Forum Activity for @steven-berger

I have a Folkcraft all-hickory FSH teardrop dulcimer that I play on a table with a small thin plastic placemat (lined side up) under it. Its sound is quite mellow (to my ears) and not very loud when played this way. I have an all-walnut hourglass dulcimer made by Johnny Pledger that I play the same way and its quite a bit louder and not as mellow as the teardrop (it's deeper and wider).

To be honest, I don't know how much the type of wood affects the sound quality of each dulcimer as opposed to the size and shape. 

I think the quality you have trouble with is a bright tone and the top of an instrument really does affect the tone quality. An all-mahogany instrument may have the sound you're looking for, warm, not so bright. Walnut is similar, but a little drier, a little brighter. I personally don't care much for spruce-topped dulcimers. They sound too guitar-like to me, and I already have guitars.

The McSpadden website has pretty good soundclips of their instruments. A half hour there would probably help you narrow down your choices. I also hear a significant tone difference between hourglass and teardrop bodies.

That's great! Now you'll be able to get a start and discover just what you want in an instrument. The problem is, many of us wind up wanting, and getting several (if not too many) instruments! 

Hi. I have a mellow,sweeeet-soundiing dulcimer. Built by Robert Schuler of butternut, which I understand is related to walnut...

Have you tried an all hickory dulcimer? I think they are one of the most muted dulcimers I've every heard. It is a lovely sound.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It seems you're looking for exactly the opposite sound compared to what I prefer.  So... given that I greatly prefer a cedar top over an all-walnut dulcimer... I conclude that you would probably prefer the all-walnut!  Vive la difference :-)

Give Folkcraft a call or email them and ask what they recommend.  They are very nice people and they can help you pick out not only the wood, but also the body size, shape and depth.  A deep body gives a mellow sound, but also increases the volume so I'm not sure if that's the way to go. 

Hello Ken and thank you for your welcome message.  

and Hello Tumbleweed, John, Strumelia, and Nikolas,

Having never seen a dulcimer of any kind, played live I really do not know what sound, look of feel I want an instrument to have. It sounds a simple question however, from the feedback I have received there is a lot more to the number of strings than first meets the mind.  I thought I was going to have to travel large distances to see, feel and hear the various qualities of a collection of mountain dulcimers before I took the plunge into buying one that I liked.  This may be the answer in the long term if I decide to raid the piggy bank to purchase the ultimate instrument but in the short term however, most of the decisions have been put on the back burner.  No I am not giving up the idea of getting a mountain dulcimer, far from it as I was amazed to hear from a friend who is a member of the Nonsuch Dulcimer Club, that having made some inquiries within her circle of musical friends, she phoned me to say that she had spoken to a fellow musician who use to play MD that he had still got one that he was willing to let me have as my first instrument, so at this stage 3 or 4 strings is not so important as saying thank you to him for his very kind offer.  I hope to take delivery of it in a weeks time, so Bring it On

Hi everyone I'm enjoying the wonderful sound of this pick up called "Myers Pick up" I've put a few examples on soundcloud and many people have commented how good the dulcimer sounds. Here's the problem. The suction cup he uses to mount the pick up to the dulcimer pops off. I've had to just leave it "sit" there and play carefully and it works but I have a gig in two months that I can't have that happen with....I thought at first I could use that "tacky" stuff that I use to hang up pictures in my class room but it does leave a residue. Also I reached out to the owner who was very understanding as I thought I may have to upgrade to a different type. He told me that was no problem but that he's had many customers tell him they use 2M command strips. I just went on Amazon and it does look like they could work without damaging the instrument. If you scroll down it shows that when you need to "remove" the strip from the instrument you pull a tab down and it releases it without damaging the wall (normally use is to hang up stuff on walls) I do recall back in the day those types of strips would rip the paint and sometimes the board of the wall off...seems like they made an improvement and they are touting that "it won't damage walls" etc. 

what is your opinion? 

Here's the link:

 http://www.amazon.com/Command-17024VP-Poster-Strips-48-Strips/dp/B001KYSAN4/ref=sr_1_fkmr2_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1452874269&sr=8-1-fkmr2&keywords=2M+command+strips 

A dulcimer too loud?  That would have to be an oxymoron.  

lynn mc spadden once told me the thickness of the soundboard on various woods was more important than the type of wood. 

hard to imagine a dulcimer that is too loud. 

I personally feel the reality is somewhere in the middle here.   :)

I have the exact same dulcimer- given to me by a woman now in her 70s, whose father made it for her from a kit in 1983.  She said she'd never played it much and wasn't going to be playing it ever.  It has her father's name inside, but also has the kit sellers' green label inside, saying "The Dulcimer Shoppe, Folk Crafts Books", ...on highway 9 north in Mountainview, Arkansas.  It's identical in every way.

