Hardly anyone goes swimming in the sea down here. Playing "Bobber" is thing. Or sitting in the shade and watching/listening to the surf roll in and the seabirds. On a good day you'll be out Bobbing and manatee will come up to investigate you; or a pod of dolphins want to play with you.
Magic -- you may be over thinking things.
I'll suggest recording your playing and at the end note things you liked about a particular recording. They play it back -- the later that day or next day -- to hear what it sounds like. You can never really tell what the balance of melody to drones sounds like, your attack on the melody or drones, etc. until you hear it from "out front" as it were instead of "on top" of the sound.
Greg, I'm so glad you love the dulcimore! You play it well. If I were you, I'd try both in-strums and out-strums to vary the sound. I find that songs sound slightly different when you change-up the strum directions. Beautiful recordings!
I just had a few days where I haven't been able to access the site - I just get a message saying 'You do not have permission to access this server'. This has happened many times now, usually for a day or so, sometimes for more like a week. I don't know if it's to do with me being in the UK or what, but I don't think the problem is in my end - it always resolves itself without me doing anything. Just wondering if anyone else has this issue or if anything can be done about it.
Ditto on John Knopf and his Thomas replicas. I love mine.
Ken that sounds pretty divine, bouncing in the sea waves. I wouldn't mind smelling the salt air and hearing the gulls for a bit.. I do crave that once in a while even though I'm not really a swimmer. But will be just staying home for now 
. I'll vicariously enjoy imaging the seafood you had there. ....Hey wait, I think I'll play a nature sound track on my ipad of beach waves and gulls right now in my office, while I get to work on a job! 
Bouncy, bouncy, Lisa -- it's good for you!
We got our "bounce on" two weekends back. We took a short stay at Manasota Key up near Venice, FL, over 4th of July. Olde Florida kinda beachfront motel seriously doing social distancing and mask wearing, etc. Private beach so few people about. Summer rental rates. Gulf of Mexico was 90F and so was the air temp!! Afternoons there was a 'good' sea swell, and needless to say, standing out in chest to neck deep water, we did a lot of bouncing in the waves. Enough that even though we were eating more than at home (dinners at a nearby fabulous really socially conscious restaurant) we still each lost a pound or so over 4 days!
I've been keeping up with my small vegetable garden. We had lots of lettuces, but now green beans are what i'm picking a lot of, and just got a nice first cucumber. It's been very hot and mostly dry, so I've had to water about twice a week though. The tomato plants are looking good, with lots of green ones developing. 
These days it's too hot to be out there midday, and that goes for walking too. We've been eating pretty healthily lately.
But... I have not kept up with fitness walks as I had wanted to (it's been so very hot and humid out), so I've been slowly getting more out of shape and gaining weight. 
Because of Covid, there are no contra dances happening and that was my biggest form of exercise for the past 10 years. I miss it!
One of my daughters bought a small (38" diameter) indoor fitness trampoline (it's often called a 'rebounder') and was telling me how much she and her wife love it now- they can do their workouts now right in their apartment and it's fun! Sometimes they put on music to do a bounce routine.
This inspired me to get one for myself, I could see a similarity to dancing which has a lot of bouncing steps too.
So... my rebounder arrived a few days ago and I started with 5 minute beginner level bounce sessions both morning and evening- so far nine sessions. It's quite an intense workout, so that's why I'm starting out with only 5 minute sessions at first- it wipes me out! I'm still getting used to it, and am glad I attached a side safety bar I can hold when I get a little off balance. Just today I was able to increase to 6 minute sessions. It really gets all my muscles burning and my heart rate and breathing way up. It's supposed to be a full body workout without joint stress.
It IS fun to do, even though it's hard work right now due to my being so out of shape.
I like that it doesn't require a lot of preparation- it's quite convenient. This feels pretty do-able for me! My goal is to eventually build up to 10 or 15 minute sessions twice a day, and then maybe switch over to a single 20 minute session once a day. I'm going to try hard to stick with this bounce exercise routine- I absolutely need to get moving again!
