Forum Activity for @hewalker

I am leaning toward the Warren May over the McSpadden......I have played a Warren May, now to try a McSpadden......I wasn't considering the Blue Lion but Hubby mentioned it!   I think he is convinced I will sell a few once I get a new one.    I know what I want and what I don't want.....curious what I might have missed (like the width of the fingerboard differences)  Thanks so much for all the input....more is welcome!

What those three dulcimers have in common is that they are all high quality instruments that retain their value well.  But they are all very different. I've not played a Warren May dulcimer, but his instruments probably have a more traditional sound than the other two.  McSpaddens are very well balanced and are famously easy to play.  Blue Lions have a bigger bass sound than McSpaddens.  But there are other small differences, too.  The McSpadden fretboard is a bit smaller than the Blue Lion fretboard, and Blue Lion strings are a bit further apart.  The VSLs on standard models are also different.

If you have lots of money, buy a dulcimer by each of those builders, play them for a while, and then send me the ones you don't love.

If that's not an option, wait.  There are so many variables in dulcimer builds that unless you've been playing for a while and know exactly what you want, you don't know what your preferences are.  It took me a few years of playing to determine exactly what kind of dulcimer I wanted (and I want different ones for fingerpicking and flatpicking!).  Take your time.   If you can visit Warren May, play some of his dulcimers.  If you are at a festival and see a McSpadden or Blue Lion vendor, play some of their dulcimers.  Whenever you hear someone play a dulcimer that sounds especially nice to your ears, ask if you can play it, and ask what the player likes about it.  Eventually you won't have to post the question with which you started this forum because you'll already know what kind of dulcimer or dulcimers you want.

I concur with Ken and Kusani. The sound and feel of every dulcimer can be very personal and fit one player better than another. It would be best to try the one you wish to purchase before spending the money. That is not always as practical as one would wish. Even 2 identical custom-made instruments by the same builder can sound a bit different played side by side.

I have owned/played McSpadden and Blue Lion. They are both excellent and sound great. But they are worlds apart in sound, not at all in a negative way: just different.  I like the sound of Warren May's dulcimers but have only strummed one in his store in Berea, never owned one.

Blue Lion sometimes has a vendor space at some festivals and sometimes there are McSpadden resellers/dealers at some festivals so that may be an option for trying each of those. I do not know if Warren sells at festivals or not. I know the last festival I attended had a couple of people come by just to shop the vendors though they did not register for the festival.

Deciding on another dulcimer is always a process and the careful buyer weighs lots of factors over time to make the best decision. If only one could buy all three and then decide and send the others back.

Best wishes on making your decision.

AW, thank you.  You have no idea what that means to me this morning.  A kind word goes such a long way....  I will surely share!  And I will use one in a church performance.

I have had  the opportunity to try out two different Warren May dulcimers and I absolutely adore the sound of both......I was just curious what your thought were regarding which you prefer!

Do share with us your initial impressions on bamboo noters when you receive them, Sandi.

So great to have you posting here again, by the way!  

Echoing Ken's comments a bit; don't buy any dulcimer without trying it unless you are a beginner and buying a 'cheapo' to learn on to decide if you want to keep playing and purchase a 'keeper'. 

MacDonalds, Longhorn Steakhouse, Commander's Palace.  

McSpadden, Warren May, Blue Lion

McSpad and Blue Lion are "production" instruments at both ends of the dollar spectrum.  A Warren May is an individually made masterpiece that may not be for everyone.  Don't buy any of these without trying them...

I am in the market to add another dulcimer (you can't have too many, right???)  What are your thoughts on these three?  All opinions welcome!  GO!

Heart overflowing!  Thank you Kusani and Richard!!!  

Sandi, It' going in the mail today. Enjoy. 

Y'all are too kind!  Always, ALWAYS such a blessing.  Thank you!  

I have access to bamboo and will be glad to send you some noters if you like. Send me your address etc.

I make mine out of black bamboo which I grow on the property.  Send me your name/address and I'll send you one.

From the bamboo clump in the backyard... or down the block... or in the woods.  Some people actually have to buy a short bamboo pole from a garden center or similar place and cut it into lengths.  

I love this Q and it's answers!  We have quite a few uke players in our church.  Thank you.

Ken, I love your ideas always.  I remember you sent me some woods, and I was so new I thought they were actual noters!  I still use them.  LOL!  Where does one get just a piece of bamboo?

Strumelia, I'm a fickle gal,  too!

Hi all,

I'm sorry I hadn't see this thread again until recently, but I am glad Lois and others were able to download the site successfully.  Also glad the tab from ED has found a new home on the web.  :)

Make that c6 for open tuning.   GCAE = chord C6 

Glass noters I've tried out seem to give an odd metallic tone. Might be cool for certain effects though.

Every time I've settled on a favorite noter, a month or two later I discover that one of my other noters is actually my favorite.      I'm a fickle gal.

I wanted to remind folks to check their everythingdulcimer.com private message INbox and Sent box etc, to save any important private messages  in your ED account that you might not want to lose.  Only 4 days left...     

