I worked in Frankfort, Kentucky for about 6 months, back in 2000. Met Homer at one of the craft fairs and got chatting and playing together. Awhile later I went down to Winchester to hear him and The Cabin Creek Band play. At the intermission he came over and invited me to sit in with them and play a little. One of the great moments of my dulcimer-life.
I was looking up some history on some of the premier dulcimer makers (traditional Ky style dulcimers) and was wondering if anyone had stories to tell of someone they have meet, in their shop or at a Festival?
Warren May was good friends with Hormer Ledford and thinking some of our FOTMD members would have been around playing when some of these excellent craftsmen like Hormer, when they were still around. Share your stories.
Attached is the results of some info, I found looking up these masters (note: no quotes but taken from the online sites with their history) just passing on what I found - hope you find it interesting.
I am looking for a pattern, ideas, suggestions on how to make a stand upon which I can place my mountain dulcimer so I may play it standing up. Thank you!
You can do a number of things that should help....I've used some of these methods when getting bad smells out of antique furniture we were restoring for some high end shops years ago.....you haven't got anything to lose so here are a few things that might help:
1. Lemon Oil furniture polish.........I like Howard's products...........wipe it down and let it set, wipe it off and repeat it a few times.
2. Put it in a sealed box on top of a layer of plain old baking soda and let it sit overnight; replace the baking soda and do it again. I'd use a layer about 1/2 inch thick.
3. Wrap it up in plain old newspaper..use a fair amount of paper and put it in a plastic bag or sealed box........newspaper will absorb some of that smell. (you can buy some shredded newspaper cat litter and probably pack it around it in a box instead.)
4. We also used fresh ground coffee, the cheap stuff you can buy just about anywhere......again, put the coffee in filters, close 'em up with a rubber band or string........put the gizmo in a box and seal it up, let it sit for a good day or two and throw the coffee out and see if that helps. Use a number of them little pouches. We used to put coffee on paper plates in furniture drawers.
5. I once had a dresser with draws that had a horrible odor of some sort. My work partner used cedar shavings he got from a pet store and covered the bottom of those draws with that stuff and in a day or two the musty/smokey smell was gone. Just make sure that those shavings have not been dyed..........I would think that un-dyed eucalyptus or cedar mulch might work too......
Good luck and let us know how it goes. There used to be an aerosol product that companies used to rid houses of smoke odor after a fire.........one of those companies that do remediation work may sell you some or tell you what it is..........I can't remember the name of it but we used it in Military housing to get rid of smoke odors in quarters and also reeked of who knows what.................
John's got a great idea there -- call a local remediation company and ask them what they would suggest. Can't hurt...
Angelina, there have been different ideas posted online regarding the same issue with guitars and their cases. You might like to look some of them up? Some like to set it in the sun and wind (maybe not this time of year), wiping down with first a rag soaked in tomato juice, then a rag soaked in baking soda and water, then a dry rag. When our funeral home caught fire eight years ago, the remediation company subjected all of its belongings to an ozone treatment. I haven't smelled any smoke since.
Hi Folks:
It FINALLY arrived today! I guess the dead mule was finally replaced.
It looks and seems like a nice dulcimer, but the quality between the McSpadden and the Lucky Diamond was immediately apparent once we got the new strings on and tuned correctly.
Unfortunately, it came from a smoker's house. I wish that fact had been disclosed in the eBay listing. If it had been, we would have passed it by. Does anyone know how to clean that? It REEKS!!
It also was very dirty and dried out, and soaked a up a lot of the beeswax preparation that Mr. Salt Springs recommended.
So, any thoughts? Suggestions?
40-60% measured by the humidistat or no sparks measured by the "humidicat".
Robin, love your commento. Now the "guess" is on. ha ha ha. Well for my instruments. I've lived in a rain forest in Hawaii for many years. I had more trouble with moisture then dryness. We now live in Nauvoo, Illinois and in the summer....woah.....it is HUMID. I have had trouble with humid much more then dryness. I think my instruments are happy for the dryer winter...but a log house and wood floors .....LOTS OF WOOD....it all breaths. I've had no trouble with cracking of instruments. When i make instruments I use Tight-bond glue. Glue is important in understanding where the instrument is going to live. I've found that to be the best for me. aloha, irene
Susie's posting reminded me how I should have added that most of our instruments live in cases when they are not being played. Yes, I keep 3 out. I never said how many are in cases. 
I live in Illinois, this is something to think about. 
Never thought about the dry air effecting my dulcimer. I practice almost daily and I put it away in its soft case. Don't want my fur babies messing with it.
A couple of questions for those up north and in the Midwest who keep their instruments out all the time. Don't you have a problem with the instruments drying out and cracking when the furnace is running and the air in the house dries out? Isn't that why a lot of musicians keep humidifiers in their instrument cases?
We live in Northern MI. In addition to the 4 dulcimers, we have 6 guitars, and many other wooden instruments. We also have a house made of wood, lots of wood furniture and trim and us and the dogs. For the instruments, structure, belongings and living creatures, we have 3 whole house humidifiers for the 3 levels of the house. In the summer, we use Central A/C and a dehumidifier. We keep the relative humidity controlled between 40% and 60% all year. But, given that, I've have always stored my instruments in their cases (since 1973). It's a personal choice I know, there's no one right way. I fully respect those who choose to have their instruments out.
I keep 3 instruments out. As far as humidifying goes, a large pan of water is on our free-standing gas stove (heater) all the time and I fill old coffee mugs with water to keep by the instruments themselves. I know the humidity level in the house is pretty good because I'm not getting snapped with sparks when touching some objects or petting the dogs.
