In playing the attached file below last night, it sounds like I made a few transcription error in some of the measures. I'll take a look at it again over the weekend and post a corrected version next week. Hope to also have a few others done.
Wow, that is a Tom Yocky dulcimer and those are really good instruments! I am sending you a link that you may or may not have seen that could help you set that "Island" up. I would double check to make sure the bridge and the nut have not gotten reversed somewhere along the line...........
https://reverb.com/item/655791-tom-yocky-mountain-dulcimer-2010-heartland
Ken, all I have for the strings are .012 .30mm plain steel ball end & .014 .36mm plain steel ball end. I went to the Stay in Tune site last night and couldn't even find them. As for photos I really didn't know what to take so here it is...
Thanks Dusty! I was looking at the Kentucky model also, I have very long fingers so probably can use a standard size. Thanks for the link to his page... 
Was it perhaps this one?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I think that was one in dad's collection but the songs aren't familiar.
Dusty Turtle,
Nawww...that's not it. I almost think its The Simmons Family Stone County Dulcimer but none of the songs ring a bell. The male's voice is so very memorable.
No, I don't think the raffele, if memory serves, has a 6+ fret, but the tuning is different (DAA), so a 6+ is probably not needed - I transcribed it for a DAD tuning. I suppose I should try a few of these out in a DAA tuning just to see how different the fingering (and sound) is, though I suspect I may need a 1+ which my dulcimers do not have. I've noticed on a few other's I'm transcribing that if they're played "up to speed", fingering can get a bit tricky. Maybe that won't be the case in DAA.
Yes, there are a few 'note forms' that have an intended dissonance. I think that dissonance is a bit more obvious with just the dulcimer. I don't think you hear it quite so much when there's an accompanying instrument.
I'm not 100% sure, but I think most Boarischer have a key change around the second part.
I've heard a few examples of the Raffele Schottische - that's a more typical tune for the raffele, i.e. with the strumming across all the strings - a cool tune!
Could this have been it?
My daddy had a dulcimer album as we were growing up.
I don't remember the name of the album or who was playing but I remember it was a yellow'ish colored album and it seems the family was on the front. One of the songs they were singing was about wood smoke being heavy in the air. It seems it was a males voice singing most of it. We played this album at my daddy's funeral visitation. The day we buried daddy in the mountains of E. TN, the fog was hanging over the Little TN River and my brother and I sang this song. This was 27 years ago now.
I have lost track of the album. I have been racking my brain trying to think of the album and who recorded it. Does this ring a bell in anyone's mind? Thanks ahead.
Howdy y'all!
Hooahmedic here! Its Army lingo for a really good medic! ;)
E. TN boy transplanted to Texas and still holding on to my mountain roots!
The notation looks fine to me. I do have a question about the trio section. There are several instances of 4 6+ 4. The 6+ on the middle string corresponds to a G#, which is quite dissonant against the A (4) on the melody and bass strings. Is that intended? Also you mentioned that the Raffele has not 6+ fret.
I like the way it changes key between G and D, and it looks like it is a fun tune to play. There is a contemporary tune called "Raffele Schottische" that also changes key every section and has a similar structure. I did a video of this about a year ago:
Here’s a very simple tune I transcribed to dulcimer TAB (tuning is DAd).
It’s not quite what I mean by playing a tune in the style of a zither – this tune, “Boarisch aus Reutte” comes from a tune book written for the mountain dulcimer’s Alpine cousin, the “raffele”. The raffele also has three strings, but typically tuned a’ a’ d’. The fretboard is almost the same as a dulcimer, but does not have the 6+ fret (but does have a 1+ fret) – going by memory here.
Typically played by strumming across all strings with a soft plectrum. Tunes are usually marches but can also be slower ones as well. Accompaniment is usually with classical guitar or Steirische Harmonika (Styrian accordion – a type of button accordion).
The tune is a Boarischer, a type of traditional Alpine dance tune. Played through two parts, then back to the first part, then the “trio” to end.
I ‘finger-pick’ this, but it may sound better with a pick.
As I mention, this is a very simple tune and was chosen as sort of an exercise to see what transcribing zither/raffele tunes would sound like on dulcimer.
I’d welcome any suggestions in the notation.
Hope to have some Landlers done soon – working through a few now – these are more zither-like rather than the raffele.
Looking forward to the pictures.
Grooves in a couple frets are not really part of the problem you describe. If you have the string package (Stay In Tune) it should tell you the gauges of strings it contained, which might tell us a lot.
