Forum Activity for @john-w-mckinstry

Sally's Story (an old wooden cane)

Our great grandchild was visiting and the thing he liked most as he walked around and explored was my wife's cane. He went over to it and picked it up and walked around proudly with it as we smiled and clapped.  My wife then told this story about the old wooden cane. "The cane's name is Sally", she said. And then she continued," When your grandmother was four years old she saw her grampa sitting with this cane on the stairs to the front porch. The four year old said to her grampa, "Grampa does that cane make you feel important?"  To which her grampa replied, "No, Janet, I am important!."  Seeing that she loved the cane so much, we were all surprised when he gave it to her as a present. Our daughter came home proudly with the cane and announced that it's name was "Sally" .Sally, the cane, has become a prized possession of our daughter's and she has kept it by her bedside all these years.  One day, my wife needed a cane and our daughter said. "Here, mom. I'll lend you Sally."  God works in mysterious ways and it seems to me that the caring and support of that old cane, Sally, is still living on.

I only have *one* dulcimer, but I made it with my own two hands forty years ago in Tennessee. The walnut wood came from my high school civics teacher's backyard sawmill.  Dad and I helped him feed the wood through and used it for the staircase in our farmhouse. I kept a piece of the newel post and carefully sliced thin pieces using a bandsaw we had built ourselves from a kit. The nut was made from a PVC drainpipe scrap. A tailpiece was snipped from A/C duct. Our town library had a xeroxed pamphlet with detailed instructions on bookmatching and steam bending and using the right glue and precise fret placement.  It isn't symmetrical, but it came out looking so beautiful!  5 strings, I didn't know how to play or tune it, and it honestly sounded bad.  Well, one string sounded okay.

Two years ago, I determined to make it better. Better tuners, a new bone nut, a brass (key)bridge. Just 3 strings for now. Adjusted the action. After coming this far, I had to do the work myself.  Finally, I love the way it plays and sounds! I'm learning to play chord/melody style in DAA.  Now I realize it would be great to have another dulcimer to work on different tunings and string gauges. One that I would be able to take to lessons and festivals without worrying.

I think I've reached my satisfied limit now.My first dulcimer was a folkroots I had my eye on for a summer of weekends playing at a renaissance fair..Alas it cost most of my wages but well worth it.As a guitar player it had a depth of sound I was used to.Then a Tom Yockie chromatic I bought through Craig's list in Vancouver.Then a crazy giant over sized Galax style I asked John Knopf to make(love it).Then a scheitholt from Jack Ferguson(marvellous!),next a teardrop from Ohio-it really barks!Unlike the mellow folkroots.The music I play is varied-I love the old time American stuff but it's not what I do.  having more than one dulcimer is enabling for me with the variety of music I play,using different string gauges,tunings,etc.I can have dulcimers at the ready with different tunings,strings.

You're most welcome, @steve-c !  I just watched again and sang along-- it's uplifting to do so.  

Thanks Robin!  It blessed me!

Kurt Vonnegut in a letter to high school students:

Practice any art, music, singing, dancing, acting, drawing, painting, sculpting, poetry, fiction, essays, reportage, no matter how well or badly, not to get money and fame, but to experience becoming, to find out what's inside you, to make your soul grow.

You can hear James Earl Jones read the entire letter here.   

Hi John!  The positive thread in in the Forums section. 

Go here: https://fotmd.com/forums/forum/off-topic-discussions/11758/the-positive-thread#r46686

and depending on whether you are on a laptop, desktop, tablet, or phone, you may see different ways to make a post. See if you can go there (follow my link) and look for a place where you can type in a reply and post it there. Let us know if you are having trouble, and if so what device are you using and what you see or don't see when you try to post.

Hi, I have a new story for "The :Positive Thread".

I am not quite sure how to post it.? John McKinstry

You're most welcome, Dusty!  I've sung with it already this morning and it has lifted me.  Good for the spirit! 

That's quite moving, Robin.  Thanks so much for sharing.  Definitely worthy of good headphones.  And a kleenex.

Soul-stirring version of Bright Morning Star -- it's nice to sing along, too: 

https://youtu.be/ch-t8UaGMPA?si=LsXdobcdxqOk2bh3

Like Nate said, geee is not a dulcimer tuning. The dulcimer you have was meant to be tuned DAAA, but that doesn't mean it has to be tuned in that way. You can use any of the usual dulcimer tunings if you have the proper strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Capewavedancer, on another note, it looks to me like you have happened upon an incredible Bob Mize dulcimer!  The top looks like wormy chestnut, which is rare and wonderful.  Get some new strings on it, and ENJOY!  Congratulations!

