Forum Activity for @iwbiek

Question about a western KY dulcimer maker/James Norris

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Hello, friends! New to the forums. I just wanted to ask if anyone here is familiar with a dulcimer maker from Deanefield, KY, named James C. Norris? I bought one of his dulcimers off eBay about 6 or 7 years ago, though not from him directly, afaik. It's a beautiful teardrop-shaped instrument with 4 heart and teardrop sound-holes and looks to be all apple or cherry wood. I believe the dot inlays are MOP. It's definitely handmade because the inlays are a little askew, lol. Despite its slightly rough-and-tumble appearance, it has a beautiful sound. It also has the 2nd and 10th fret of a traditional mountain dulcimer bisected with an additional fret.

Anyway, there's a sticker visible on the inside with the handwritten name "James C. Norris" and "Deanefield, KY." It also identifies the instrument as "#10," and that it was made in 2001. I have googled all this information several times over the years with zilch to show for it. It's driving me 'round the bend. Deanefield is in Ohio County, south of Owensboro, in Bill Monroe country. I thought if anyplace could help me, this could! Thanks!

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Larry, in order to prevent tuning your strings too tightly thus breaking the strings or damaging the instrument...

1) you must know what note you are aiming to tune to and choose a string thickness (gauge) that is appropriate to that note, for the scale length of your string (the measurement from nut to bridge, aka "VSL" which stands for Vibrating String Length)

2) once you have chosen the correct thickness of string for the VSL and note you want to tune to, you'll need an electronic tuner to tell you when your string is approaching that note once you start tightening it. (I assume you are not able to tune by ear alone).  You must also be sure you are tuning to the note in its correct OCTAVE.

This string calculator can help in choosing a string gauge: https://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

And this may also help you hear/understand the notes you are aiming for: https://dulcimer-noter-drone.blogspot.com/2010/12/what-notes-do-i-tune-my-strings-to.html

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

From what I know:

1) If the strings are too tight, I could damage the dulcimer, and

2) The string will break, possibly be hurt.

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

What is a folk instrument is very much like the question "what is folk music"... it's a question that can be difficult to exactly define, and can be kind of subjective. 

I think this may be helpful:

Here is Wiki's definition of "folk music".

And here is Wiki's definition of "folk instrument".

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Larry, I'm having trouble understanding your question. Do you not bring the string up to the proper pitch when you pout it on? No matter what instrument Ion which 'm replacing strings, I always bring the new string up to pitch before moving on to the next string. I don't know why one would want to bring up the string up to "a certain tightness of the string" or slightly below pitch before moving on to the next string. Once you put a string on continue tightening until you reach the proper pitch. Are you using an electronic tuner? Tuning by ear? Tuning to another instrument? Certainly using the first method there is no reason to stop.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

What I should have written: “… now, this string is done ready to be tuned after stringing the next three …”

I still need to have an answer for what I had asked … if there is actually an answer to be given.

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Since I usually do one string at a time I take it right up to the final note or just before the final note. Then I do the final fine tuning after all the strings have been changed. That takes care of floating bridges and remembering which string I'm doing.

instrument question- Stephens Lutherie/holy grail dulcimer?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

Hello:

When I re-string my dulcimer, how do I determine the tightness of the string … a time when I should stop … then I  can tune it? Is there some type of test that I can use?

Thank you.

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

 
I agree, and also I think modern consumerism has really blurred the lines with this. Folk art is very popular and nowadays you can readily find folk instruments sold at music shops, often as a gimmick.
My local music shop sells jaw harps branded with Snoopy from Charlie Brown, spoons connected at the handles, as well as neckties made out of washboard material. They also sell fancy cigar box guitars with 2 rows of pickups and had a washtub bass with a fretboard. In stores, I have seen at least a dozen guitars that use a license place as a soundboard, and have never once seen a person play one in real life. 
There are also tons of extremely fancy highly modern banjos stylized to look more folksy or traditional, typically by making them fretless, or tackhead, or by using a gourd. I can't help but laugh at the irony in a fretless tackhead gourd banjo with mother of pearl fret marker inlays. 


updated by @nate: 06/01/24 03:40:39PM

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

For @Susie….

A joke often told in my family,

What’s the difference between a folk musician and a large pizza? 
A large pizza can feed a family of four. (Ooooo!  My apologies)

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Since I come from simple folk, it was explained to me quite simply:  a folk instrument wasn’t a commercial instrument, and widely available. It was made by folks who wanted music in their lives. Similar (albeit more complicated a build) to spoons, washboards and jugs. Now, most instruments (ie, kalimba, djembe, cajon, dulcimer, etc) are widely used in commercial recordings, by professional musicians.  Folk is a state of mind.

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Reminds me of of a joke.

A violinist changes their strings, while a fiddler changes their strangs!

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

What makes it a folk instrument? Being played by folks, of course! Not fancy musicianers or college educated theoreticians, or masters of stage.... just folks. Lol, but seriously I think that the interpersonal nature of folk tradition and instruction really defines a folk instrument, like Dusty said.

