Forum Activity for @strumelia

I hear the struggle and can relate, Ryan!
Welcome to the site.

I play clawhammer style. Used to be decent at it, then life got in the way and I barely picked my banjo up for years. Now I'm trying to regain the ability and learn the MD.

Do you have any favorite mountain dulcimer playlists on sites like Spotify, YouTube Music, Amazon Music, etc.?

If not, please suggest some artists I should include if I make one. Thanks.

Drew009: I'm playing with only one finger on my right hand and may I say I'm making a lot of music. I'm looking for an adaptive pick though that would fit over my finger for strumming.

If you want to STRUM, a THUMB pick might be better than any finger pick. I Googled " pick for people with bad fingers " and got suggestions for the BLACK MOUNTAIN Spring-Loaded Thumb Pick. It's a lot more advanced than the classic metal thumb pick. 

https://blackmountainpicks.com/pages/thumb-picks

In addition to grabbing your thumb, it's fat enough to prevent most cases of "Whoops, my pick fell through the sound hole!"

Here's a picture of my choice in picks for strumming

 My Favorte Pick.jpg - 208KB

Drew, I’ve been racking my brain for a few days because I knew I’d seen a pick that might be right for you but I couldn’t remember the name of it. Facebook finally threw an ad in front of me that reminded me! Check this out, you may find it helpful: https://www.flippickplectrums.com/product-page/flip-pick-starter-pack

Alex, in addition to singing songs with lyrics "far from their day to day lives", many didn't concern themselves with the meaning of individual unfamiliar words.  The general meaning was understood, but a single word taken out of context didn't need defining.  I remember one example was the word "steed"...the person they were asking said they had no idea what it meant because it wasn't a word that was used in those parts.  It was just another "foreign" word to them.  

There are finger picks some use for playing stringed instruments. I do not know much about them other than they are available. Perhaps someone will chime in with a bit more information.

Hello, and welcome! Look forward to hearing some of your tunes. I'm always amazed at how sweet a sound the dulcimer makes.

Welcome Drew, I'm rather a newbie myself. This site has been a great help to me. The folks here are eager to help. Seems like someone is available to assist with every issue or question. Tell us about your new Dulcimer and what other instruments you play.

I'm glad that you are enjoying the Hearts of the Dulcimer podcasts. Unfortunately Patricia and Wayne don't participate here that much. I think they've gone on to other things. I think Wayne might be building dulcimers now. Dusty may know more about that.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thank you Dusty for noting Ron Ewing's passing. Ron was a multiply-innovative luthier and player. For one thing, he brought us out of the days of chopstick-and-rubber-band-capos with his perfectly crafted and durable design. He was the inventor of the hourglass-teardrop hybrid which he called the Aorell, as mentioned below. He arguably invented the dulcimette and then played it in his driving strumming style. All his instruments had great, lively sound. He championed the 1 and 1/2 fret and used it to play hundreds of Celtic tunes. He was a regular builder-seller-player at dozens of regional dulcimer festivals in the East and Midwest. These he did marathon drives to, always with a load of newly built dulcimers, in one of his beloved vintage BMWs that he did all the mechanical work on. I visited him a couple times in Columbus Ohio and he at one point had an engine block on his kitchen table. He was also an avid cyclist. And just the nicest sort of person you could hope to meet. He will definitely be missed! 

Beautiful instrument, is there an audio recording of it?

Greetings from New Mexico. I got a dulcimer for Christmas and can't put it down. A beautiful sound like no other I've played. I hope to write my own compositions and share the joy.

I've listened to several podcasts that are available in audiobook. Very informative and entertaining. Thank you for putting these episodes together.

I'm playing with only one finger on my right hand and may I say I'm making a lot of music. I'm looking for an adaptive pick though that would fit over my finger for strumming.

Paula, Garry just celebrated his 77th birthday on January 29th. I don't know if he is still building. Have you tried contacting him through his website? www.dulcimercentral.com ?

