better in person than in the recording, but it's not too bad. She's in CGC for this, has a double melody string.  I had a little performance anxiety with the phone staring at me, LOL.  

McSpadden clip.mp3 - 928KB

I wouldn’t do any more than try a heavier string. Any thoughts on the best way to fix it? Shims or a new saddle?

If you are getting together with the builder, DO NOT DO ANYTHING until he checks it over.  If you live that close to the builder, don't be doing things yourself.  That's just silly.  Let the builder do any modifications he feels are necessary.

Strings stretch, wood contracts or expands with humidity. Every wooden instrument needs to be retuned every few days. Try a hammered dulcimer. 15 minutes of retuning normally.

Yeah on the question, Yeah on the answers and Yeah for us learning lots here.   Happy winter playing to all of you.  aloha, irene

Ok I rechecked it. The dime does fit nicely between the string and fretboard at the first fret. The nickel won’t fit anywhere between the frets and strings. Should that be corrected before I try other fixes? What would be the fix? Shim the saddle or replace it?

I have emailed David about the buzz when fretting at the 9th fret. We are supposed to set a time to get together. Later it started buzzing when played open. It is stored in its case in my closet but it is cold. It did seem to begin as the weather changed. So if the heavier string fixes the buzz do I leave the action set as I described it or bring it up so the nickel will fit as prescribed?

edit to say the dime fits correctly.

Weather changes can cause buzzes.  Please, go with the easy experiment suggested by Strumelia.  

I agree that it might be because of the winter changing the tension on the strings. I would also reach out to David Johnston of Black Mountain Instruments. You bought the dulcimer new so he should be willing to make it right. I would call him up and discuss your problem. I tried to email him a while back and he does not respond.  

Any luthier worth his salt would make his product right for you.  

This is a common thing- once winter sets in, the bass string begins to have a buzz against one or more frets. The Winter Buzz. That's due to the shrinking/expanding of the instrument and the resulting lessening of tension on the strings. The bass string has a wider vibrating arc when played and it's also the fattest string, so it happens there most often.

The first and easiest thing to try and also the least invasive:  replace the bass string with one that is a step thicker.  If it's a .24 wound string, replace it with a .26 wound string, for example.  The tighter tension will pull the bass string tauter and prevent it from swinging around so much when played. 
Please, try this simple string change before you start sanding things and altering bridges!

You've got the nickel & dime idea WRONG. 

The strings should just touch a dime setting next to the first fret.

They should also just touch a nickel balanced on top of the 7th fret not the 6th fret.

If open strings are sharp before playing  -- how sharp is sharp?? A few cents?  Half way across the dial?  If the instrument is in tune when you put it away --- and is sharp when you come back to play again -- you have some serious environmental issues going on.  Where are you storing it.  in direct sunlight at any time?  In a cold back room?

Yes they are pretty, but I couldn't distinguish any tonal quality changes. The center of the jig is "proud" of the frame, when you tighten the bolts it bends the panel into place. Wetting the panel in hot water in the bathtub, then using a hot air gun whilst torturing the panel in the jig. Hope this helps, always fun to experiment!

 P7040003.JPG - 153KB

It’s a new dulcimer so I won’t try any self help first. I will sight down the fretboard though. I’ve noticed several times that it is tuned sharp when I check it before playing. Warping was my thought on how it would go sharp on its own. 

Sight down the Fingerboard it may be warped. Try putting a very thin shim under the bass side of the bridge. A shim should be no thicker than a guitar pick. That might solve the problem. You might just have a fret that's too high in some spot. Check to see if all frets are set properly. A gentle tap with a hammer might fix that. Perhaps the frets were not leveled properly by the builder. Dulcimers are not rock guitars, raising the action with a taller bridge is fine, and the tone and volume will definitely sound better.... Robert

Well, I've filed frets, but you need to talk to the maker of this dulcimer.  You might need to raise the bridge and I suggest that before you go a filing frets down.   The nickel deal is just a suggestion. You might need raise the bridge.  If this is a brand new dulcimer, let's see what others have to say here.   aloha, irene