Thank for your suggestions. I'll give the new strings a go and see how they sound. Is Geee tuning somehting that anyone plays now?

Olddog75, I saw your second post after I posted my reply. The 0.10 strings should be good for the d strings. For the A string you probably want something more around a 0.013 or 0.014. The bass string may be a little too heavy, but try it. A 0.020 or 0.022 might be better.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Olddog75 has provided good information.  A good source of strings is juststrings.com . You can make up your own sets. If you find that you don't like playing with equidistant strings you can add notches in the nut and bridge to play with a double melody string. The original tuning from the photo is melody string E, first drone E, second drone E, and the bass string G. If you are tuning to ddAD, the melody string will be d, first drone d, second drone A, and the bass string D. If you find the McSpadden set too loose or too tight you can calculate the ideal strings for your dulcimer using the Strother's string calculator but bear in mind that it tends to be a little "light" with it's suggestions. You can probably go up a gauge or two. http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

I hope this helps you. Let us know how the new strings work.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

@olddog75, thank you. Your explanation re: the strings makes sense! My VSL is 26 1/2". Will those gauges in the McSpadden set be OK with the shorter VSL?

I'm relatively new to dulcimers also, I got my first one in the spring of '23.  I'll put my two cents in and tell you some basic info, I'm sure you'll get more posts from more experienced player soon. 

From viewing the photo of the pamphlet, I think that what the maker is telling you is that if you go to s music store to buy ball end guitar strings you should buy 3 high E strings and a G and that is what he originally strung the dulcimer with. He's providing this info so you can get the right thickness of strings for the instrument. I use light gauge strings on my guitars and the high E is .12 and the G is .24. You won't have to do that, though, since you bought a set of dulcimer strings. 

the VSL (Vibrating String Length: the distance form the bridge( toward the bottom of the dulcimer) to the nut (at the top of the neck) is a factor in determining the "best" exact gauge for the dulcimer, though there's plenty of leeway in that regard. The McSpadden  DAdd string set you got is for a VSL of 28 1/2".  If the VSL of your instrument is near that length, they should be good enough.  You wouldn't tune the strings to Geee or Egee, you'd tune them to DAdd. There are many more tunings possible as you will discover, I hope this helps you a little... 

I am brand new to the world of dulcimer and was fortunate to find this beauty at a local estate sale. It has not been played in a long time, but I was able to tune it up somewhat. New strings are on the way! I will have many questions, but my first is re: tuning. It currently has a wound bass string and 3 bare wire strings. The information card states "3 E or 1st, 1 G or 3rd." It has 4 equidistant strings. I have ordered some strings from McSpadden: 

Tuning Key of D Ball End

The wound string in this set has a flat ribbon winding so it has no ridges. 1st-2nd: .010 Plain Steel Ball End; 3rd: .014 Plain Steel Ball End; 4th: .023 Phosphor Bronze Flat Wound Ball End.

Will these strings work on this instrument? What would the string pattern be for the original tuning? EGee? Geee? Can these be tuned DAdd to be able to play with other instruments?

Thank you for sharing your expertise. A new adventure awaits!

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Looks to be in great shape! Nice find!

Nice find. Enjoy playing it.

The condition is so good for an almost fifty-year-old instrument!  Happy strumming! 

Hope some of you find this an interesting story...

I picked this Dulcimer up for £75 (about $100) in Hobgoblin which is a folk music store in London the other day...

They told me the previous owner had purchased it in 1977 at a craft fair and then put it in a cupboard unplayed for almost 50 years until just recently when they took it to the shop to sell.

It was built by Bill Lucy and Roy Woolgrove in the UK in the mid-70s and I guess the strings had been on it since then!! So… it got some new ones today from Newtone Strings (also UK made!). It actually now sounds pretty good - have tried it in both DAA and DAD and it holds a tune well and more importantly seems to be well in-tune! :-)

Thanks to Geoff of the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club for some background info on Lucy and Woolgrove.

Have any of you also come across these makers?

 IMG_7682.jpeg - 270KB

What a nice find, Jim. It's fun to be reacquainted with things you've enjoyed in the past but forgot about. Have fun with harps. I'm not familiar with Sonny Boy Williamson but I'm going to look him up.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I used to have some cassettes of Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee that I just loved listening to.  

In high school, my brother Bob and I shared a room in my parent's basement. We had this picture on the wall for a few years.  It's a photo of one of our musical heroes, Sonny Boy Williamson II whose real name was Rice Miller.

