I am curious about how that affects the break angle of the string. Is the bead difficult to move, due to the pressure on it, or does it slide easily?
Okay, I think that is what I originally thought ken H meant. So, the strings are always in contact with the bridge, and the beads do not change the VSL for intonation? The beads just redistribute the tension that is past the VSL, to allow small tuning adjustments to the open string?
My Keith Young dulcimer has the wood bead fine tuners as well.
Because the string sits high above the soundboard next to the bridge and very low as the string approaches the tail pins or tail end, when you slide the bead towards or away from the bridge, it raises or lowers the non-vibrating section of the string slightly, thus either increasing string tension or lowering it... which makes the note a tiny bit higher or lower, as much as a half step sometimes. Since the Vibrating String Length is not actually changed, these tuning beads simply change the tension of the string by stretching it tighter (with the bead close to the tail) or allowing it to be at natural tension as if the bead wasn't there (when the bead is slid close to the bridge).
Thanks to both kens and Robin for the explanation. The fact that it also has an installed bridge in front of them made that unintuitive to me. Now that I understand better, that seems like a very clever feature.
Oooh, so are they basically fine adjusters for bridge intonation? Sort of like having a separate floating bridge under each string? Kind of like on an electric guitar bridge?
Yes.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Oooh, so are they basically fine adjusters for bridge intonation? Sort of like having a separate floating bridge under each string? Kind of like on an electric guitar bridge?
Walt Martin, of Sunhearth Dulcimers, put fine tuners on his instruments. Rather than using beads he made them out of ebony and they were pyramid shaped. A small hole drilled from one end in a slightly upward direction met another hole drilled from the opposite direction met in the middle so that the string moved over a slight peak inside the tuner. By sliding it forward or backward one could shorten or lengthen the string length. I believe Dwain Wilder continues to off this on his Bear Meadows dulcimers, the successor of Sunhearth.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That's really interesting. So is it basically the case that sliding the beads forward and back slightly changes the amount of tension?
If this helps, here is an example of fine tuning beads used on a mountain dulcimer, a Keith Young built model (the instrument leaned against the back of the bench):
Nate -- what you show ARE dampers for mandolins. But bead type fine tuners are/were common on dulcimers; especially the melody and middle drones -- the most commonly adjusted strings...
Could those beads on the strings be "dampers" similar to the ones on some mandolins and other instruments with a lot of string length past the VSL? Just a thought, I'm not familiar with that sort of fine tuners so I don't really know or understand how they would function.
Good Morning Ken,
Our email address is:
carlondj6@charter.net
Thank you
Nice looking dulcimer. Never heard of John (definitely John) Dubroff, but there there have been thousands of people who built a handful of dulcimers since the 1960s. However -- he appears to have done a nice job on this narrow waisted hourglass design. One interesting thing is that two of the strings have fine tuners -- those light 'beads' or whatever they actually are -- behind the bridge and before the strings bend over the tail piece.
Send me your email address and I'll send you a PDF of my beginner booklet I Just Got A Dulcimer, Now What? It's an illustrated glossary of dulcimer terms (so we all speak the same jargon), plus answers to many beginner questions about tuning, playing, care and feeding of their new instrument.
Hello Everyone,
My mother-in-law gave my wife a dulcimer back in the 1980s. It was built by a man named John (Jolm?) Dubroff of San Francisco in 1972. I'm wondering if anyone has information on this craftsman, the quality of his work, a rough value of the dulcimer, and any other details that might be of interest with regards to said instrument.
My 12-year-old daughter who has dabbled in playing the violin, piano, and double bass is kind of excited about playing something new to her that had been hidden in our closet 😉.
Thanks for your input in advance!
Dallas
John, I don't really do anything that special. I like to mix sweet fruits and berries with tart fruits and berries to balance it out to my own taste. I have a friend who collects wild honey so I use that whenever I get the chance, but usually I like brown sugar, and sometimes settle for white sugar. I leave all the pulp and skin in the mixture, then filter it out after fermentation. I use champagne yeast and a specific gravity gauge to measure the alcohol content and usually stop fermentation at 15% abv. I filter it with cheesecloth and allow the fine particulate pulp to remain, because I believe that a small amount of flesh and skin can decrease hangover symptoms.
I ordered a set of the tuners on Ali Express for under $15 for a set of 4. I used PayPal to avoid sending a credit card number. They arrived promptly, considering their origin in China.
They ARE 4 to 1 planetary geared units. I wouldn't give them the 1 in 5 rating another buyer gave but more like a 2. They look good but the quality is poor. Two of the four had flash on the castings which should have been removed before plating and needed clearing before the retaining barrels would insert. All four were a bit jerky in turning, and the barrel threads may or may not work to full depth.
Aside from quality, they have a downside in that without making special spacers, they will not fit wood less than 0.4 inches thick, and maybe not under 1/2 inch so they aren't good for side mounting. They are described as "banjo tuners," however.
I haven't tried fitting them to anything. I'll almost certainly put them on a stick before risking any bodied instrument on them.
