Forum Activity for @marg

I wouldn't glue anything but I do think the nut is already glued.

After starting this thread, it was mention ( this question is probably best asked in the Builders Group,) so I posted it there also. Sorry if this has cause a problem but this set up has been nothing but confusing from the start & the members are about the only ones who can give me any advice. And still without knowing anything myself, there is - sent it back, get it fixed for about $100, or just play in the strum hollow - I wish I did know more about building an instrument, so I would at least know best way of dealing with this problem.

Yes, it's very confusing

Strumelia said:

I would strongly recommend against gluing a shim underneath the nut. Shims are usually considered to be temporary fixes, even if they are left in for many years. Personally, I prefer no glue at all under a nut even when it doesn't have a shim. String tension holds it in place nicely, and nuts are something that people change or adjust fairly frequently, so having it easily removable is convenient.

(Marg, you seem to have started several threads on the same subject in various locations- next time it would be less confusing if you only post one thread per subject or per question... thanks much!)

I would strongly recommend against gluing a shim underneath the nut. Shims are usually considered to be temporary fixes, even if they are left in for many years. Personally, I prefer no glue at all under a nut even when it doesn't have a shim. String tension holds it in place nicely, and nuts are something that people change or adjust fairly frequently, so having it easily removable is convenient.

(Marg, you seem to have started several threads on the same subject in various locations- next time it would be less confusing if you only post one thread per subject or per question... thanks much!)

If I strum close to the strum hollow or right in front of it, there is no problem. But if I was to strum up the fretboard, I start getting lots of tangs. I took the string out of the slot cut into the bone at saddle & it didn't seem to make any difference. Ny other dulcimer I can play up the fret board with no problem. Is this a problem with high frets that only cause an issue when I play close to them?

Is there something that can be done for this or just don't strum anywhere but close to the strum hollow?

Would putting a slim under the nut help out with any of this, opposite end, maybe not raising the higher frets any higher?

Hello Marg - The shims that I put in 30-odd years ago have not been touched or replaced in all that time, and are still doin their job!

"A bit of knowledge can help "

Yes, and all of you have been great.

thank you

m.

I make them as needed. I have so much junk laying around I don't need to have a collection, plus I've even used shavings from a hand plane.

marg said:

Do you have some ready made or just when need one. Seems could have a few in different thickness, a collection of shims. Thanks for the info. on the 'glue', I have seen that mention in some areas & wondered about it. Never thought I would like to put glue on my dulcimer,

Marg,

I keep an old yogurt lid in my shoe box that also has strings, needle-nose pliers, instrument polish, fretboard oil, 0000 steel wool (for polishing frets), etc. My kit. I trim off a tiny piece of plastic and shape it on the spot as needed for any students' instruments with buzzing issues. The shim doesn't have to fit in the string groove - sometimes it goes perpendicular to the string. It will settle in as the string is tightened.

It can be surprising to have to deal with instrument issues, but they do arise. A bit of knowledge can help keep you playing. All things need upkeep!

Do you have some ready made or just when need one. Seems could have a few in different thickness, a collection of shims. Thanks for the info. on the 'glue', I have seen that mention in some areas & wondered about it. Never thought I would like to put glue on my dulcimer,

Skip said:

Just about everything you may use can be cut with scissors. Hard business cards or the hard plastic bubble pack for thinner shims. Most of this stuff will curl a bit as it's cut, but that won't hurt anything. I don't think I would use glue.

Just about everything you may use can be cut with scissors. Hard business cards or the hard plastic bubble pack for thinner shims. Most of this stuff will curl a bit as it's cut, but that won't hurt anything. I don't think I would use glue.

The silver of plastic sounds like it would indeed need to be just a sliver to fit in the string groove. What about the idea of the drop of glue in the grove, not now since I think it's ok but is the glue last measure & try all the other ideas first?

m.

Linda W. Collins said:

Hi Marg,

If the twang sound is coming from only one string, a temporary (but long-lasting temporary) fix is to use a tiny sliver of plastic, cut from a food container lid, placed at/in the string groove in the bridge or nut, as needed. I have found this to help quite a bit - until the instrument can go to a well-trained luthier. [That is a very important person to locate!]

Good luck,

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

30 years ago, wow that's good to know since I have felt putting one in was somehow taking something away from the dulciborn. Since, it's new I didn't want to turn it into something less than new.

Over the years do you need to replace the wood or card, does it go down after awhile? I don't think I need to worry about 30 years but the slim is good till it's not - than just replace it?

Thanks,

m.

John Shaw said:

Hello Marg. If your bridge saddle and nut are not glued into place it's very straightforward to put a thin shim of card or wood under them, as Bobby says, and check how the instrument behaves then. My experience is that you don't necessarily have to regard this just as a temporary fix. My two favourite dulcimers have shims of wood or card under both the bridge and nut that I put in over 30 years ago!