I also think that, more importantly, folk music and folk instrument tend to be words that people self describe with, denoting a modesty and sincerity to either the style of music or to the instrument. The word "folk" tells me that I can expect music that is intimate and genuine and not under some allusion of being excessively formal or pretentious.

updated by @nate: 05/31/24 06:51:14PM

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I'll go along with three "keys" to being a folk instrument:

(1) Not usually encountered in a standardized form, with variations limited to size and materials.

(2) Not formally taught in conservatories (or equivalent) over a multi-year period.

(3) Not typically used to play from written scores in standard notation.

Using an instrument to play "folk music" doesn't make it a "folk instrument." Mozart played the country music of his day rather well, as I recall, and I think he jammed as well.

Things get complicated, though. I think the Russian Balalaika is still probably classified as a folk instrument, although it fails all three of my tests.

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

I think Dusty hits it square in the middle.

But an exploration of the edges brings me to feel "folk" vs "some other kind" is notional, communal, and somewhat conventional —and more than a bit bizarre and ultimately uninteresting. I remember the '90s, for instance when arguments raged about the 'rightness' of putting a 6-1/2 fret on a dulcimer. The addition robbed the dulcimer of its folk status for some people, and cast it into some undefined state in which they seemed to imagine the proponents wanted to play chords and render Broadway hits music, which outraged them.

And that did come to pass! And some dulcimers are now commissioned as chromatic, not diatonic instruments at all. Blue Grass, jazz, renditions of classical music are arranged for dulcimers, either diatonic, altered diatonic or chromatice. DF#A is a well-known tuning scheme for playing Broadway musicals.

Another such edge is the status of the banjo, the ukulele, the African kalimba (thumb piano).

There are serious stylists and accomplished masters of all these instruments, yet only a few can walk onto a stage for an evening's solo concert and come away with much more cash than enough to pay their hotel and travel expenses.

That seems to imply another 'edge' to the consideration of whether an instrument is 'folk' or is somehow otherwise meant for 'serious' music —in other words, music people are willing to pay $50-$100 for a ticket.

In the world of rock, pop music, currently, people are paying truly fabulous amounts for leading singers and bands, while other very worthwhile, serious musicians keep squeaking by financially for the love of the music. Yet no consideration is in evidence about whether they are 'folk performers' or not. Is what Taylor Swift sings 'folk?' Nobody cares about the answer.

In sum, I think the love of the music is a much more interesting way to consider an instrument, those who play it, and the breadth of its repertoire, than whether it is a folk instrument. In the end, isn't any instrument available to and actively used by ordinary people a folk instrument?

BTW, a good friend of mine is a master of the hammer dulcimer.  She made her first mountain dulcimer in my basement—while playing the French horn in high school. And she may still have a French horn. I'll have to ask her sometime.

updated by @dwain-wilder: 05/31/24 05:09:35PM

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Interesting question. I think at the core of the answer is the manner of transmission.  Classical music is taught in schools and conservatories.  Folk music is transmitted informally and orally, within families and communities.  A guitar can be a folk instrument but might also be a classical instrument. Same with violin/fiddle.  French horn?  Definitely not a folk instrument.  But there is no corpus of dulcimer music taught at the New England Conservatory of music.  The music is passed on in dulcimer jams and--until tab became ubiquitous--entirely by listening and observing.

Folk Instruments?

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Both dulcimers are considered a folk instrument. Why is that? What makes an instrument a folk instrument? Is it the builders of the instrument (professional luthiers vs everyday builders), the people who play the instrument (lack of formal concerts) or something else? How does a folk instrument...say a guitar change status and become a instrument of higher regard in some circles? Looking forward to everyone's thoughts. 

Possum Board for McSpadden Ginger for sale

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Selling my cherry possum board, made for a McSpadden Ginger. Helps the back of the Ginger resonate more (and maybe adds volume). The Ginger just sits in the possum board. Chrome strap buttons. I've never used it. It's in excellent condition. Asking $40 + $15 for shipping. (If it's less than that I'll refund the difference :-) Thanks for looking!

Rest in Peace, Larkin Bryant

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

How lucky you were if you had the chance to meet/hear Larkin in person!  After hearing Larkin's CD "A Lark in the Twilight", I was able to find and buy a copy of it.  It's absolutely wonderful, and I play it all the time -my favorites are two original songs that Larkin wrote herself. I also have a copy of Larkin's Dulcimer book.  I was wondering if she ever put out any other CD's, books, or tabulature.  Anyone know??  

buzzy strings

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

 

Oops! I forgot to say multiply the measurement by two! So your scale length is 24-1/2"

From your description it seems likely the problem is at the nut/zero fret. I forgot to ask which you have. If it is a zero fret, you might try slipping a thin palette knife under it and gently pry it up a bit. Not a long-term solution, but if it decreases the buzzes that's a clue the you need a zero fret with a slightly higher crown.