Mark keeps 2 guitars out-- a steel string and a nylon string. Again, I keep a coffee mug with water right by those left out. He rotates his steel string guitars so none of them are out all the time; those in cases are humidified in-case.
As far as dusting them. . . Well, I brush stuff off my instruments from time to time with my hand. :)
Our house in Chicago was built in 1923 and has radiators, not forced air. We run two room humidifiers 24x7 and keep the houseplants well-watered. Still, the cats throw sparks when we pet them. Which is kinda entertaining for us... but it puts the cats in a worse mood than usual.
You better believe my dulcimers spend the winter inside their cases. I try to remember to re-fill the case humidifiers every couple of weeks.
A couple of questions for those up north and in the Midwest who keep their instruments out all the time. Don't you have a problem with the instruments drying out and cracking when the furnace is running and the air in the house dries out? Isn't that why a lot of musicians keep humidifiers in their instrument cases?
YES....DAILY. I have them everywhere. In the winter time, they get more dusty as we have a fireplace. But we play our music often several times a day. yeah. aloha, irene
Funny thing, I played a bunch of 12 fret Taylor guitars today at our local store. They have more bass and a bit more volume than their 14 fret siblings. Like I need another, I have 5 Taylors now (after selling a 6th one)
Thank you Susie and Robin. I've never had a 12 fret guitar and didn't want another dreadnaught. This one is based on the Martin 00 design. It will be a steel string guitar. I'll post photos when I finish it and may play a few chords so you can hear how it sounds.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Why put them away? Mine are out on instrument stands in the area where I play, usually daily.
Wow, Ken, that looks really good-- I should know because there are lots of its relatives around our house here. :) Mark really likes his 12-fret design guitars. I look forward to seeing further photos!
That looks great Ken. Is it going to have nylon strings? I see it is a 12 fret. I bet it will be a fun little parlor guitar when you are done. Keep us posted. Would love to see it when it's done.
Back in 2015 I asked my luthier friend if he would help me build a guitar. He agreed and I started work. Over the last four years there have been many interruptions due to illness, travel, and my friend remodeling his house and using his shop for storage space. I've been back at it recently and today we set the place for the bridge and saddle. Here are three photos of where I am on this project. After taking the photos I took the neck off and pore filled the neck. I also did a final sanding on the body before it enters the spray booth later this week or early next week. The body will be nitrocellulose lacquer while the neck will be finished with Tru-oil. As you can see more frets need to be added to the fret board which will happen when the neck is permanently attached to the body. While all this is going on I am restoring two PA German zitters and continuing to build a couple of dulcimers.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
You mean you're supposed to dust them? 
With a dust cloth or feather duster. I keep mine "string side up"!!
My dulcimers lay on tables, on my music stand, lean against the bookcase or on the bed. How do you dust them and keep them?
Very nice, thanks for sharing.
What a great song - I must listen to more of Lucy's songs.
What a wonderful song which is performed well. Thanks for posting it here Robin.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
What a charming tune! Those harmonies at the end come as a real surprise. And throughout the tune, the bass keeps they rhythm popping. Thoroughly enjoyable.
Anne Bowman shared this on fb and I enjoyed it lots! Mountain dulcimer, whistle, bass, and vocals.
wow folks, I read through all of this thread....and learned tons. I need to learn more about an "unwound" bass string. thanks so much for all this information.....just in one thread....I'll be making a dulcimer to take to Hawaii with me....materials coming tomorrow. yeah. all excited. now when I get to Hawaii, I'll learn again how to post a photo. wonderful granddaughter taught me....13 steps. now I lost that paper when cleaning off my desk. oh well.............. aloha, irene
Thanks Marg:) I am thinking about trying just three strings to see what it is like. I am having a harder time with the melody strings - they seem to bunch together and interfere with each other as I move my finger along the fretboard.
Thanks Dusty. Yes, I have a few fretless Ubasses and used to play the 'cello and violin. I've played "skinny" instruments before and sometimes they are really tricky to hold. I don't know how Aaron can hold that at his normal angle - you'd think it would be awkward? Maybe if it's held flat, or on a stand, it would be just fine. I like the poly strings (the tone) - but the price sure went up lately!
That's a good question, Jill. If you check out this video , you see Aaron O'Rourke playing the bass dulcimer (he takes a solo just after 2:00). He is not laying the instrument flat on his lap, but has it angled up, with the foot of the dulcimer resting securely against his body.
I have never played a fretless instrument, so if I were buying one of these for myself I would get the acu-fretless model since it would be easier to get accurate intonation. If you have experience playing stringed instruments like the cello or have played fretless basses, the plain fretless would probably be fine.
It sure looks fun to play!
Hi all. Does anyone have experience with the Beede bass dulcimer? Would love to know your opinion. Because it's so narrow it looks like it would be 'unstable' if held on your lap? Have you compared the fretless model vs. the acu-fretless? Thanks!
Does anyone have experience with the Beede bass dulcimer? Would love to know your opinion. Because it's so narrow it looks like it would be 'unstable' if held on your lap? Thanks!
Ken, thank you so much. Go figure it was easy as Googling it! That and all had Amazon links to boot. There were two Lois Hornbostel's books via Amazon. One listing her as author and the other the same but following a "Mel Bay Presents". Different covers as well. I'm getting all three found on Amazon and I hope I don't get too many duplication's. Although that's almost impossible to do in the music book arena. Thanks again and I'm off to the races! Kevin.
"Kentucky style" dulcimer pattern PDF.pdf - 892KB
