Forum Activity for @dusty

@katiemac225, Ken has explained the central issue here.  The ukulele is a chromatic instrument, so it can play in any of the 12 keys.  The dulcimer is a diatonic instrument, so if you are tuned DAA or DAd, it will be very easy to play in D (or Bm), somewhat less easy to play in G or A, and very difficult or even impossible to play in other keys.

What does this mean in practice? I would suggest two approaches for you.

First, you might find out ahead of time what tunes the ukulele group plays.  Most groups use a songbook.  Get a copy of that book and look through it.  Find the tunes in the key of D and expect to play along with those, skipping the rest (for now).  [You can play in C if you retune to CGc or CGG, and out of your D tuning you can use a capo at 3 to play in G or at 4 to play in A.  So you can start to add the tunes in those keys as you get comfortable.]

Second, you might approach one or two of the friendlier, patient people from the ukulele group and ask if they would play with you.  It will be easier to ask one or two people to play only in D than it would be to get the whole group to change their routine.  As you get comfortable playing with those one or two people, you might then be able to join the group.

In anticipation of playing in either of those scenarios, you can practice by getting used to strumming chords and singing songs, for that's what people do in uke groups.  They either use a songbook or lyrics with chords are projected on a big screen (sometimes with a strumming pattern indicated as well) and they all strum chords and sing together.  Try that for yourself.  You might start with two-chord songs like "Jambalaya" and then move on to three-chords songs like "Jamaica Farewell" and then four-chord songs like "Let it Be" and so forth.

It depends. Are you willing to retune your dulcimer to play with the ukuleles? Most ukulele groups today tune their instruments to the key of C rather than D, so you would need to tune down to CGc or CGG. Of course if the songs the group plays use only the D, G, and A chords you can play along without any problems. It's all about the music.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well I know most folks here live in garden zones that ahead of me here in new york. 

But yesterday I was able to pick enough lettuce leaves for us to have a nice salad for dinner.  I also put on a generous handful of fresh alfalfa sprouts that I grow in jars in our kitchen all winter. Then added grated carrot and zucchini, sliced radishes, and a few little sardines on the side (yeah I know some of you would hate that, but hey it's healthy and we like it!)  We think of canned whole sardines as our own cheap version of English kippers or Norwegian or Danish herring side dishes.   

Anyway, it was a good fresh salad!

I believe he made about 7 of them, no not a passion....

I did some quick genealogical research and discovered that Ernest Combs was the son of Fred Combs and Vera Alice Johnson.  He is listed in the 1940 Federal Census for Beaverdam Township in Watauga County, North Carolina.  The families of Frank Proffitt and his father, Wiley Proffitt, were both living in Beaverdam Township in 1940.  However, my preliminary search didn't turn up any connections between Ernest Combs and the Proffitts.  In the bio to which David Bennett provides a link, Combs credits Albert Hash with getting him started with instrument making.  But as David pointed out, he doesn't seem to have been very prolific in building dulcimers. 

The first link says the exhibit features dulcimers made by Ernest Combs. I'm not familiar with this luthier. I could be wrong but from this bio he didn't seem very passionate about dulcimers

https://www.blueridgeheritage.com/artist/ernest-combs/

Still there is probably more to the exhibit and either way I am glad they are even doing a dulcimer exhibit.

Dulcimer Exhibit at the Jonesborough Washington County History Museum

Jonesborough, TN  04-29-2019 thru  06-09-2019

http://www.heritageall.org/2019/04/dulcimer-exhibit-at-the-jonesborough-washington-county-history-museum/

https://www.jonesboroughtn.org/index.php/full-calendardp/g-16-604gmasds7k6era99soidi034m_201904291400

I can't wait to see this dulcimer!  And if you need someone to test drive it for you I'd be glad to volunteer.