Hope not problems to hamper the playing of the dulciborn. But, yes, I'm sure it has several issues & my playing is one of them. It has such an interesting tone, but was not set up so I could play as I unpacked it. Like getting a Christmas present with no batteries for it. I will say, I have learn some about the instrument since I have had a few problems, where I may not have if it would have come set up correct to start.

m.

joe sanguinette said:

the suggestion that a good luthier should examine the instrument is a good one. you could have one or

more of a number of problems.

Thanks, sounds like I need to start saving old credit cards. The thing was, this bone was just made for me to replace the one that came with the instrument. Besides credit cards, maybe need to start a collection of bones.

How do you cut the credit card? sounds like an art project.

thanks,

m

Bobby Ratliff said:

As Dusty said, you can shim it to prevent making a new one. A simple solution is to try a piece of credit card stock underneath the saddle or nut, whichever was lowered for you. It may be a little high at first, but it will compress over time. If it ain't high enough, it may need two. You should consider a shim a temporary fix, and get a new nut or saddle made. However, I have played my instruments with papers shims for several months or a couple years before finally breaking down and making a new nut or saddle the correct height.

Thanks Dusty, I don't have a luthier here, I took it to a guitar shop & repair. They lowered the action so when i went back today we did put a little shim underneath the pick up, than the pick up back in than the bone. I think we are ok for now and the problem of the low action having a problem was because the fretwork or fretboard did raise some in the middle. Otherwise the height would have been great. Too bad the repair person didn't notice this before he sanded just a bit more off the bone. I was not wanting to address so many issues on a new dulcimer (dulciborn) so the shim was a good fix. Would be nice if we didn't need to adjust so many things & just working on learning to play our instruments.

As always, thanks,

m

Dusty Turtle said:

Marg, this question is probably best asked in the Builders Group, but as we wait for the experts to chime in, my first question would be who adjusted the dulcimer in the past? Does it have a zero fret? Remember that the action can be adjusted at either end of the string, and that the lower the action the more accurate and even the fretwork has to be. Unfortunately, one reason for very high action, I think, is that some luthiers are simply too lazy to be precise with their frets.

It is possible to raise the bridge (or more accurately the saddle) slightly by adding a little shim underneath it, so if the action just has to be raised a little bit, that might be an option. I had that done to a baritone dulcimer I used to own and the slight buzz that had so bothered me went away. But the height of the nut might also need adjusting, so have a luthier examine the whole instrument.

I took a dulcimer to a good luthier recently. He made a few measurements and was able to tell me that the nut was the right height but the bridge was a little low. He made a new bone bridge in less than an hour while I waited at a nearby cafe. A good luthier should not merely do what you request (lower or raise the action) but examine the instrument and tell you how it ought to be set up given your preferences.

Hi Marg,

If the twang sound is coming from only one string, a temporary (but long-lasting temporary) fix is to use a tiny sliver of plastic, cut from a food container lid, placed at/in the string groove in the bridge or nut, as needed. I have found this to help quite a bit - until the instrument can go to a well-trained luthier. [That is a very important person to locate!]

Good luck,

Linda

www.cabinhillmusic.com

Hello Marg. If your bridge saddle and nut are not glued into place it's very straightforward to put a thin shim of card or wood under them, as Bobby says, and check how the instrument behaves then. My experience is that you don't necessarily have to regard this just as a temporary fix. My two favourite dulcimers have shims of wood or card under both the bridge and nut that I put in over 30 years ago!

the suggestion that a good luthier should examine the instrument is a good one. you could have one or

more of a number of problems.

Marg, this question is probably best asked in the Builders Group, but as we wait for the experts to chime in, my first question would be who adjusted the dulcimer in the past? Does it have a zero fret? Remember that the action can be adjusted at either end of the string, and that the lower the action the more accurate and even the fretwork has to be. Unfortunately, one reason for very high action, I think, is that some luthiers are simply too lazy to be precise with their frets.

It is possible to raise the bridge (or more accurately the saddle) slightly by adding a little shim underneath it, so if the action just has to be raised a little bit, that might be an option. I had that done to a baritone dulcimer I used to own and the slight buzz that had so bothered me went away. But the height of the nut might also need adjusting, so have a luthier examine the whole instrument.

I took a dulcimer to a good luthier recently. He made a few measurements and was able to tell me that the nut was the right height but the bridge was a little low. He made a new bone bridge in less than an hour while I waited at a nearby cafe. A good luthier should not merely do what you request (lower or raise the action) but examine the instrument and tell you how it ought to be set up given your preferences.

How hard is it to find the right action. My new dulcimer came to me, way to high. It has been adjusted but after several tries it is now too low with trang trang more than a buzz.

How hard is it to adjust it again, raising it a bit without making a new bone?

Kate, I responded to this discussion in the Chord group, and would suggest anyone interested in responding do so there as well.

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/forum/topics/help-with-transposing

I'm going to close this discussion so that we can keep everything in one place.

Thanks,

Dusty

Chuck, the link is to a pdf file that Stephen Seifert makes available at his website. I just tried it and it worked for me. But I did just check out Stephen's website, and he has completely redesigned it, so maybe that is causing a problem. Another chord chart is available at Everything Dulcimer. Go to the Tablature page there, scroll down to "chord chart," and you'll see the three or four options available.