When you change strings, DO Not remove all of them and them put all new on. Remove and replace 1 string at a time, to keep that loose Nut and maybe the Bridge from shifting position.
Question. Is the bridge setting on top of the fretboard? Or in a groove in the fretboard?
To get back to the original question, I've played two Ron Gibson dulcimers and they were both very nice. The action is very low, making it easy on your left hand fingertips. The sound is beautiful. His standard 26" scale length is short enough for small hands but long enough for decent volume and sustain. One of the dulcimers I played was a baritone. The other was a standard-sized dulcimer and it must have been Kentucky model. It was for sale at a local music store and I didn't really need another dulcimer at the time, so I played it a bunch and left. I went back the next day to buy it because I liked it so much and it was already gone. 
Ron's dulcimers are among the most affordable of the decent instruments out there, and honestly, other than a couple of student models, I would not recommend the dulcimers that you can find for less than what Ron charges. He's also a member here, so feel free to check out his profile page and contact him. I'm sure he'd be happy to make you a dulcimer without a pickup installed with the wood and soundhole design of your choice.
Oh my goodness! That's hilarious! I started about 14 years ago, self taught also, & picked it up pretty quick ( I was 40 ) I was learning a song called " In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree " for my Father. He really loved that song...(think it's from the late 1800's maybe? ) Anyway, he fell ill with cancer & passed away before I could finish learning it because it was a bit difficult for me. I sat my dulcimer down & never picked it up again until about 4 months ago. I'm not back to the point of finger picking again yet but am determined to get there & to finish learning that song...now that I'm able to...but my dulcimer just isn't willing now since it's been neglected so long. And it would be nice to have a quieter dulcimer along with my Yocky. Don't get me wrong, I love my "Island" but would like to try out others. I've never played any others except a cheap model I bought on Ebay. Thanks for making me chuckle, I remember those days too & it seems like I'm repeatingit now! Lol 
Too funny. I started playing at the age of about 56 -- not knowing what a "fret" was -- and I quickly broke strings because I tried to tune the bass string to a "D" about 2 (or 3!) octaves above where it was supposed to be. I got a book from the library with dulcimer tunes. I didn't know what "Aeolian" or "Dorian" or "Ionian" tuning meant so I ignored those words. Wow did some of those songs sound weird. "Stupid book is full of errors" I said. Thank goodness for the great kindness and expertise of dulcimer players on line and in person because things did get better!
Thank you so much Ellen for the video...very informative. I seem to be showing my ignorance once again... I guess if I'm going to play an instrument I need to understand the mechanics of it also...I won't be needing a pick up either, I plan on playing alone as I always have. Thanks again :)
Thank you... I'll take some photos & post them. It does look like there are grooves worn into some of the frets but I haven't had a chance to really examine it. It may just be dirty from the strings. These strings are a generic brand I guess called "Stay in Tune" made in Akron Ohio. They just seem to be very thick ( and painful ) compared to the ones I used to have that I had purchased from Tom.
I agree both that it would be nice to have a comprehensive list and also that such an effort would be very difficult and take a lot of work on someone's part. On ED there used to be lists of festivals, teachers, and dulcimer groups, but they got very outdated very quickly. To create a list for a single year would take a lot of work. To maintain that list year after year when dates change, new festivals emerge, old ones disappear, and so forth, would be a herculean task.
What we can do is encourage members here to use the "Events" feature more often and list festivals as soon as dates are known. (Perhaps you've noticed that I already created a listing for the Berkeley Dulcimer Gathering in May 2019!) When the date for an event passes, the event is removed from our general listing, but it still exists under the original creator's Events page and can be easily updated with new dates and guest artists each year.
I agree with Stephen that it would be good to see a list of all dulcimer festivals in a given year. I thing, however, that it is an impossible task. We depend on volunteers to post notices of these events. Some get posted and reported to sites like FOTMD or the old ED. Some are not promoted outside of a specific region. One might be able to construct a list for given year doing some kind of internet search, but that probably will not get all of them. It also would require an awful lot of work. We can keep hoping.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I ended up doing Google searches for dulcimer and acoustic music festivals and newsletters to come up with some in my area.
Yep. We're at the point where we need to see what's going on.
Ellen's right. An Electric dulcimer is, like an electric guitar, a "solid-body_ -- a piece of fancy 2x6 or whatever with cavities cut into it to house the electronics.
