Forum Activity for @salt-springs

Please tell Lynn to give me a call, there are a fair number around that can be bought for really good prices if you are patient.  I just bought an almost new, rarely played  25 year old McSpadden for $150.00. and that included case, noters, strings, picks and all sorts of stuff.

So far as the crack is concerned I wouldn't worry too much about it right now if it is holding. , though folk like KenH and KenL can tell you more than I.  Anyway, tell Lynn to give me a call before he decides to buy one any time soon.  If its a local deal, I'll check it out with or for you if you wish.

I'll have to try tomorrow when I can put it out in the daylight.  It barely shows.  However, we tried Ken Hulme's suggestion with the thin superglue.  My husband held it in position for about 15 minutes.  And it seems to be holding.  It is one of the rounded edges of the f sound holes.  It did not break all  the way through.

Lynn has gotten interested  and is eyeing a cheap one on eBay.  I have warned him of our Moderator/owner's post about cheap knock-offs on another site.....

Can you post a picture of it?  

How did you make out with this?

I just cracked one of my f shaped sound holes yesterday while practicing.  My crack sounds much like yours--except that it is much smaller, and I'm  broken-hearted over it.

WOW!!! Thanks Robin!

This was brought to my attention by Facebook postings from Steve Seifert and Dean Robinson (Elvensong).  This young woman's play is jaw-dropping and wonderful!  

Indeed Robin!

I read the account of David Olney's passing from a woman who was on stage with him at the time of his death.  His chin went to his chest and all thought, at first, he was just pausing. . . We should all be so lucky as to go so easily.  Rest in peace, David Olney.    

One of the greatest Americana singer-songwriters died during a concert at Santa Rosa Beach, Florida.  There is no question that his loss will be mourned by any Folk Musician who appreciates incredible talent and skill as well as a host of professional entertainers..............such a sad loss.

@lisavb  I fingerpick. Exclusively. I was taught to play by fingerpicking. While playing chords and all, I have the habit of anchoring the ring finger on the treble string. But even though I to not use a noter, I use the side of my thumb for sliding on the treble. As a result, I have a gray to black stripe in the side of my thumb and a wee notch in the side of my thumbnail.

Ayup, I know what you mean, having nothing that NEEDS to be done and being able to be a couch potato. But yeah, it is a bit different when that is forced on you by the weather. Come summer, here in sunny Phoenix and the temps go over 110 for days, even a couple of weeks at a time, going outside is not usually one of the options available to us.

This thread is cracking me up, too!  @ferrator, how did you acquire the "callus stripe"?  Just years of use, or some specific event not unlike a frying pan?  

We were trapped for several days last week with snow and ice.  Not a huge amount of snow, but the ice...  This is a bad place for snow (Seattle and suburbs), with all the hills and bridges.  And our street is not maintained by the city, so it's dig, dig, dig.  I used to live in Minnesota--at least it's built for snow there.  

Love days where I have nowhere I must go and can hang around the house and do what I enjoy--like today.  I do not love days where I *can't* get out.  That just scares me.

@irene I understand what it is like to have your ability to get out and about hampered by the weather. Shouldn't be much longer though before you will be back church and making music! :) 

A Joyous noise, eh? :)

Here, in the desert, we have been having what passes for winter with temps at or below freezing. This is just NOT something we are prepared for.

@irene  You are one good egg! It is a joy to swap posts with you! :)

30 harps? I have been considering building a harp! A smaller, travelling style, Troubador (?) type of folk harp. But in a studio apt. with no access to a decent workspace, I am at a loss at to how to do that, if at all. Any suggestions?

As it is I am still finishing a Kantele, but the lack of space is hampering that.

While I smiled writing the last post....on a more serious note (pun intended)..........I thought of the reasons to go to Church for me.  Leading the singing for a congregation is a sure JOY and being with friends and hearing words taught in sincerity and Love of our Savior.   To keep me from getting callous's of the heart, to partake of the Sacrament and renew my covenants is the real reason I love to attend Sabbath Day Meetings.  So go to church folks where ever you live....and don't get callous's on the heart.   aloha, irene

Yeah, Ken, I suppose that would only be of interest to me, really😀 I just sent an email to Bill and I‘ll reply with the eventual outcome.

Cheers!

Glen

.00001 or .00002 …  rounding up/down the 5th decimal is not really relevant.  String gauge recommendations are not set in stone.  Going up or down a gauge or two is very, very common.  There are no String Gauge Police!   We all start with some recommendations, and then go up or down experimenting to find what works best for your on a particular instrument.

For example,  I build and play traditional dulcemores, and do not use wound bass strings at all.  The Olde Tymers didn't use wound strings -- that is a mid-20th century "guitar" affectation more or less, which makes the overall sound less "high silvery" than a traditional sounding instrument.  

Remember too that string gauges vary with the VSL of the instrument.  26" VSL dulcimers use different gauges than a 29" VSL instrument to reach the same tuning.  

