Forum Activity for @marg

Ken,

it says, Thomas stopped making dulcimers 2 years before his death, so that is right at your date. Do you have a photo of this special dulcimer? 

Anne, would love to see pictures. Congrats!

Nina, the 1,500 number is not absolute. It is based on a guess that he made some dulcimers before he started numbering them. I'm not saying that I have the last one that he made, but a higher number has not surfaced yet. Thomas was helpful in moving the mountain dulcimer out of the mountains. Women who worked at the settlement schools purchased instruments and gave them to friends and/or relatives in New England. It is reported that he sent one to Eleanor Roosevelt and the King of England. I'm not sure that either of those reports has been verified.

Anne, it is so good to hear positive story coming out of the Australian fires. The best of luck with your new friend.

That's one of the things I love about the dulcimer.  It looks like a relatively simple instrument, but there are seemingly endless layers to playing it.  Your various answers sure prove that!

I checked out videos for both Ms. Brockinton and Ms. Zanetti.  Wow. That is the sound I'm looking for--it is a bit more subtle than with the pick, but the notes still ring out/articulate beautifully.  I think I need to get more up on the fingertip, try some snap and perhaps some nail.  The way I was doing it was dulling the sound.  I'd like to also fingerpick on my guitar.

ken,

Right, I see Thomas died in 1933. I took the article as what they knew  (thus far recovered) 

    It looks as if there were more instruments Mr. Thomas made but stopping before he died (Mr. Thomas made more than 1,500 instruments through his career until two years before his death in 1933).  You are very fortune to have such a special piece of history and one of Ed Thomas last dulcimers before his stopping. His spirit lives on.

Nina,

Isn't dulcimer people wonderful, our members here, fellow dulcimer people we meet - even Dulcimer Legends like Homer Ledford. What a special memory you have of a special meeting.

To Dusty's point: Aye, more mellow it is. Dull? THAT might also be come down to the 'how' of the way you play, eh? also, to Dusty. Watch some Jessica Comeau YouTubes, especially the close ups. I would swear that she does NOT have nails, but the sound is a bright as any I have heard.

"Dull" my furry tusche...pft

I also suggest looking into the fingerpicking discussions at this site. There have got to be as many ways to fingerpick as there are ways to make a curry.

But as to pulling up on the strings? I would be afraid there might be a chance of the string 'slapping' the frets if string was pulled hard enough.

Just for the heck of it, I went looking. Finally used the 'site search' for 'fingerpicking'. HAWT DOGGIES!!! My screen lit up like I was signalling the Mothership! Meet ya there! Looks like I will be doing a lot of reading of my own now.

So, Lisa? Are y'all completely cornfuzzled yet?

Today I welcomed into my home my new pup, a rescue from one of the fire affected areas. She wasn't one of the fire affected pets, but was being cared for at the Walwa Dunroamin Pet Rescue after being saved from the pound at Tumut. I suppose that, strictly speaking she isn't a pup, being about 18 months old, but ...! It will be four years on Thursday since I lost Jack the Ripper - when I told my nephew about the new dog, he says "it's about time'!

She is probably a German Shorthaired Pointer cross, with either a whippet and/or a kelpie, being mainly black with brindle eyebrows, brindle legs and ears and Pointer white with black spots on three feet and her chest. She loves other dogs, and also loves cats - my two don't quite know what to make of her, and are very curious. She won't make full Pointer size, which is fine with me!

So, tonight is her first night in her new home. Hope she likes sleeping in the lounge room on her specially designated chair or her own mat - as this happened quite suddenly, she doesn't have her own bed yet!

The vet who had her at her place only just had her house saved - the fire came to within about 2 metres of the house, and was stopped at the house yard fence. The vet subsequently had to shoot her little flock of fifty sheep because of their injuries. Her cows were saved.

She isn't going to get any more sheep.

But I have a lovely, friendly pup who just wants to be with her human, be friends with the household cats, and anything or anyone else who comes within smooging range!

Photos will follow as I get them off the camera

For the record, many (check out Linda Brockinton and Nina Zanetti for the best examples) fingerpick without using their nails, just using the skin of the fingertips.  That makes for a more mellow tone. (OK, you can call it "dull" but I find it soft and expressive.)

Yup, you got it. As to length, up to you and what works, as they say.

I have been ALL over the place. Rapiers that can slice veggies to just the barest bit of a nail that barely nips the string on the way by. The long ones can also tend to make the notes a lot 'sharper', while the shorter ones can make only a barely noticeable difference.

There is just NO objective answer to that. You have to come up with what works. And THAT means a lot of practice.

I have arrived at a place that has nails long enough to give the string a decent  "clip" on the way by. So much for length...

While it is a nice vanity point to have a point in the middle of the finger. I have found that (for me) it is best for my nails to be a bit off center. ~LOL~ It is a great conversation starter '...is there something wrong with your fingers...?'...

I would like to be able to dispense some Sage Wisdom here, but it is all going to come down to a single thing. Practice. Lot's and lot's of practice...

@ferrator, I tend to slide my thumb, too.  Got a small callus on the side so far, near the nail.  I would love to fingerpick.  I use a pick, not noter.  What's the trick?  Leave right-hand nails just a little longer and orient the fingers to use the nails against the strings?  The finger per se leaves such a dull sound...

Thank you, Robin!  I appreciate it!

I'm happy your bass string buzz was remedied!  

In 1987 my husband had a dulcimer made for me by a local woodworker and industrial arts teacher who made dulcimers as a hobby..  I knew nothing about the dulcimer except I wanted to learn to play.  A woman from my church also had a dulcimer but neither of us has cases for our instruments.  She contacted Homer Ledford and he got us cases for our dulcimers.  We went to his home and spent a Sunday afternoon with him.  We couldn't play worth a darn but he was so gracious.  He explained things to us and showed us his workshop.  I had no idea how important he was in the dulcimer world.  I saw him many times playing at art festivals in Berea, KY.  Meeting him is one of my fondest memories.  Nina

Thank you for the replies.

We actually have it in a room in another building on our property that has good ventilation in it--a slightly open rear window, and a ceiling fan in the room that we mainly use.  That overnight stay, and the beeswax furniture dressing that I slathered all over the dry wood yesterday, seems to have helped the odor.  Neither one of us really noticed the odor today when we went over to practice this afternoon.

I will be sure to pay attention tomorrow when we practice.

Lynn is starting to learn the basics and so far is learning and has played the CABBAGE song and 'Hot Cross Buns'.  So in two days, with no musical background, I think he is doing great!

Marg, some information needs to be updated. I own a J.E. Thomas dulcimer, #1465 dated February,1931.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

ken

What a wonderful moment and now memory

 was looking at all the different topics and ran across this topic I started 9 months ago.  Sorry, folks, I neglected to tell you the end of the story.  I finally decided to send my dulcimer back to McSpadden which they repaired in 3 days and sent it back expedited shipping at no cost to me.  Totally awesome!  The problem was, as I had suspected, the first fret which needed some adjustment.  The vibrating string was hitting the fret causing the buzzing sound and by lowering the fret just a hair, the problem was terminated.  Happy ending, my dulcimer sounds wonderful once again!

Some folks use an adjustable height ironing board.  Others use a keyboard instrument stand.  I prefer a folding Waiters Tray Table -- cost about $25 at a restaurant supply store.  They come in various sizes; take your dulcimer and try out different heights.

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.

"Kentucky style" dulcimer pattern PDF.pdf - 892KB

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.

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.  :)