The vast majority of dulcimers are Acoustic instruments -- hollow bodies in which the air vibrates to make the sound. Many makers (including Ron) offer an acoustic-electric option, which involves a pickup attached inside the body with a wire leading to a socket usually imbedded in the tailpiece.
I think there's some confusion here. There is a big difference between an electric guitar and an acoustic guitar. But Ron Gibson isn't making an "electric" dulcimer. His are acoustic instruments (ie., there is a back, a top and a hollow middle). He offers the option of having a "pick up" added. This is simply a wire that is inside the box that goes to a funky metal piece in the butt end of the dulcimer so it is easy to plug into a sound system (which one wants to do when playing an open mic or at a church). He also sells a mini-speaker that is easy to use too for a very affordable price. Mine has the "pick up" but about 95% of the time I am playing without a speaker. You can order a dulcimer from Ron without a pick up. Here's a youTube by Larry Conger on the topic that clarifies much more:
Best of luck!Diane, if it were possible for you to add a few photos to this thread, it would definitely help those who are trying to figure out what's wrong with your dulcimer's setup. A mountain dulcimer shouldn't sound 'awful' and shouldn't need lots of strength to fret the strings either. I'm thinking there's probably something else going on here that's causing problems for you.
Thank you Ken Longfield...my daughter took a look at it and tried to play it and said it was awful. She noticed that the frets have grooves in them also and she said with her callouses she was also having trouble pushing the strings down to play. So, I guess I'll have to learn how to "repair" the frets. Sorry for the ignorance and thanks for all the advice...
It sounds like the tension on the bass string is greater than the tension on the other three strings. Once you remove all four string you should be able to push it back in place with your fingers. If the nut is very loose, you can use a drop of white glue to hold it in place, but don't use too much. You should be able to remove the nut if you need to make adjustments like lowering the action. When you restring the dulcimer, start with the middle strings first and bring them up to proper pitch. That should hold the nut in place while you add the melody and bass strings.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dulcimers don't have a left or right. They have a head, a tail, a near (player) side, a far side, a top and a bottom. Did the nut shift towards the near side or far side?
If the nut has shifted that radically without being serious tapped with something or falling, your strings are far too loose, which would be a major factor in your "issues". What are you using for a tuner? It's possible you may be tuned to DAd but in the wrong octave (too low), which would explain floppy sour sounding strings...
String tension should hold the nut and bridge in place. Bass string rubbing the headstock where it enters the slot to the tuning shafts isn't normally an issue, as it is outside of the nut-bridge VSL.
You "repair" the loose nut by pushing, or gently tapping the nut back to where it is supposed to be and then tightening the strings. If the nut won't simply push back into place, set the dulcimer on top of a towel, on the dining table or a counter, before doing any tapping. Use a short 'punch' -- a stick, dowel, or piece of chopstick -- and a hammer. Put one end of the punch on the end of the nut and tap the other end.
Thank you Ellen :) It looks beautiful! I think I may get one, but not an electric & unfortunately it looks like there are quite a few on the site.
I adore my Ron Gibson dulcimer. I get compliments on it all the time (The blonde dulcimer on the right in the thumbnail photo). Mine is maple and walnut. It has a nice deep box and a lovely sound.
I'm in the market for my third dulcimer & was wondering if anyone owns a Ron Gibson & what's your opinion? Thanks
Thanks for all the replies. I'll have to get down to the music shop tomorrow & purchase a few to make sets & go from there...anyway while I was at work yesterday & practicing I noticed that the nut has shifted about 1/4 inch to the right & that the bass string is rubbing the wood of the head stock on the side! Obviously it's loose & I hadn't noticed...could having a loose nut cause some of the issues I'm having? And how does a person repair it? And why do I have that much space in the slot for it to shift? Sorry about the neediness but I'm not a builder...I can't even play that well...lol 
Bidding ended at $90.98
I still have the 1997 receipt Keith wrote for my teardrop, with all the specs... but unfortunately it does not mention finish.
However, I do recall talking on the phone with him about the finish he was going to use... and the only thing I remember was that it was a simple finish of some kind that required a very fine sanding or rubbing between maybe two coats of it. Could have been lacquer, maybe wax, or maybe just linseed oil. Not sure it that helps much, but i recall it being a very simple finish of perhaps a single ingredient, and I think two coats with buffing in between.
I dug through my file on Keith Young, but found nothing about the finish he used on his instruments. My suspicion is lacquer, but I am not 100% certain. Here is a link to a Wood Magazine article about how to identify finishes. I hope this helps you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Boarish aus Reutte - Dulcimer TAB.pdf - 79KB