If your dulcimer has a nut, there are two options:

1. Examine the top of the nut to see whether the strings are in slots deeper than the bass string. The bass string should not be much lower than its diameter (so its top surface in its slot should be about level with the top of the nut, perhaps a frog's hair lower). Over time with much playing and re-tuning, strings can wear the nut down, digging deeper into their slots and begin buzzing. Since this is a donated dulcimer, there is no telling how well it was treated before it got to you.

2. If the strings look fine in their nut slots, there remains the possibility that the nut never was high enough. Ya never know what some else is able to tolerate (or play around, despite) in the way of odd buzzes. In this case, pry the nut loose and slip a piece of business card stock, sized to fit the base of the nut, in as a shim. Retune and check for buzzes. You may need two such shims.

But more than two shims would suggest something even more fundamental and dire is going on —such as the whole tailblock becoming loose from its glued foundations in the sides and back, and cocking up when you tune the instrument. Let us then pray...

updated by @dwain-wilder: 05/22/24 02:23:27PM

FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !

OFF TOPIC discussions

Whoa, fifteen!?!  This time next year, FOTMD will be looking forward to driving.  

FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !

OFF TOPIC discussions

Wow! Fifteen years. I'm looking forward to the anniversary party.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !

OFF TOPIC discussions

Well, Lisa, I'd say this teenager you brought forth 15 years ago has been on his best behavior, wouldn't you?

buzzy strings

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Hi Dwain; here are my answers . Thanks for your help

Are all the strings buzzing? YES
Are the buzzes on a single fret or a group (or groups) of frets? Mostly from fret 2 and up.(the lowest string is not as bad)
What is the scale length (measure from the nut or the center of the zero fret to the 7th fret to get the nominal scale length).

12 1/4 inches 

What are the string gauges? .012 .012  .020 ( ( think)
What is each one tuned to? D A D 
Can you slip a nickel coin between the last fret and the bass string? YES
Is there any buzzing on the open (not pushed down at any fret) strings? Yes but its slight and intermittent.

FOTMD one year anniversary on July 29th, 2010 !

OFF TOPIC discussions

I just stumbled on this discussion again... what a blast from the past.
So... this next Summer, in July 2024,
FOTMD will be  fifteen  years old.    

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Thank you, friends!   If I can assist you in your dulcimore requirements, please let me know.  I'm now starting another cherry Jethro Amburgey dulcimore, just like the one I finished a few days ago!

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Nice looking site, John!

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Looks great John. Glad you are back up with the website.

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Thank you all!  I had plenty of assistance from Michael Willey, one of our members here.

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Bravo, John!   Love the new website!  Love my Thomas replica too!

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

John, your site looks good and easy to navigate!  I saw pretty dulcimers when I was there.    

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Your new website is looking good John!  

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Great John!! Thanks!

New Knopf Dulcimers website!

FOR SALE:instruments/music items/CDs/Wanted to Buy...

Finally I have a new website for my dulcimer-building work!  It shows my current model range, as well as a few dulcimers ready to sell right now.  Give it a look, and thanks very much!

John Knopf

buzzy strings

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

 

Hi MJ, we'll need more info about buzzing before giving advice:

Are all the strings buzzing?
Are the buzzes on a single fret or a group (or groups) of frets?
What is the scale length (measure from the nut or the center of the zero fret to the 7th fret to get the nominal scale length).
What are the string gauges?
What is each one tuned to?
Can you slip a nickel coin between the last fret and the bass string?
Is there any buzzing on the open (not pushed down at any fret) strings?

buzzy strings

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

A string buzzes if it's too loose, or if the next fret up from where you're noting is too tall.  The tall fret needs to be filed down slightly so the string doesn't hit it. 

You could also try raising the nut with a shim, or raising the bridge with a shim.  All of the frets need to be level with each other to keep the buzzing away.

buzzy strings

Instruments- discuss specific features, luthiers, instrument problems & questions

Thanks for the good advice about anchor pegs- that dulcimer  now has a new anchor, loop end strings and her owner is delighted.  

Now I have a new question. Is there an easy way to fix buzzy strings.  I recently replaced friction tuners ( no screw on the end- just pegs) with geared tuners - in order to make a donated dulcimer tunable and playable. the Strings buzzed before I changed to geared tuners, I think it is slightly better but I was wondering if there is an easy fix for buzzy strings.

How Many Dulcimers Do You Own?

General mountain dulcimer or music discussions

I have been giving away my dulcimers to people around town, and out of the 10 or so that I had a couple months ago, I now own 3. One problem with making experimental dulcimers is that I end up with *tons* that don't look or sound that good. I'd still feel bad just breaking them down for their hardware, though, so they pile up until I offload them on local musicians. lol

Tenor Guitars

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

 

Wow you did an amazing job trying to to preserve that guitar.

Tenor Guitars

Adventures with 'other' instruments...

About 45 years back, I found this little old tenor guitar at a yard sale.  I kept steel strings on it for about a decade, but, being worried about its integrity, I switched to nylon and put it in Chicago tuning (DGBE).  It was mostly a wall hanger for a long time, but since joining Ukulele Underground, I have been making some videos and occasionally whip out the tenor guitar/baritone uke.  Here's what it sounds like.