I used it in almost all of my dulcimer noter instructional videos, because my two main playing dulcimers both have 1.5 frets which would be confusing in a beginner video.  I don't normally play it, because it has a real hard time holding the strings to tension.  The original pegs were completely shot when I got it, and I replaced them with some similar looking ones which fit the holes and were in better shape- but unfortunately those tuners don't want to hold well either.  It's a real struggle to tune it to key of D.  Planet tuners would likely do the trick, but the dulcimer just isn't valuable enough for me to justify buying another set of high priced pegs (and I don't have bunches of tuners lying around), so I only use the dulcimer for testing out tunes on next to my desk, or for instruction purposes. It has a very narrow waist and the wood is quite thin.  I could post photos- it is truly identical in every detail to the dulcimer in your slideshow, Richard.

You said "The Folkcraft site makes it sound as if the hickory comes in, sound wise, between cherry and walnut. Does that seem a fair description?"

I have to say no.  That sounds like marketing.  The effect of wood species on sound quality is very fa down the list of known factors which effect sound quality.  Buy the dulcimer that sounds like what you want rather than buying a wood type, shape, size, or string count.

Type of wood is REALLY far down the list of dozens of things that influence and affect the overall sound.  All Walnut is no more 'fat and mellow' than all Poplar or Wenge and Spruce or any other wood combinations you can think of.  Specific instruments vary in sound.

I never recommend that a person buy a dulcimer by specific wood, except in the sense of beauty.  Virtually identical dulcimers can sound as different as night and day.  Several builders that I know have made identical dulcimers from consectutive slices of wood from a single log -- and gotten completely different sounds.  No two McSpaddens sound exactly alike, regardless of the woods.  Just keep listening until you hear the sound you want.  Then be prepared to buy that sound.

Strumelia & Skip;

Thank you for those helpful comments and ideas.  I have been trying to steer new players to qualified teachers and give

suggestions for books.  Will need to stress the 1 1/2 fret along with 6 1/2 and 13 1/2 if installed.

Thanks again,

JimP

I would add that the confusing part would be why the 1+ [1 1/2] is not 2 when the MD is purchased with it already installed. The same 'numerical order' problem exists with the 6+and 13+ as well as any other additional frets in 'dulcimer speak. :) You may want to consider some sort of handout and/or recommend a good beginners book explaining this when selling an MD with additional frets to new dulcimer players, especially those who [will] depend on TAB.

To be honest, when learning a new instrument, just about 'everything' is confusing to a beginner, especially if no one has ever explained to them the basics of WHY they are 'missing' certain frets or notes in the first place.

I think if a new player is motivated to learn by making the effort to do some listening and reading ,  and/or has a decent teacher who can explain basics well, then they will fairly quickly catch on to initially confusing stuff, and an extra fret or a new tuning won't stop them.   

Ken;

Did you attend the Hindman, Kentucky dulcimer festival this past year?  I thought I maybe picked that up from

one of your posts.

JimP

Sorry- I meant Skip!  Dropped a letter there.

JimP

Kip;

Many of my instrument buyers here in Ohio are beginners, although some have played other stringed instruments.  Do you

think the 1 1/2 fret is confusing to new players?

Jim

Nimrod, you should be aware of this little bit of confusion for new players:

Here are some explanations to clarify what people are referring to when talking about number of strings on mtn dulcimers:

1) the most common setup as a "four string dulcimer" is 1 heavy bass string, 1 medium weight middle string, and a PAIR of thinner melody strings- which are close together, are usually tuned to the same note, and are played as though they are just one string- that kind of close pair is called a "course" or "double course". That dulcimer is very common and is played as though it has 3 strings, but the melody 'course' is really 2 strings close together and played as though they were 1 string.

(I should also mention that just because this outer light string is called the melody string does not mean you cannot play melody notes on the other strings as well, it's just a convenient traditional name for the string because: in traditional or noter style of playing, only that string is used for playing a song's melody..nowadays there are various styles of playing that use other strings for melody playing as well, but that's beside the point of my explanation)

2) Many people do not have, or purposely remove, one of the pair of melody strings and simply have 3 strings on their dulcimer: a bass, a middle, and a single melody string .  They might choose to do this because it's easier to play in fingerpicking style that way, or because they feel awkward fretting a pair of strings, or simply because they don't like that fuller sound of the double course...they want to even the sound out between the different strings.

Another popular meaning when you hear someone talk about a "four string dulcimer" is:

3)  four equidistant strings .  This is when you have 4 strings, all spaced equally apart from each other ,  in various thicknesses (usually spanning heavy to light) tuned to a tuning of your choice.  In this setup, there are no 'double courses' or pairs of close together strings.  All four strings are equal distance apart and are tuned and played as individual strings.  This setup can give you additional choices for getting various notes and/or chords while playing...as compared to a 3 string dulcimer as I describe in example 2).

----------------------------------

A double-melody-course 4 string dulcimer will have 4 tuning pegs and its nut and bridge string  slots  will be cut to allow the doubled pair, but you can always just remove one of the pair and play it like a 2) three string dulcimer- you'd have one peg with no string wound on it.  Also, as long as the dulcimer has four pegs, it can simply have its nut/bridge slots changed or added to enable one to convert it quickly to a 4 equidistant dulcimer.  Both my dulcimers have 4 tuning pegs and have additional nut/bridge slots which allow me to switch if i wanted to- to any of the above three setup,s by changing/adding/removing strings.