Rick Probst died in 2024 I'm sad to say.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Are either of these luthiers still making instruments?  
I am looking for one of their dulcimers.  Thanks!

Sorry to hear this. My one and only time interacting with Ron was for a custom capo he made me. I had purchased one of his capos years ago (a walnut capped one) from Elderly, mainly using it on my walnut teardrop, and had later built another dulcimer of cedar with a shorter height fingerboard. That capo wouldn’t work on it as the legs were too long, so I had him make me one with shorter legs. I asked if he could make it with a cedar cap to match the dulcimer, but he suggested a piece of koa being harder and of similar color, so I went with that and had him add an abalone snowflake inlay as well. He was very accommodating of my inquiry. 

I am hoping to purchase a Gallier dulcimer and

or a Rick Probst dulcimer.  I am in SW Michigan.  Please email me if you have one to part with.  

paulabrawdy@gmail.com

Beautiful, artist-signed mountain dulcimer handcrafted by Brad Conatser of Smoky Mountain Dulcimers, Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Signed and dated 10-22-14 inside the soundboard.

Features an elegant hummingbird and foliate sound hole design, hand-cut with fine detail. Constructed from a blend of cherry, walnut, maple, and birch, offering both visual warmth and balanced tonal clarity.

• Scale length: 26.75"

• 6.5 fret

• Includes fitted hard case

• New old stock (NOS) 

• There is a thin crack on the neck that probably happened from a lack of humidity in the shop or storage. Please see pics. I took it to a reputable instrument repair shop and he said that’s not uncommon and can be easily be repaired by a luthier or someone who has experience.(they had two humidifiers going😁).
• this is a $950/1,050 item new. due to the crack I’d like to sell it for $750 plus shipping. I guess to double box it etc for shipping it will be about 50.
• I can send more photos if needed. It wont let me add more pics. This was from an estate sale of someone who owned a music store that had passed. amazing guitars etc., but I gravitated towards the dulcimer .
• let me know if you have any questions or would like me to text or email more detailed pics. 502-558-2683

 IMG_0434.jpeg - 80KB

Alex, I hope you can find a Minnesotan here!  I've been here since very early on and vaguely recall there being, at least, a person or two from the Land of 10,000 Lakes.  

Hi All,

I hope you're doing well.

I've asked this before and not gotten a response, so please reply.

Are there any other Minnesotans in this group?  Would love to know, especially now.

Nate, I am experimenting with different heights off the possum board. I'll let you know if my ears can tell a difference in tone.

I like that Nate. I think I found out how cool it sounds by accident. Now it seems natural in some arrangements. Same with pull offs. Just sounds natural and comes easy on certain notes on the melody string. Not to mention, it's fun.

Sliding between frets is one of my favorite things about playing the dulcimer. I like to use the side of my thumbnail for long slides up and down the melody string.

When I build one with a double back, I usually only give it about 1/8th of an inch gap. 
I suspect that the size of the gap would have a subtle impact on how the sound waves interact with eachother. To some extent, the space between the bottom of the instrument and the possum board or false bottom could be considered a separate "soundbox" that will produce some amount of resonance on it's own, and most likely affects the tone in a small way. It may be useful to set your dulcimer on a couple of chunks of wood that are sitting on a board as a simulated "possum board" and see if you notice a difference in tone at different heights.
I personally have noticed that when the instrument is closer to the board, it affects the high end of the instrument tone and can make the sound more "nasally" whereas a larger distance between the dulcimer and possum board has less of this effect.

A double-back is a permanent part of the instrument, whereas a possum-board is a temporary, removable part that the instrument can be set on. 

What is the difference between a double back and a possum board?

My Galaxes have about a 1/4" spacing between backs, but you could even get by with 1/8" if you wanted to.