Chuck in CT said:

Hello Dusty- the link u posted doesn't take me to the chord chart. Wondering if itsmy browser or maybe itsbeen removed?

Hi Kate and welcome to FOTMD. Looks like Dusty has provided what you needed, but I wanted to respond to his comment "the festival season is basically over." That's true, but there is the Pocono Festival coming up in January, I believe, so if you're in the east perhaps you'd want to take a trip to PA. :)

Kate, a lot of people have been playing dulcimer for many years and have no idea what notes they are playing. That's part of the beauty of the instrument: you can play it even with no understanding of basic music theory.

But of course, any little knowledge you gain will help.

Chords are indicated with three numbers. The first number refers to the fret you play on the bass string, the second number refers to the fret you play on the middle string, and the third number refers to the fret you play on the melody string. So 0-0-2 is a D chord played with the bass and middle strings open (unfretted) and the melody string fretted at the second fret.

However, two things make chording even easier than that on the dulcimer.

First, if you are tuned DAd, all your chords are reversible. So, for example, D can be not only 0-0-2 but also 2-0-0 and Bm can be 0-1-2 or 2-1-0.

Second, because we only have three strings, we cannot play complicated chords. A seventh chord technically has four notes, but we can only play three of them. And we use that principle for three-note chords, too. So often we play two notes of a chord rather than all three. So most of the time beginners will play 1-0-1 for A or A7 even though only two notes are being played.

The chord chart I link to above shows you various places around the fingerboard to play all the chords you need for this song. But if you are a beginner, I suggest playing the easiest versions down near the nut, making use of as many open strings as you can.

For D: 0-0-2

For A: 1-0-1

For Bm: 2-1-0

For G: 3-1-0

For E: 1-1-1

For A7: 1-0-3

And I know you feel alone right now, but you are in a part of the country where there actually are dulcimer players. The festival season is basically over, but keep your eyes open and you'll notice dulcimer festivals around where you can join workshops and just watch other players. There might even be a dulcimer group nearby that you can join. When I first discovered the dulcimer I played for about a year before I heard another dulcimer live other than my own. But about two years ago I started a local dulcimer group, I now have dozens of people on my mailing list, and we've been meeting monthly since then! I'm sure you'll be able to find some folks nearby as well.

Kate, are you just looking to transpose the chords to accompany your voice? If so, that's pretty easy.

The chords in the link you provided are in the key of E. To transpose them to the key of D, each chord should be lowered one full note.

E D

B A

C#m Bm

A G

F# E

B7 A7

Those chords are all pretty standard chords so you shouldn't have trouble with them. There are lots of chord charts out there, but my favorite is the one Stephen Seifert makes available at his website .

P.S. Welcome to FOTMD!

Thanks Rob!!! How appropriate for today. I looked at the outside thermometer and it said 10 degrees.

"Drive the Cold Winter Away," in the music I found for it, is in D minor. It works out really well in DAc tuning. In fact, I have it tabbed out now.

Send a friend request if you'd like a copy.

Rob

I thought it would be easier just to attach it to this thread

Rob- this is Joe Hamilton here. I just sent you a friend request. I thought we were connected already but then again, when it comes to computer stuff, I'm far from the sharpest tool in the shed. If memory serves me, Will Ackerman did a cover of this song. Anyway, I'd sure like the tab as well. Thanks. BTW-you were lookin/soundin good at Hindman. Sure was nice of Jim to capture and share all that he did.

"Drive the Cold Winter Away," in the music I found for it, is in D minor. It works out really well in DAc tuning. In fact, I have it tabbed out now.

Send a friend request if you'd like a copy.

Rob

Click to the Members section, then use the search box to search for terms like "Nevada", "Las Vegas", maybe even also NV or LV. There are 2 other members that popped up right aways in Las Vegas when I did that search.

Hi folks ! . Was a time without appearing here. I broke my right hand and was a time without touching communities and away from my music. But now I'm fine. Hear the 1st time blues on Mountain dulcimer with our friend Dusty Turtle. I would love to play the blues instrumental Mountain Dulcimer at my shows . Please, someone has to send some tabs? Thank you.

Thanks Rob for posting these video links. I've enjoyed every one of them. I hope to make it to Hindman next year

Maddie MacNeil, This is the last of the videos Jim took of the Homecoming Concerts.

Next year we'll get everyone, complete!

If you can make it, you won't regret coming to Hindman next year. Thanks, Mike, Brett, et al. It was a blast

Thank you for all these, Rob!

Don Pedi, Don PEDI, DON PEDI! I know some of y'all have been waiting patiently for the Don Pedi portion of the concerts at Hindman, so here they are:

Enjoy! Maddie & Cari to come later!

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. Be sure to give Jim kudos for the videography. Here's a few from "Gentle Anne" Anne MacFie, "The Spandex Folkie."

Rob, I've watched a few of the videos. You did great!!! You all did great!!! Maybe I can attend next year. I would love to be able to do that. Thanks for sharing

This is wonderful! I can't wait to check these out after work today. :) Thank you!