Forum Activity for @marg

Gear tuners, pegs, friction tuners with the screw at the end of the knob - are there other types of tuners?

Is it hard to replace a tuner or can one type be replace with another type?

Do they all hold the tune or is one better than the other? Why is one chosen over an other - style, history, looks, work ability?

Are there pros and cons for each? What would your number 1 choice be?

I saw you had posted ' Needs a tuner to be replaced' were you able to get this fixed? I don't have a McSpadden but also have tuner problems or their knobs. I have ordered replacement knobs and are waiting for them to come and hope that will take care of things. Ken, Rob and many members are very helpful, when we ask our questions someone is always able to give im-put. 

Enjoy your new adventures with the dulcimer

Second the Office Depot folding cart, though I got mine at Office Max (same company now).  A lot of plastic, so I'm concerned about the long-term durability, but it has served me well so far.  Carries two dulcimers in form-fit cases (not the big hardshells), plus my Microcube amp with its attendant cords/cables, and a ring binder.  Pull it up on stage and unload, turn it around backside to the audience, collapse the extendable handle, hang my group's custom banner from the handle, place a light plywood board (which also fits in the cart) across the top, and it's a music stand!  It has milk crate-style sides; I can even leave the amp inside and reach through to turn it on and adjust volume.

Yes, the idea of CATS transporting dulcimers is a great laugh, but one dog can do the work of a dozen cats.  There are cloth bags that fit on either side of a dog.  Of course my dog (a husky/malamute mix) would just run away with the instruments quicker than I could shout MUSH!  Maybe somebody with a more obedient dog inclined towards being a service dog?

I use a V pick Bing Ultra Lite or a red Herdim with my index and middle fingers on one side and my thumb on the other with very little of the pick showing(1/4 inch of so). I've also used thicker picks (2.75 mm), felt picks, leather picks, Metal finger picks , plus any number of guitar picks . It's fun to experiment with creating new sounds! I agree with Ken Hulme, don't use a "death grip" hold it lightly so it sort of floats in your fingers. The V pick is naturaly sticky and Herdims have some texture so they don't slip.

First of all there are 3/4 and 1/2 sized guitars to be used by people with small hands, like children. Some have a rather good sound. Also there are four and three string guitars, but those are hard to find.
To compare the dulcimer and the guitar is easy, special for the left hand (if you are right handed). The dulcimer has five fingers available to stop three strings, where the guitar has only four to six strings. Special when playing chords the later can be painfull, even when you have large hands like me. Playing the barré grip Eb on the third position is a disaster, so never play the guitar in a big band with all those brass instruments or use the sixth position.
On the guitar the force of stopping the string is delivered by the thumb muscle (beware of the string action), where on the dulcimer the force is produced by the whole arm and your thigh or the table. You can check this feeling the muscles in your left arm when playing: on the dulcimer you can feel the triceps working, at least, I can :-)
Chord grips on the dulcimer are much more ergonomic to the hand, special when the tuning is DAA.
Dulcimer players are used to 'scordatura', retuning the strings to fit the song better on the instrument, where most guitar players stick to the standard of EADGBE. BTW anyone ever tried a noter&drone guitar: EAE BB and using a slide?
Other differences between the two instruments are the volume - to get more sound out of a dulcimer the kitchen table is used as an extra resonator - and the fact the player can use the guitar standing or walking, which is rather difficult for a dulcimer. For a serenade under the window of your lovers room beter bring your guitar. Although the dulcimer is cheaper and easier to build, those two last arguments made the guitar more successful in the beginning of the twentieth century, which also could result in a beter love life or a wet suit...

I received my mini universal tuner, it is tiny and clips on, works fine. Kind of convienent and I really like the red and green lit up bars it shows, easy to see and use.

I am not currently playing the guitar Jennifer, but if it doesn't make it easier i will stick with Dulcimers for now.

Steve, Greenville SC is nice. But don't let the calendar date fool you. It's going to be HOT.  

Strumelia, I think you're right about smaller/heavier picks making less noise, or at least less obvious noise.  I think thinner picks have a brighter slap sound where thicker ones tend to have more of a thunk to them.  How's that for qualitative analysis?  

By the way, for those who are intereted in Gorilla Snot, you want the drumtisck/pick gripper stuff, not the hair gel. :-)

I see some serious experimentation in my near future. You guys have all provided such helpful information on this topic; that's what I love about FOTMD. 

Personally, I find I have more 'pick noise' (I see it as 'pick percussion') when my pick is longer and/or more flexible/thin.
I myself have found that a short stiff thicker rounded-cornered guitar pick tends to gives the least pick noise.  But that also happens to be the hardest to hold onto if you are doing vigorous strumming and strong flatpicking.  In those cases, try a dab of GorillaSnot product on your fingertips-  it lasts through a jam but rubs off easily when you're done.  Just like violin rosin, it's made from tree rosin but in a paste-like medium, in a little jar.  Smells like xmas trees. 

Steve, with smaller bins, new rules, and uncertain attitudes, I would not risk being turned away and missing my flight altogether. And these days they are overbooking flights. Last time I flew, there wasn't enough bin space for everyone aboard the plane. 

Monica, I have small hands, so I have trouble making the chords with on a six string guitar. I went with a tenor ukulele and I'm not having any trouble with the chords. 

Over the years I have played around a bit on the guitar, but I never found it easy to wrap my fingers around the fret board or to produce a nice sound. With the dulcimer It all comes more naturally and playing is done with more ease and I can produce a pleasing tone to my ears. 