Probably the most basic setup for a beginner would be setup #2 above- a simple 3 string dulcimer. Many 3 string dulcimers have just 3 tuning pegs.  These obviously cannot be converted to either 4equidistant setup or to a double-melodystring setup, because it'd be difficult to add another peg to the peghead...you can't have a string without its own peg or pin to tune it with.  But many folks don't care about that anyway because they adore their 3 string dulcimers just as they are.   You have all the same notes available to you on a 3 string dulcimer as you have on a dulcimer with a doubled melody course (examples 1) and 2) above).  
One other detail is that most tablature and books available to players is geared towards the 1) and 2) setups.  However, that does not stop dedicated 4equidistant string players from having a total blast and becoming wonderful players.  FOTMD has a Group for 4 equi players- to learn more:  Four Equidistant String Players Group

Any of the 3 setups above are beloved by many and are very popular.  There are also more variations- 5, 6 string dulcimers, etc, but I'd say those are less common and not as recommended for a beginner to start with.

Hope this helps.

P.S. I moved this thread to the general dulcimer forum, instead of the 'site questions' forum.

I would suggest a 4-string instrument with the 6 1/2 fret and geared tuners. One of the doubled melody strings can easily be removed if you like and the 6 1/2 fret ignored if you don't need it. But you would have a "complete" instrument for the various popular playing styles. A solid wood instrument (no veneers) will have a fuller sound.  Beyond that, get something which sounds and looks pleasing to you. Dulcimer is a wonderful, accessable instrument which will allow you to scratch that music-making itch. 

Style of play (strum, finger/flatpick/noter) should not be a factor of whether a string course is doubled or not.  I know lots of guitarists who fingerpick 12 string guitars, and dulcimer players who fingerpick six string dulcimers.  Style of play is what you train yourself to do.

Hi Nimrod:

I have a four string dulcimer and for a while it was a 3 string because I broke a melody string and was too lazy to put it back on.  I eventually put it back on but then about a week ago purposely took it off because I want to learn to finger pick.  Question: do you plan to play with a noter? Not sure if it makes a difference using a noter if three or four strings are better.  May need to consult with players more expert than I.

Happy shopping!

TW

Thanks Ken. I think that's the one I'm going to get. Seems to be what I'm looking for and great reviews.

I haven't tried it, but if you don't need the stuff for electric guitar, keyboard, etc., that seems a good way to go. They appear to be identical expect for the amp modeling. Looks like a very nice unit to me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Has anyone tried the Roland Mobile AC Acoustic (as opposed to the Moble Cube)? This one:

http://www.elderly.com/electronics/acoustic-amps-pickups/acoustic-amplifiers/roland-mobile-ac-acoustic-chorus-guitar-amplifier.htm

Ken;

Thanks for the information.  I think I will try it!

Jim

I have 4 of his books. He also has a lot of retuning and some 4 equidistant choices. 

I do some light work on MD's when I come south for the winter, mostly restringing and adding 1+ and 6+ frets. I think at least 1/2 -3/4 of our bunch here [at least 35 in the group] have the 1+ fret. All of my MDs have the 1+. I also build my own. It is probably the 'new 6+' of mods/fads. You probably should have the capability to easily add it.

Ken;

John is a real proponent of the 1 1/2 fret.  Do you ever play a 1 1/2 fret instrument.  I have not tried it yet.  I build and sell dulcimers, so

I am thinking about building an instrument with 1 1/2 fret configuration.  I am hearing that many experienced players are requesting 1 1/2

fret on new dulcimers.

Jim

i have an identical dulcimer except its 3 strings.....all walnut hourglass with walnut plywood back.  this has a mc spadden shop lable stating

l made by george looney.... no. 3835.  its dated 9/76.  model no. m8-w.  it may be a kit model but this one was made in shop.

Yep .. I'm convinced now too. The VSL is 28 1/2", another nearly uniquely McSpadden thing.

I'm convinced that it's a McSpadden kit. The scroll and tuners as well as the walnut plywood are giveaways.  My first kit looked like that exactly!

Not a great photos, but here you can see what I am looking at. 
Again, it's a TK-4, teardrop, but looks very similar to what you show in your photos. Tail cap, nut, and bridge look the same too. 

Thanks! When I talked to Jim it was pretty early on after he bought the place. I will ask him again.

The reason I am thinking TK-9, is I have a TK-4 sitting here with the exact same scroll head, and tuners. I have an email form Jim Woods from a month ago that reads "The TK4 was an early kit offering from McSpadden.  It makes a very nice dulcimer but with a small voice.  It was superceded in the late 70s by the TK9 which was slightly larger.  Then in the mid 80s McSpadden changed to only offering one kit model, the Sweet Song, with an hourglass shaped body and a flat peghead."

Keep us posted, please. Interesting!

Jim, might be able to put you in contact with Larry or someone else who worked there in the 1970s.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ah, well good luck pristine2. 

I once asked about them on everythigndulcimer.com (maybe 2009?), and someone volunteered the name of a kit builder .. but I wasn;t convinced then, and I can no longer find the thread.


Lynn McSpadden has passed on ... I suppose I could track down Larry to see if he recognizes it ...