I use a variety of "pen blank" of exotic woods that are 3/4" x 3/4" x 5", which I round out with a belt sander to about 1/2" diameter. I prefer noters about the diameter of my index finger. One of my favorite hard woods is Lignum Vitae one the hardest 10 woods in the world.  My other choice for noters is a 4-5" piece of bamboo.

I've used glass -- a swizzle stick -- a time or two -- very fast!  

Lois, that is a super clever idea!  I say always share, because someone will definitely benefit!  ~so cool~

Sandi, I never tried glass, but bet it would really zip along.  I stay with wood when I don't "finger dance", but had such a hard time at first placing it squarely on the strings that my husband gave it an inner circle at the tip cutting in all around so that I tend to place it more accurately.  I don't know that anybody else would be interested, but, if they are, I can have him take a picture of it.  Guess it could be considered like "training wheels" on a bicycle.

I have found that my little Wren from Feather Dulcimer also sounds FANTASTIC in DAA!  I have lost my noter though and want to replace it ASAP.  I have gotten creative with household items, but I'd love your opinions on where to spend my dollars.  I'd also love your opinions on what sound you like...Wood?  Glass?  Something else?  TIA for sharing with me!

Literal tears that the TAB is available!  THANK YOU ever so much, with all my heart.

Thank you Dusty, and thanks to Kevin Teague for his hard work and dedication doing this.

I just want to let everyone know that all the tablature from ED has already found a new home:  http://dulcimertab.com/ .  The site owner is hosting everything for free and may create a database of dulcimer groups and dulcimer teachers.

Thank you, Nigel.  You, Dusty, and Brian helped get me there.  I felt a wee bit guilty taking over the Timeline with my problems instead of Private Messaging, but figured it both helped me succeed and maybe helped a few reading it all.

I don't think Bruce is interested in having anyone take over Everything Dulcimer, or I would have heard something by now.

Glad it worked for you, Lois. 

Oh my heavens!  I have it!  I do...I was just about to start all over and found something that sent me to my C drive (I thought I had bypassed that to save space) and there's something called My Web Sites.  Yes, Nigel, it even has an index.html!  5 KB and all.  <sigh!>  I'm surely not the only one to be this confused, but I'm sooooooo relieved.

Thank heavens their site stays up until June!

I really think something didn't work.  Tried to send a screenshot, but the file attachment says it failed.  The address line is weird, too: file:///C:/Users/lois-/Documents/Website%20Ripper%20Copier/Downloads/Everythingdulcimer/evartdulcimerfest.org/index.html

I think it's time to start over...oh joy!

It would appear that the software might not have worked properly but before you do any more deleting try another search for a file called - index.html

I can confirm that a search I have just made shows that such a file is on my computer and specifically relates to ED. If you do not have this file, delete everything and start again. You still have lots of time.

That produced a Notepad of computer language for Carbonite and a few things from Website Ripper, related to old searches I did about the Evart festival on Everything Dulcimer, but I tried Website Ripper and when it didn't work well I deleted the app.  Then I succeeded in finding the way to HTTrack (my first search hadn't turned it up) since that had worked for Brian.  If
"index" doesn't appear, I'm worried.  HTTrack is on my computer.  I also know it was the one copying all night long and this morning.  I just now stumbled into a list of those files Website Ripper tried to copy last night at around 6.  They're empty, but the titles are still there.

Opening HTTrack produced a list of Documents and that's where the Website Ripper list was apparently until I deleted the program. 

Lois, do a quick search for "index" files on your computer. If the copying has worked, one of them will open up the HTTrack software when it is clicked. 

I just sent off a question to the HTTrack Forum and certainly agree I'm inexperienced in using their software.  If I hadn't seen it downloading over all those hours, I would believe it didn't download.  My flashdrive shows a 2 KB WRC file, but when I try to open it, it just keeps trying to have my browser save it.  That may have been where I went astray in my initially telling it to open there, but now I can't seem to figure out how to open it any other way.  I've tried a variety of programs supposedly able to open WRC files and have nothing even close to Nigel's experience.

Dusty is correct and the cloned website will be opened by the same software which copied it. I used HTTrack and my project was saved as Dulcimer1, an arbitrary name, and it was directed at a folder named "My Websites". When the operation had finished there were five items in the "MyWebsite" folder. Two were GIF files, one was a folder called Dulcimer1 which held many files, a file named Dulcimer1.whtt and a file called "index".When I clicked on "index" the HTTrack program opened and and a purple banner type thing opened. The project name was shown in it and when this was clicked the ED website opened up.

You will have noticed that we have all shown different figures relating to the size of the ED dowload. I believe that this is due to the fact that we are all inexperienced in using the HTTrack software. I have not checked every single item on my captured website but have no reason to believe that I am missing anything. I downloaded the ED site to my hard drive directly and think that this is preferable to downloading it to a flash drive. This is because it guarantees a connection between the download files and the HTTrack software which allows it to display the captured site.

WIN HTTrack.  I can see the flashdrive and find the copy, but opening it is still a mystery.  Right now I could say the attached jpg pretty well describes my feelings...it doesn't open anything on my flashdrive, but it's a picture of me.

 computer-error.jpg - 12KB

Lois, what software did you use to download ED?  Either that software will be used to open it, or they have instructions somewhere about what to do.