Research is never free, and $15 isn't a big expense.
So Nate......Care to share your small batch recipe???? I'm "re attempting" my elderberry blossom "cordial".....Last time it ended up like rocket fuel....
Ooh, that is exciting Nate, you are a winemaker now!
we have blueberries coming soon on our backyard bushes. We already put the netting over them to keep the birds from eating them. The blue jays and squirrels would eat them all otherwise.
Ooh, that is exciting Nate, you are a winemaker now!
we have blueberries coming soon on our backyard bushes. We already put the netting over them to keep the birds from eating them. The blue jays and squirrels would eat them all otherwise. 🤷🏼
Very excited to see that the Oregon grape bush in front of my apartment is ripening! Oregon grape is the state flower of Oregon, but a lot of folks here don't know that it's edible and makes a delicious tart wine when fermented. The flavor is like a pomegranate flesh with a plum skin. I am stoked to be starting a gallon of wine today!
Lilley Pad,
I build this dulcimer model that I call the "Peardrop". The dulcimer pictured is a 6 string that is my own personal instrument.
I also build it as a 4 string. This model has excellent sustain and resonance has a floating bridge. I wanted even more sound
when playing in larger rooms , so I equipped the 6 string with the "K & K Twin Spot" pickup that Dusty mentioned. The two
pickups are mounted right under the ends of the bridge.
The "Twin Spot" delivers a terrific, pure acoustic sound.
Jim Phillips
Hi Lilley-Pad,
My favorite dulcimer is one made by Terry McCafferty. It came with a K & K twin spot pickup. The twin spot has has two heads, and although I don't know how Terry positioned them, the fact that there are two means that you get a more balanced sound. I can tell you that the dulcimer sounds great amplified, and I also know that Terry worked with Stephen Seifert for a long time testing different pickup possibilities before they decided on the K & K. Just plugging directly into an amp or DAW provides a very clean, acoustic sound. I have some other dulcimers with pickups, none of which seem as clean as the K&K, but in some cases I don't even know what they are, so I can't say for sure any of them have an LR Baggs.
I hope I'm not repeating a previous post but I could not find anything under search so here goes. It's just a general question about pickups wanted to get feedback. K&K pickup versus LR Baggs under saddle pickup. the little that I've been reading on the internet suggests that the K&K gives you a more realistic Acoustic sound. Do you guys find that to be true or what's your opinion in general? Thanks again, I hope everybody's doing well. A few months ago they operated on my left hand so now I'm doing finger exercises. I was getting what they call Dupuytren’s, contracture. I guess I'm just getting old. The good news is that everybody else is getting old with me. smile
Lilley Pad -- Probably best if you start a New discussion rather than tacking this technical question onto the general Introduce Yourself thread where it won't be seen by others.
Go out to General Dulcimer or Music Question, then click on the + on the top right of the page and give your Question a good name like Pickup Question. Then put the info you posted here in there. That way others who have the same question can search and find the answers which you'll get.
Hi kids. I hope I'm not repeating a previous post but I could not find anything under search so here goes. It's just a general question about pickups wanted to get feedback. K&K pickup versus LR baggs under saddle pickup. the little that I've been reading on the internet suggests that the K&K gives you a more realistic Acoustic sound. Do you guys find that to be true or what's your opinion in general? Thanks again, I hope everybody's doing well. A few months ago they operated on my left hand so now I'm doing finger exercises. I was getting what they call dupuytren’s contracture. I guess I'm just getting old. The good news is that everybody else is getting old with me. smile
Really glad to hear you're recovering, John. I'll keep you in my prayers. Hope you're feeling well soon.
John, I'm so glad you're back home and healing. I hope you're feeling stronger every day and I look forward to hearing more of your music.
John, thank goodness you are back home and on the mend please take good care of yourself and rest well. Pneumonia is nothing to sneeze at!😊
John, I hope you continue to feel better!
Jan, that is so nice you got to meet Cynthia! I always enjoyed her videos and her participation here.
Jan, that is wonderful that you were able to visit Cynthia. On the way there and back you could have visited many more members of FOTMD who are not far off the route you traveled. I have not seen Cynthia participating here in a long time and must admit that I've been neglectful in contacting her. Thank you for your report on your visit.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hey! Guess what?! After 4 1/2 years of talking on the phone nearly every day, Cynthia Wigington and I finally got to meet in person and spend a week together in her Vermont community of West Fairlee. My husband Craig and I drove up from Kentucky and got to enjoy the sights from Ohio to Mass. and up north from there. We stayed at a nice Airbnb about a mile from her house and enjoyed many meals at local restaurants (think lobster, clams, scallops...yum!) We even played a little music together! We thank FOTMD for introducing us to each other so we could become friends during COVID.
I'm happy to hear that you are back home. I pray that you recover fully and heal quickly.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
John I'm so glad you are on the mend. That sounds like it was no fun at all.
Big hugs to you... 
Glad to see you on the mend. Try and rest, seek some sunshine, and the opportunity you have to be "in the garden" where you're never alone....
Shalom