Sounds like a nice first outing, Don. If you are outdoors and maintain social distancing, you are pretty safe. My daughter and I went kayaing in a nearby lake last week. It was only a day trip, but it was so nice to get out and away from everything. Neither the ducks nor the trout know anything about the COVID, and we forgot about it as well for a few hours.
So sorry for the negative part of the change. It is a tough time. Just lots of care, hand washing and more hand washing and masks when around people.
Dusty, that's sounds very stressful for your family. I hope you manage to navigate this situation safely, it stinks that you have little control over it.
I suggest that you guys order several metal 'door openers' to keep with your keychains/purses/cars. They're a 'thing' now, Brian and I have them for when we have to go to stores or indoor places. Creates less germ contamination when opening office doors, flushing toilets, pushing elevator buttons, pressing payment keypads, etc. They work for most but not all situations and are handy to have:
Well my wife moved to a new job this past week. During the interviews they said that she might have to do some of her training in person. Now they've decided she will have to do all of her training in person and might not be able to work from home for a year. This despite the governor's announcent that all state workers are supposed to work from home for the foreseeable future. Very frustrating. Even though she wears masks and sanitizes her desk every morning, she still has to use the elevator and the bathroom there. Aargh! Our house had been its own little quarantine bubble. Now that bubble is burst. 
I've owned one of John's Ed Thomas replicas (painted poplar) for a number of years, and agree wholeheartedly with everything you've written. John is a joy to work with and builds great instruments -- not just the Thomas replica but his large traditional Singleton replica is fabulous as well.
Judging how much and which drones to emphasize where in any particular song, is to me one of the joys of working up tunes on a traditional dulcimer.
I've had my new Ed Thomas replica by John Knopf for just over a week now and have just uploaded a couple of quick recordings, so I thought I'd share some thoughts on the instrument.
In short, I couldn't be happier with it. Neither John's photos nor mine do justice to its appearance - they make it look lighter in colour and somehow 'newer' or glossier than the lovely, natural, dark walnut piece it is. Robin Clark's testimonial about the painted poplar version, shared on John's website, describes it as having 'the Holy Grail of shimmering dulcimer voices', and that perfectly expresses how I feel about my walnut version. The melody string just sings with that 'high silvery' tone that makes it such a pleasure to slip and slide a noter around the fretboard.
I was a little worried that I might find the drones a little brash or overpowering on such a truly old-style dulcimer, since their 'bright' tone is often contrasted with the more 'mellow' tone of modern instruments (which is what I've played in the past) - but the sound is quite mellow enough for me. (I still find that I'm second-guessing myself on how to much to consciously emphasize or de-emphasize the drone strings and the rhythm, but that's nothing to do with this instrument in particular!)
Since I'm in the UK, I had to pay more than $200 in shipping and taxes to get this instrument in my hands, but I'm glad I bit the bullet and didn't just settle for anything less that the truly authentic, traditional instrument I really wanted. Not only is John's craftsmanship excellent, but the simplicity and elegance of Ed Thomas's original design is something you can only really appreciate when you hold one of these incredibly light, small, slender instruments in your hands. I would recommend them unreservedly to any player with any level of interest in the traditional 'dulcimore', especially if those players are in the US and can get hold of them at the more than reasonable price John charges sans import costs!
Finally, I must mention what a pleasure John was to work with, being more than happy to accommodate my request not just for a non-standard finish (oil rather than shellac), but also my perhaps more 'delicate' request for an 'anonymous' instrument without the name and Bible verse he normally includes on the label.
What a sweet video. Thanks for sharing it with us, Robin.
Thanks for sharing, Robin!
Robin, what a treasure this video is! Thank you so much for posting this here.
And that ballad at the end sung by Jean Ritchie is about the prettiest i ever heard.
Steve, welcome! We look forward to insights from everyone. As you mention, the dulcimer creates its sound differently than the guitar.
Changing out a hardwood top for a softwood one seems like it would work, but doesn't really since there is so little top to vibrate. What works much better, IMHO, is to completely free the back to vibrate -- hence the "false bottom" of the Galax style instruments mentioned below.