I think using those pegs would be very nice looking.  I think they are a "pretty penny" though per each one.  maybe I'll switch to making only THREE STRINGS and then I can look at using those geared pegs.  beautiful dulcimer....I need to get to a specialty wood shop.  yep yep.  aloha, irene

You will like those pegs. I've replaced the violin pegs on a couple of the first dulcimers I built with the geared pegs. They work really well and make tuning easier. The back looks really nice. I like using wood bindings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

As with any instrument, everyone will have their personal preferences. Assuming you are playing a standard dulcimer and not a baritone or bass dulcimer, the bass strings tend to fall into a range of .020-.024.  Middle strings are usually in the .012-.016 range.  Melody strings range from .010-.014.

A lot will depend upon your preferred tuning and the amount of tension you favor.  My preferred tuning is D-A-A and I use a wound bass string of about .022 and unwound middle and melody strings of .012.  This usually gives me the degree of flexibility that I prefer.  Others prefer less flexibility and use heavier gauge strings on their dulcimers.

Someone playing in D-A-d with a preference for more tension may prefer a bass string of .024, a middle string of .014, and a melody string of .012.  Some prefer a heavier melody string.  

Try one of the suggestions given by myself and others.  If the strings are too floppy when tuned to your preferred tuning, then replace the strings with a heavier gauge.  If the strings feel too tight then replace the strings with a lighter gauge.  Eventually you will find string gauges that feel right to you.

Ken, I sure will. Susie, it's being made by Richard Beard.  He offered a lot of custom options for much less than some of the other  larger companies.

Here's some of my choices:    All Santos rosewood, with tight grained spruce top, and ebony fret board. +1 and +6 frets. flamed maple edge binding, and ebony edge purfling on the top. Nitro lacquer polished finish. The tuners will look like ebony pegs, but are really planetary mechanical look alikes.

Here's the back board glued up with a maple center stripe.

 100_5558.JPG - 375KB

Checking on the Folkcraft website, the Folkroots dulcimers that have a 29" vsl the string gauges are:  .012, .015, .024RW. Howard Rugg may see this and comment on what he initially put on the dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Over the years I've had several custom dulcimers built for me.  And build several other custom dulcimers for myself.  Either way a new made-for-you dulcimer is always fun to plan and anticipate, and finally learn to appreciate.  Enjoy!

Hi Mark -- the overall length and fretboard length don't matter when it comes to strings.  You need to know the distance between the nut and the bridge.  As KenWL says, then you plug that into the Strother's calculator  along with the desired open notes for your base tuning:  DAA, DAd, CGG, CGc or whatever.

A starting place for you. The Strothers calculator is on the light side, you can usually go heavier a couple of gauges with no problems.

http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

www.stringsbymail.com

https://www.juststrings.com

Or get individual strings from your local shop. Get 2 of each.

Hello, Mark. Others with more dulcimer experience than I have will probably pipe in. But a good place to start might be a packaged set, or at least those gauges. The D'Addario set is .012, .012, .014, .022w. You may vary from this set as you settle into preferred pitches and tunings. But this seems like a reasonable set.

There is little difference among string makers, except perhaps with the one wound string.

You can use the Strothers' string calculator to get a good approximation of the strings to use. I think it tends toward the light side. http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html  Just follow the directions.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Looks like nice wood. I trust that when it is finished you will share that with us as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That is beautiful! Two of my current dulcimers are custom.....one by Doug Berch (sassafras/walnut) and one by Folkcraft (butternut/walnut). The wait is agonizing, but well worth it! Looking forward to seeing yours completed. Who is building it?

I have recently commissioned a custom dulcimer build. Has anyone else? I'm very excited. Here's the wood we have decided the back, sides, scroll head, finger board, and end block will be made from.

Santos Rosewood

 100_5555(1).JPG - 305KB

Hello Folks - 

This is my first post - hope it goes through OK.