Funny thing about my string measurements - I had rounded down the fourth digit of 5 on all of them, but I see that Bill’s vid on restringing shows him using .024 (wound)/.009, .013, .011/.011. If I had rounded up instead, my measurements would have matched the proper string sizes. So this appears to be his stock setup😀

Oh, how I needed such a good laughing post here.  "fess up Irene.........."   It's been a hard day in that I can't go outside.   Already a 1/2 inch covers my car of ice and no can open the door.  It's now 10 degrees....wind chill is blowing to the max................ So that means no church going for now 2ed Sunday in a row.   bummers.   Oh yes, I've got plunty to do at home....reading and playing music...but meeting with my friends at Church and leading the music there is a joy.  

Okay, I'll "fess up".  I've made 55 harps........all nylon stung.  No need to get callouses for playing these.  One thing that appealed to me about the mountain dulcimer....30? some years ago...NOTER AND DRONE....that's how I play...no need callouses to play this way.  I play with  a triangle pick with my right hand.  I've used various other picks, but go back to the triangle one I can get at the music store.   I've cut up credit card sends....they make great picks.  

someday someone reading this may need this info.   If you get stung by a centipede or any bad bug bite....bees and wasps....Urine can take away most of the pain.   Hawaii learned 

Thanks Ferrator for your question.  aloha, irene

Fess up Irene... How did YOU get all callous...er...get the callouses on your fingers?

THIS THREAD CRACKS ME UP LAUGHING. 

Go to rock-tips.com and buy a bottle, it works.  Check it out.

If playing a lot is not your way of developing calluses, you might try soaking your fingertips in vinegar.  Old school baseball players used to urinate on their hands to toughen up the skin, but if you use that method, please don't play any of my instruments, thank you.  

Thanks y'all for the help! I guess I was confused because the link wasn't displaying the video in the text box before publishing.  I feel there's some technological wizardry afoot...

Oh yeah, it IS harsh. But it is attributed to some hard core jazz musician. Sort of urban legend territory.

~LOL~ But I know about the callouses. Then there is the gray stripe on my left thumb. (That is my "noter" so to speak)

The iron skillet trick--now that is harsh.  I'm starting to feel calluses building on my left fingertips from playing the guitar I got last month.  Already sacrificed my long nails for the dulcimer a year ago...

It's getting so I feel frustrated/cheated on days I can't get to my dulcimer, or can only get to it for a few minutes!

Thanks, Greg. I knew that at least one of those fellows did that.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

KenL - Keith Young used to put the fine tuners on his dulcimers.  They went on the string between the bridge and the tail-end.  Slide the tuner toward the tail-end to increase the pitch ever so slightly,  Slide the tuner back toward the bridge to lower the pitch.  The fine-tuner is basically a wedge, with a hole for the string to pass through, that is wedged between the string and the fingerboard.  They work like a charm.  I still own one of Keith Young's teardrop dulcimers with hand-carved wooden pegs and his homemade fine-tuners.   Tuning is no problem at all. 

Dusty and Robin are both correct on how to add videos.  :D  I'll also add this:  videos added to the main Video section that we host here (by adding them from your profile page using the + button) must be non-copyright material and must feature yourself playing or singing etc.  Videos added to your discussion post as part of a discussion can be of any video, it's just linked/embedded as part of a discussion and is not part of FOTMD's video or audio collection. 

I remember a builder who made fine tuners out of small trapezoidal shaped blocks of ebony. I'm not sure if it was Walt Martin, Keith Young, George Orthey, or someone else. They worked very well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The fine tuners you might use depend on how much string length you have between the bridge and the turn over the end or string pins, and how high/shallow the angle of the strings are.  If you have a long distance and fairly high angle, you can often fit violin fine tuners.   You can also make fine tuners by slipping a large-ish glass or metal bead on each string behind the bridge and before the string pin or turn over the end.  You then tweak the tuning by moving the bead back and forth.  the photo below shows long white beads between the bridge and the turn over the tail:

ken

( fine tuners that will allow you to dial in a tuning once you're close with the pegs.  )

where do we fine these and how do they work?

@Glowhazel, the main way to add a video of yourself playing is to go to your profile page and click "Videos."  Then choose the "+" sign to add a new one and choose YouTube or Vimeo.  You will be asked for the YouTube URL and the title of the video. If you use that method, we can all see your video in the main video section.

If you are trying to post a video as part of a conversation in a Forum or Group discussion, then you use the "embed local media" icon in the tool bar. It looks like a piece of film strip.

In neither case do you use the embed code from YouTube.  Strumelia explained how to do this a while back in response to another question in this forum.

As Robin explains, you can also just put the URL in the text box.

@glowhazel Try just copying the YT link and pasting it in the message box-- a straight copy and paste (not using the "source code" link). 

I'm copying the embed code from YouTube into the "source code" section of the text box.  This makes the video show up in the preview but not in the post once it's published.  What am I missing here?

I once made a Shaker Peg Coat Rack sort of thing for a player -- a piece of 1x4 with Shaker pegs from a Hobby shop spaced about 6" apart.  The one I made was about 24" long, and held 4 dulcimers.  It attached to the wall with sheet rock anchors.

Molly, I just use a regular picture hanger and string or wire.  See this picture of a wall in my office/music room.  In that case I used leather shoe laces to hang the dulcimers from the hangers, but for a more discreet look you could use fishing line, which is really strong but also nearly invisible.