A lot of guitar builders come to the dulcimer and try to apply guitar style bracing on the top and back. Which does nothing, of course, except make those surfaces even more stiff and less sound producing! With dulcimers, fewer braces are generally better. That big brace on top can be massively hollowed, and arched to cut down on overall mass, but for conventional "on the lap" play it needs to be a minimum of 1/2" deep for Chord-Melody style play. We Traditional players want a fretboard closer to 1" high so there is room for fingers to clear, but also like narrower fretboards since we are fretting only one string.
It's not sacrilege to consider moving at least the bridge inboard, and some builders bring it quite far in. The nut is harder to move inward unless you restrict construction to flat guitar style tuning heads. If there is "too much" dulcimer beyond the nut and bridge, balancing the instrument on your lap can become an issue.
Some thoughts, and some caveats. I come at this as a guitar maker. I’m just in the process of putting a tung oil finish on my first dulcimer.
Having established that, I think that appreciably changing the volume of a dulcimer would be very difficult.
A guitar’s volume is a function of its responsiveness. A small guitar can be every bit as loud as a large one. Responsiveness is determined by stiffness and density of the top, and the stiffness of the bracing.
Stiffness and density? That’s why guitar makers use softwoods like sitka spruce and red cedar. The greatest stiffness with the least weight.
So I’d suggest that the first thing you do is sub out the traditional North American hardwood top for a good, stiff softwood.
But you still have this monstrously large brace running the length of the instrument. The fretboard. And make no mistake. It is a brace. Can the depth be lessened? A lot? I don’t know, I’m still learning about how the instrument works.
But one thing that immediately strikes me. Both the nut and the bridge are over the respective end blocks. They’d do a much better job of activating the top if they were actually on the top, as opposed to being supported by a couple of hunks of hardwood. Would it be sacrilege to move both of them a few mm closer to one another?
Anyway, those are just a few thoughts, and worth exactly what you paid for them :-). Happy to listen to any arguments, cause as I said, I’m new at this.
Steve
denvirguitars.com
Thank you very much @dulcimermaid , I will have a go at that! :)
I've heard very good things about Mike Clemmer's banjammer , but the Dulcijo looks pretty nice, too.
I'm going to suggest a large Galax with heavy strings drawn up tighter than a banjo.......like a MawHee on steroids?
I am interested in getting a dulcimer-banjo hybrid. I have found a Jim Hamilton Dulcijo and wondered if anyone knew anything about the builder or his dulcijos?
OR does anyone have a dulcimer-banjo and have a recommendation for a brand/builder?
Thanks!!
Elizabeth
Nate -- Dan is referring to the more or less traditional Galax shape and construction -- a deep-bodied elliptical (not teardrop) shaped body with a double bottom. That sort of shape needs no special tools or anything to make the elliptical sides.
Many builders today do not use any bracing. The top and bottom are simply glued to the edges of the sides without kerfing even; especially with teardrop and elliptical designs.
Nate, I just wanted to increase the size of everything on that dulcimore by 3 times, to see what would happen. I guess some tweaking is still in order? The string material, for one thing. Right now it's music wire, but maybe weed-whipper line might work better.
Nate, look at a mariachi guitarra quintet. They have all sizes of guitar soundboards. The largest is pretty BIG.
But then, a dulcimer is not a guitar. "Uncle Eddie", the world's largest (and longest) dulcimer is not particularly loud for its size and soundbox volume. Usually taller sides equal more bass response, and maybe more loudness too. I think overall loudness is derived from several factors working together, such as wood thickness, bracing, design, string gauges and tension, etc.
I'm going to suggest a large Galax with heavy strings drawn up tighter than a banjo.......like a Mahhee in steroids?
It's working great for me as well now!
Very nice website, Grant! You are such a musically talented young man. 
I was able to check out the site no problem. Here is the link: https://www.grantolsondulcimer.com/ .
was not able to access the site. Screen looked like image attached. Hope I can check it out soon!
<Edit: Nate, I doubled-checked the link in Grant's post- it's working fine and so is Dusty's link- strumelia>
But what a cool instrument!. I'll bet it has an interesting sound.
Hello everyone! I wanted to let you know about new resources I've made. -my website:
www.grantolsondulcimer.com
I've got on there some more information about my musical background and info and pictures on some of the dulcimers I've built. <>
I hope those who are interested find this helpful!
Grant