I just took ownership of a 1979 FolkRoots D50S dulcimer. Solid spruce top and laminated walnut back and sides. It is a long scale (36 1/2 " overall length with a 29 1/8 " fret board and 2 1/2 " depth)  It had no strings on it, and I am trying to determine what gauge and brand would be best for it. I know that they should be loop ended. 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.  -  Thanks  -  Harpin` Mark

No judgement here.  Everyone has a preference to suit their own playing style and their own needs.  There's probably a way to measure the amount of tension on each string precisely, but that's not really necessary.  Obviously, the string tension has to lie somewhere between the minimum amount of tension necessary to produce a clear sound (without rattling) and the amount of tension required to break the string.  My own preference is for a string with some flexibility.  One that responds to hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, chord playing, etc. with ease.  However, I fully understand why some desire less flexibility when playing noter-drone style.  It's all a matter of what "feels right" to the individual with the instrument in their hands.    

He plays great, but kudos to the lady playing the spoons! Thanks, Rob!

I'm probably the odd man out here. I hate the feel of loose feeling strings. If I'm chording 15# tension feels ok but playing noter/drone I prefer 17-20# tension. 
But I also have different dulcimers for different tunings so the string tension stays pretty much the same on all of them.

Thought I recognized the playing;  here's one of my favorites of him:

Oh Wow, what a great discussion.  I'm going to try the lower on some of the other duclimers.  And I've found that I really do like ONLY 3 STRINGS.  I'm so grateful for all I learn on this site.  Aloha, Irene

WOAH.....that shows some great playing....no comment on the kid smoking a cig.  sigh. I'm going to watch that again.  I loved that rough kind of singing....that's not his "first rodeo."  aloha, irene

Now, that's some playing! 

Jean never talked about lowering string pressure for anything... I don't believe she even thought in that way.  Since she played noter & drone with a pick, the effects of string pressure just weren't all that important.  Many of the olde time dulcimers had VERY high actions by modern 'soft finger' standards.  

Wow!

Wow!  That playing is superb. He's really got the bounce in that dulcimer.  Film looks interesting too, but I could listen to that dulcimer all day.

No comment on the kid smoking a cig.

As I've added more dulcimers to my collection, I've begun to label the cases with the tuning that seems to fit that instrument best.  My standard dulcimers tend be tuned to D-A-A, C-G-G, or sometimes even Bb-F-F.  My criteria for selecting the tuning is usually based upon string tension.  In other words, I change strings or tuning to get the "feel" I like.

I've also discovered that my reproduction dulcimers sometimes require a lower tuning to prevent the wooden tuning pegs from slipping under the increased string tension of the higher tuning.

John K.,

I remember reading that Jean Ritchie preferred C-G-G tuning.  I think her instruction book used C-G-G tuning.  But did she ever talk about lowering the tuning to make the strings more responsive to the touch of her fingers?   I suspect her choice of C tuning was likely based upon what was considered traditional in her family.

Ken H,

Good point.  I also tune down on occasion to better suit my voice.  Although a noter wouldn't give the same "feel" as the fingers, it would be similarly affected by string tension.  I suspect requiring less downward pressure on the noter would result in smoother playing.

Dusty,

I hadn't considered that string tension might have the opposite affect when flatpicking.  More tension = Faster Response.  Less Tension = Slower Response.

kjb,

Do you ever tune to a C tuning because it feels more comfortable on the fingers or only when playing with other musicians in the Key of C?  Do you prefer the lower tuning for fingerpicking because it is more responsive to the fingers?

I often tune to CGC so I can play in C with other instruments.  Also like it for fingerpicking. 

I regularly tune to C or C# when I fingerpick.  I don't use fingerpicks, but just my bare fingers, and I like the extra "give" in the strings. 

However, when I flatpick I want the strings very taught, as any extra give means the note is sounding slightly later than when you pluck it since the string bends before it makes any noise.  In other words, its harder to flatpick fast and accurately with looser strings.  So for flatpicking I tune to D and move my picking hand back towards the bridge or even tune up to D# or E.

I guess what I'm saying is that looser strings provide greater right-hand control when playing with fingertips but less control when playing with a pick.  So I adjust my tuning and my playing accordingly.

These days I play mostly in C --- Cgg or Ccc as the key of C fits my voice better.  Playing with a noter, the string tension is quite as important as it is for tender finger players.  I find that your ordinary D string set can usually go down to B without being too floppy, and up to E and maybe F for they get tight enough to break a bass string.