I just found an old cigar box with some slides, capos picks and some harps that I haven't used in ages, but since the reeds all work, I may just give 'em another go.

12-hole harp from Grandpa Charlie

14 hole C harp

10 hole Echo Super Vamper


About 45 years ago, Charlie, my ex-father-in-law gave me one of his 12-hole diatonics.  It's a Marine Band Special in C.  It's very similar to my 10 hole diatonics, except that it has a full lower octave.
When I was in high school, I was a fan of Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller), who played low pitched harps, so I bought a 14 hole Marine Band in C.  Amazingly, it still works.
I was hitch-hiking in Scotland in the late sixties when my "A" Marine Band crapped out. I went to a music store and asked for a Marine Band in A.  The clerk had no idea what a Marine Band was, so I showed him one of mine.  He said, "Oh, you mean an Echo Super Vamper ."  He showed me an Echo Super Vamper and, except for the top cover plate, it was a Marine Band .  It still works just fine.

Wally, here's Lois' TMB with the handle attached to the player's side:

Here's a picture of the Walmart door handle I just installed on my TMB.

Because I built it with traditional 1/2 inch thick faces, the TMB weighs about 11 pounds. The handle is a big help in carrying it.

I put in on the playing side which helps in putting it on a table. My guess is that a lot of TMDs were used on tables. It also makes it less of a focus for and audience.

 Handle-FOTMD.JPG - 229KB

Strumelia:Going a bit stir crazy waiting for Spring...
Some of the ones I have now have thrived and grown for years, while others eventually went to the Big Greenhouse in the Sky.
It seems many folks have now discovered or rediscovered the joys of caring for indoor houseplants.
Lately I've been repotting and pruning a couple of my older plants, and purchasing a few new ones as well. It's rewarding and peaceful to take care of some living green things..
Tell us about your favorite houseplants. Add photos if you like too! 

I relate to this! It’s been such a tough year with the pandemic, and the cold weather just adds to the stir craziness. I’ve always kept a few indoor plants, mainly cacti and succulents, mostly because my cats tend to ignore them (thankfully!). Some have been with me for years and are thriving, while others... well, they didn’t make it.

Recently, I’ve found a lot of peace in repotting and pruning my older plants and even treating myself to a couple of new ones. It’s been such a calming activity, especially with everything going on. Something about tending to these little green lives is so rewarding.

Would love to hear about your favourite houseplants! Feel free to share photos too!

That TMB looks mighty good John.

Thanks, Wally!  I actually DID put a metal door handle on one I built for one of our members here, Lois S Keel.  She gives presentations dressed as a schoolmarm and wanted one of these to play when she performs.  And it was finished with walnut stain.  Looks real nice!  I've painted checkerboards on the back of a couple, too.

I'll bet it sounds reel good! It looks almost authentic.

Why don't these things have screen door handles on one side? They are heavy. I've been thinkin' about screwin' one to mine.

I think the authenticity would be better if it was finished with red or black barn paint, but that can be a buyer installed option..

This music box is still available for purchase now.  It's a tribute to an older time in dulcimer history.

Thanks Butch looks like a good resource (Dulcimer players news) I just downloaded the article. OR did I uploaded It, never could figure if I'm downloading or uploading SMILE

I wrote an article about this for DPN a while ago. You can re-read it here. https://archive.org/details/dpn-2007-033-04/page/4/mode/2up

the first half is about mics, the second half is about pickups. The information is still relevant and accurate. Except to say that in the last few years, people have been making better, and more realistic-sounding magnetic pickups. Folkcraft, especially, is doing some stellar stuff these days.

Sorry you had to deal with that, Nate.  It's a shame that some people are just so filled with hate that it blinds them to how outrageous they are acting.  You'll notice that YouTube removed the "dislike" button.  It just served no socially useful purpose.  

I would think anyone watching your videos would be able to appreciate the simple joy in homemade music and experimentation that permeates your building and playing dulcimers.  I can't imagine anyone being upset at that.  But it's obvious this person did not actually watch your videos, instead assuming you were this other guy, who probably also did nothing other than beat them at a poker game or something.

There is a way to report abusive comments on YouTube. Since this person is harassing you by posting in all your videos and clearly thinks you are someone else, you might consider it.

What a terrible thing to have to deal with Nate. At least you know the hate was misdirected, but I can't imagine the sickly feeling when you read the first one. You are handling it well. It is good to be among friends here where you can receive sympathy and support. We've got your back.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."