I am curious to know if any one has found the transition from Dulcimer to Guitar easy. If experience and mastery of the mountain dulcimer facilitated in making guitar palying easier?

Randy, thanks for the Robert Force video. Cornwall is a nice piece.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great advice, Ken! Yes, I've been applying the death grip, and I didn't even know it. 

Randy, Thanks for the Rober Force vid. It always helps to have a visual. Very interesting style. 

I can't wait to try it.

Fingers cross it wont be too long. knobs are ordered and if they fit should be an easy fix. I will keep all postd. 

Personally, I strum in the manner Randy doesn't like.  But that's OK.  It's the way I was taught by Robert Force, areguably one of the best  dulcimer players of all time, and the technique sure works for me.  IMHO one of the 'secrets' to less pick noise is to loosen up that 'death grip' and relax.  WHo cares if your pick goes flying acrss the room  You do have more than one, right?

I like Lee Oskars.  I don't mind trading the mellow wood for the ease of the plastic comb.

Chromatic...that's a thought.

Hehee, I just ordered a flute for myself and one for Lil' Girly from High Spirits, mine is white ceder in medium tone "A" a "Sparrow Hawk" and Girly's is in Birch a high "D" called "Kestral" each are 6 hole but one can be covered up. We shall get them in 5 days or so and I will let you know how we do.

I am thrilled, I want to have this be a thing we can do together and create music together.

Bob, thanks for your input. I'll "borrow" a few of my sons guitar picks and play around with this angle method, and see what works for me.

Also, what you wrote about pick noise being louder for me because of being so close to the instrument makes me realize I need to back up my little recorder that I use to record myself, so that I can see where my issues are when I am learning a song. Maybe my recording quality will improve too.

Sheryl, I have to answer your question in two parts. 

1. The video is actually by randy adams: @randy-adams 

2. I  strum in a similar way to what Randy shows.  The return stroke is just the reverse of the out stroke.  Nothing fancy.  I hold the pick a little more loosely or tightly depending on the effect I want.  

For general use, I prefer a thinner (softer) pick, but I also switch to different weights for different purposes.  I even use a pick cut from a plastic butter tub lid when I want something really soft.  Pick choice for me also varies from isntrument to instrument.

Probably 90% of the time I use these picks, at least right now I do:  http://www.amazon.com/Tortex-Guitar-Pick-Pack-418P-50/dp/B0002D0CEO .  I also like the old standby fender thin plastic tortoise shell type.  I got used to them playing guitar.

This is such a personal choice I suggest trying different things until you find something you are comfortable with.  Also, remember that when you play, you are sitting pretty much on top of your instrument, so you hear things (like pick slap) that other people don't.  Even those just a few feet away.

Oh, oops, I see Randy Adams made the video. Thanks for correcting me Ken. 

Bob, thanks for sharing Randy's video. It addresses this question well.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Bob, This is a timely video for me. I’ve been pretty unhappy with my pick noise. Glad you decided to address this for us. Quick question, you mentioned in your video to angle 20-25 degrees on the out strum, what is happening on your in strum? And do you prefer a softer or harder pick for reducing pick noise? Thanks for the video. 

D, I'm glad you asked this question!  

Here is one way described by fellow FOTMD member Randy Adams:

I've ordered all of my stands from the DivergentLutherie shop on Etsy.  They're made for student dulcimers, but if you contact him and send the measurements that he requests he can make a custom one for you.  Of course, now that I have four stands I'm thinking about wall hangers, just to free up the floor space.

I just read Dusty Turtle's posting on this exact topic on that 'other' ducimer site and it's some good advice. I'm still curious how yall hold your pick. 

...if I hold my pick different than you...LOL! Actually...I want to know what is the most preferred way to hold a pick to lessen pick noise. I've been holding mine, that the best way I can describe would be....my right pointing finger and my thumb are both leaving partial fingerprints on the pick.

So how do YOU hold your pick and which style is mostly seen as best? I want to practice various holding methods today. Thank you!

Thanks for your help Ken, to let you all know I took all the strings off, but replaced them one at a time, I began with bass, then outer melody so the bridge would be held in place on either side, then I added the other melody and middle string.

It all worked out and I mark it to something wonderful about this dulcimer, new to learn and I will get used to it. 

Thanks to all who helped me work it out, it is terrific that it helped others also. That's what we are hear for.

Marg, keep us updated and let us know how it sounds when you get it fixed up. That red stain is kind of cool.

Thanks Ken.

This seems to be a pretty good explanation of what it means to "play by ear".  There are folks who think that the term means a person has a "good ear for music" and has memorized hundreds of songs. 

Memorized?  I can't even remember a phone number!  But nearly everyone has tunes that they hum or whistle....tunes they never set out to memorize.  I have never, yet, observed a person start to whistle and then stop and look up the music for whatever it was they were going to whistle...........

Mine is a 1943 Wm. Kratt Co. "Mello-Chromatic Professional Harmonica" 10 hole that I got from my father.  Still works just great!

I do the same -- use a knife to cut a thin line on either side of the bridge.  Biggest thing to remember is never take all the strings off at once.  Replace them one string at a time and you won't lose the bridge or mess up the intonation.

I use a 6" tube for narrow old style dulcimers, or 8" for wider instruments.  I have trouble finding 6" tubes, but they do exist.

 I know what you mean Robert, I used to soak my Marine Band in a glass of water before I'd play.