Congrats on selling this beautiful sweet instrument Robert, I am sure the buyer will be very pleased.
We are getting rain off and on in Central MT, here's hoping for rain for your crops and your Dulci-stuff.
Yeah, I thought she would buy it, she sure liked the sound of mine.
Sounds very much like the first one I bought from you Robert. Now, I hope you do keep the 2nd until you can build a third!
Robert it is not only beautiful, aww that sweet, sweet sound is exceptional, I love it and best save my money.
I really REALLY! like playing on a just intonated scale dulcimer. I seldom play in DAd anymore. This model is made of poplar and is light as a feather. Here are a couple sound clips. first in Daa the second is Daa, Dac and Eaa... Robert.
I would suggest buying several sets of strings at a time from www.juststrings.com , where they are as little as $2 and changer per set. For 28" VSL you'll want 20w or 22w bass strings, 12 ga. plain steel middle drone strings and 10 to 12 ga melody strings.
Banjo Strings work well if you need a loop end. Sometimes they can be found as individual strings. Just cut the string about 3-4" from the peg it will be wrapped around, and carry on. In case you aren't aware of the string sizes you have currently, take your dulcimer with you to the store. They can measure them.
Of course, you can also order strings from dulcimer builders/shops. You'll need to know the gauge, unless you order them from the builder.
Good luck,
Linda
I know re-stringing is not everyone's favorite thing in the world to do, but I decided I would restring a couple of my dulcimers over the weekend. Just finally finished the last one a bit ago At any rate, I had strings from juststrings.com, but I know people have mentioned other sites they order off, so my question is which string sites or sites do folks get there strings from?
Personally, I don't think a possum board adds that much volume to a standard dulcimer. I have McSpadden possum boards on my standard dulcimer and my Ginger, but I don't think adding an extra $100 or more to a dulcimer to have a built in possum board is worth it. I have a couple of amps that I use occasionally, but my favorite is the little Honeytone amp, which sells for about $25 or $30 on the web or Amazon. It connects easily to a flat head dulcimer. Do not use with a scroll head. I use this small amp for small groups. Hope this info helps. BTW, you can also buid yourself a cheap possum board with a wooden fan blade from one of the big box hardware stores and a couple of dowels to hold the dulcimer up.
I'm EXTREMELY careful with all my equipment and all my instruments (anal, in fact), and I had one of the Snarks break off. So, it does happen. See my earlier comment about how the "broken" Snarks can actually be great to use on a dulcimer. So, don't worry about that. Like Dusty said, if you are careful, it probably won't break. Snark has several models to choose from. Would suggest a chromatic one for sure.
Dusty Turtle said:
The only complaints I've heard about the Snarks is that sometimes the head snaps off the base. But that's got to be user error, so if you take care of it, it will be fine.
I use the Snark SN-4 for my dulcimer - it will sit on the soundboard for tuning and is a little more convenient. It also has a built in metronome - it often sells at the same price as the red clip-on Snark.
I've had a few of the easy clip-ons and find them mostly all the same. I just bought one of the new Snark SN-8 (new black) models on Ebay and only paid $8 or $9, so look around and don't pay too much. I must like it since I have two of the SN-2 (red) models. The only complaints I've heard about the Snarks is that sometimes the head snaps off the base. But that's got to be user error, so if you take care of it, it will be fine. And I don't think you can beat the price.
There really aren't a whole lot of variables. How fast and accurate is the tuner? How easy it is to read? Other than that, some have a crappy metronome built in and most allow for calibration, so perhaps you can play along with a piano or autoharp or hammered dulicimer that is tuned to itself but a tad off. I personally never use those features.
James, I think you will love your Snark. I have one too.
I use the Snark chromatic (red) for my dulcimers and all my other instruments. One cool thing about the Snark. If the arm breaks off at the ball joint, keep the tuner part and use it strictly for dulcimers. Just lay it on the soundboard (I put it right over a soundhole) and you can tune very easily. I broke one of mine and was going to pitch it, but then thought, wow, a custom dulcimer Snark tuner. Works great. I've only broken one so far. Waiting to break more, because they work so well this way.
I wound up getting the Snark from a local music store when I got strings to restring a dulcimer. Works well and eliminates the need for me to use a Signal Flex guitar tuner pickup that I plugged into the Korg so it could tune in a noise environment. Thank you all for the suggestions, much appreciated
Hi James,
http://www.snarktuners.com/tuners/original-clip-on
These are very good and seem popular among players of many instruments.
The one I use is the "black".
You might find the clip is a bit small for some instruments, but you can always clip onto a tuning button (though I don't like that myself).
The head is fixed to the clip by a ball and socket joint, and can be pulled on and off with a little care.
Like this, the head fits beautifully into a sound hole on mine.
Prices can be a lot lower if you shop around
James, the go to tuner these days seems to be the Snark. I have several of the red models. You can find them on Ebay for arounnd $15, They clip on to the headstock and are always available at the push of the on/odd switch.
Good morning all,
My Korg CA30 chromatic tuner is on the fritz and I am thinking it is on it's way out. Changed the batteries, and still acting up. I am starting this to find out what electronic tuners people use and recommend. I have not bought an electronic tuner since I bought this back in mid 00's, so I have no idea what is out there nowadays.
Best,
Jay Gilliam in Virginia may have a price you'd like. I own one of his strummer-leles and its great!
He's on facebook as
Tell him Phil McDaniel sent ya!
Thank you Linda for the contact. I just picked up my dulcimer from String Theory which did a fret tuneup. Really ground down all the frets to compensate for the bow in neck. He does not have a dulcimer jig so could not plane the neck. Seem as though that was going to work but minutes ago one of the double melody strings went dead on the 6th fret. Crazy because the two strings are within a 16th of an inch to each other and only one is dead on the 6th fret. I'm sure String Theory will address the issue. Should this problem can't be fixed without removing the fret board overlay and planning down the neck and adding a new overlay fret board, I will look up Mr. Scotten. I also know of a Bill Lawson in Sparta Tn. that use to build beautiful dulcimers and did repairs, he is also a possibility if he is still around. Sorry I did not mean to write a book to your reply. Thanks again and have a blessed week.