Jon, we're actually in a period of radical change in terms of electric music, and your original question here is evidence of that.  It used to be that if you wanted different sounds (distortion, chorus, wah-wah, etc,) you had to buy a separate foot pedal to achieve each one. But now there are "modeling" amplifiers that can do it all.  They can mimic the sound of a telecaster going through a distortion pedal into a Marshall amp, and you don't have to have a telecaster, a pedal or the Marshall amp!  Everything can be altered electronically.  McCafferty's fanciest dulcimers are equipped with a midi synthesizer.  You can play your dulcimer and it can sound like a trumpet or a violin or a piano or anything you want.  Of course, you have to have the computer software to do all that.

People adept at the technology  can make fully-produced recordings with rhythm sections and horns and back-up singers and everything, just using their one instrument.

Then again, I just play my dulcimer and hope that it sounds, well, like a dulcimer.  Steel strings resonating in the wooden body of a dulcimer still make the most beautiful music to my ears.

I agree with John. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks Robin. I started out using a noter but watched so many videos on picking and strumming I got away from it. When I was young my uncle was the musical therapist at the mental institute in Pontiac, Michigan. Each visit to Florida he would bring a different instrument so we could learn to play. One year he brought a steel guitar. I played around with it but never mastered it. Playing the dulcimer with a noter reminded me of the sliding technique on that instrument. It brought back fond memories.

Well after Ken's and Dusty's explanation I went over to Terry McCafferty web site and Under support And found some interesting information on going Electric. all I can say is wow going  Electric is really complicated. All the equipment and filters and pedals it's all bid overwhelming. I don't think I'll make it in my lifetime. I'm getting way ahead of myself. But I guess that's part of the fun about learning things. 

Thanks John. What is the spacing on a Galax double back?

Don't overthink it, Richard.  I have not run across any standard spacings myself.  I'd say a space of anywhere from 1/4" to 3/8" would be fine.  You don't need more than that.

Thinking about a possum board, Does anyone know if there are any standards for how much space between the dulcimer and the possum board?  Any science to it?

I have seen what seems to be general recommendations for 3/8:" to 1/2" spacing. 

What are your thoughts?

Well kids thanks for getting back to me with all the good information a little bit over my head.

 I must say it sounds like it could be fun I guess. a little abstract to say the least.Also one might start to think why bother practicing to make a good clean note. Thanks Ken thanks Dusty 

Hey Jon. Ken has more experience with Garage Band than I do and explains the basics well. You are correct that it is not a physical amp.  In the analog world, a clean amp is just an amp that provides a very clean sound (meaning with no distortion) that is best for use with guitar pedals.  In the digital world, it is more like a setting you choose for the virtual amp you use with Garage Band.  And people do indeed plug into computers, but not directly. In between you use a digital audio interface that converts the audio signal of a guitar, dulcimer, or other instrument into a digital signal that can be mixed by a computer.  I have little experience with this--and my digital audio interface has been sitting in the closet for years--but I assume you would want a clean amp in Garage Band for the same reason you would in the analog world: to start with a really clean sound that you could then play with, adding different effects.

Garage Band is an app that comes with Apple computers, iPads, and iPhones. As far as I know Clean AMP is a way to process your recording in the app. I use Garage Band to record (using a microphone) but haven't used any of the amp modeling for processing the signal. There are so many different settings in Garage Band it is often difficult to decide how to proceed. I took a course in Garage Band many years ago offered by our Guitar Center. That was a 130 mile round trip for six weeks. Luckily a friend and I shared the driving and cost of gas. The course was free. Garage Band has gone through so many changes since then that I hardly recognize it anymore.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well I'm scratching the top of my cranium trying to figure out what the Is this thing? Garage Band Clean AMP?

I came across this when I was surfing YouTube and never could find anything that gave any really detailed information. I'm getting the impression that it is not a real amp, meaning a physical object. 

I understand how a real amp works and for example a Looper pedal you plug the instrument into it and the looper records what you're playing as far as a Looper pedal goes. So if this thing Garage Band Clean AMP? is just a piece of software not a real amp then I don't get how it works I mean you can't plug your instrument into your laptop and you can't really plug it into your iPhone or Etc. Anyone out there know anything about this thing and how does the thing work