I noticed a buzz on the bass string fretting at the 9th fret a while back. Now the bass string has a buzz unfretted. I got a dime and a nickel and checked the action. The dime fits in at the 6th and the nickel won’t fit in at any fret. This is for all strings. What should I expect to be done to repair it? Replace the bridge and nut or file frets? It’s a new dulcimer so I want it done right. Thanks

My idea is if the dulcimer is curvy (hourglass), it's a LADY.  If the dulcimer has a fat middle (Galax or teardrop), it's a GENT.   Nature itself should teach us that...  Now if the dulcimer is straight-sided, or asymmetrical, well...um...OK, it's just a theory.

Personally, I usually post a video to Youtube first, and then just put in the youtube link to either link the vid in a post here, or I add it to the fotmd video section if it's an actual tune.
If it's just a short demo video, you might try adding the file as an attachment to a post here. See the "add attachment" button below where you type when making a post?  See if that works for your sample clip.   :)

Your new dulcimer is lovely!  So glad it's a pleasure to play.

@nathina, many years ago I started a discussion here called " Dulcimer Gender Studies " asking exactly why so many people give their dulcimers female names.  No one thought to examine the reproductive process of the trees from which the wood came.

I always wonder if I should call may instruments, he she or it? Now if it is from a male tree it would be he, from a female tree her and from a self pollinating variety it.

Terry, so lovely to read this.

She sounds...amazing.  Yesterday, I spent several hours(!) trying everything imaginable on her. DAD, CGC, w/ and w/o capo, high register/low register, flatpicking and fingerpicking, playing soft/loud, playing from printed music of various types (folk, medieval, you name it), slides/hammer-ons/pull-offs (though my pull-offs need some more work, to be honest), and just "making it up and going nuts."  She is definitely brighter than my black walnut--which makes a massive difference when fingerpicking.  Very pleased with the fingerpicking tones she musters.  Much better than with the walnut (fret issues aside).  And yes, I gave the 1+ fret a workout.  So nice to have a "real" fret there instead of something taped down (and often making a buzz).

I'd love to do a sound clip for you all...haven't done one before.  What's the most straightforward way you all use to post here?  I have an iPhone and an iPad, also a digital camera.  Not sure the right file type for posting here.

The only issue I had was one I discovered the day she arrived.  I have a Ewing capo, and when I capo'd on the 1, it tended to rise up a wee tad on the melody string side as I played and created some bad notes on the melody strings.  I suspected the double melody strings gave a bit more resistance, combined with the super smooth finish on the side of the fretboard.  I emailed McSpadden yesterday morning and Jim Woods answered (shockingly quickly for the day before a holiday) with some suggestions.  Could very gently sand the spot to allow better grip (I couldn't bear to do so) or add something to the inside of the capo on that side for better traction.  I opted for that.  Had a very small white rubber band of just the right size.  Not obtrusive, and it appears to give that side of the capo just the little bit more traction it needed to stay put in the 1!

She is wonderful...

My wife has been a pianist since 6 years old. I always loved to hear her play, but for the Last 10 years  or so, she doesn’t play much. But for the last months she has nursed and cared for me beyond measure. But the most significant enjoyment I’ve received is listening to her softly playing. On this special day, I give thanks to this special person in my life, and her talent with the ivory.

Don, what a wonderful thing your son did for you!  He must love you a lot.

Dusty I love that - so simple yet so true! Like a true companion... 

It's remarkable how long ago I wrote that original piece. And after all this time, I am even more grateful for the camaraderie we have created here at FOTMD.  (I wonder if Strumelia knew what a community she was creating back when she first had that brilliant idea to develop this site.)

I hope you can all enjoy Thanksgiving safely this year. 

And yes, @don-grundy, let's all play our dulcimers and express thanks that we have such a fulfilling hobby, something needed these days more than ever.  Like a true companion, my dulcimer helps me celebrate when days are bright and lament when they're gloomy.