Forum Activity for @robin-thompson

Wish I could have joined ya'll, Carrie. Great pics, keep em coming.

To answer your question about possible woods used, I"d say mostly walnut, with some pretty figured (burl or crotch figure) bookmatched walnut on the back, and an unknown wood --possibly spruce or similar softwood--on the top. The tuning pegs look like Brazilian rosewood to me. It looks like the original fret spacing on the fretboardwas cut inaccurately, and an overlay was glued on and new fret slots cut in it. The nut and bridgelook to berecent replacements for what was originally a paired melody string setup. Note the grooves worn in the tailblock.

What surprises me is the different levels of finish and craftsmanship evident in this dulcimer. Somebody who takes the time and effort to carve a scroll, fit friction pegs to the holes and bookmatch beautiful figured wood on the back should show similar care in doing the tailpiece joinery. Maybe some of a fine dulcimer was rebuilt by an amateur?

Thanks Randy! My other dulcimer also has fiddle edges...now I know what to call it. I prefer them!

Randy Adams said:

The top and bottom plates extend past the sides 1/8 of an inch or so.....it's old school.....I like it....

The top and bottom plates extend past the sides 1/8 of an inch or so.....it's old school.....I like it....

Jennifer Wren said:

Randy, what are fiddle edges?

Randy Adams said:

No matter how it got to where it is now it's a nice dulcimer Jennifer. I like the scroll, the bridge placement, the fiddle edges. All the other stuff gives it character! I bet it does sound good. Back looks like walnut.

Randy, what are fiddle edges?

Randy Adams said:

No matter how it got to where it is now it's a nice dulcimer Jennifer. I like the scroll, the bridge placement, the fiddle edges. All the other stuff gives it character! I bet it does sound good. Back looks like walnut.

Thanks for your comments everyone. It was sitting next to a used McSpadden and a Folkcraft, and they were very nice, but after playing them side by side, the sound of this one just had "it" for me. I left without it twice, partly because I was a bit fearful of the wooden tuning pegs. They are finicky, but I've come to like them. I wish I know the story behind it, but I enjoy imagining the possibilities.

Also, I added a photo to show more of the frets from the side to clear up that confusion.

Kenneth, I'm not sure which piece you are referring to, so I took a picture from another angle, which may clear up any confusion.

Kenneth W. Longfield said:

That's a nice find Jennifer. I am having trouble figuring out the second picture. Do the strings go under the round metal piece or over it? Under the metal piece it looks to be a walnut bridge with slots for four strings. Or maybe that is where strings cut in to the end of the fret board. The nut definitely looks like a replacement.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a nice find Jennifer. I am having trouble figuring out the second picture. Do the strings go under the round metal piece or over it? Under the metal piece it looks to be a walnut bridge with slots for four strings. Or maybe that is where strings cut in to the end of the fret board. The nut definitely looks like a replacement.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Do we know that it was only a couple frets that were moved? Based on what I saw I thought it likely they all were moved. Can't tell for sure from the pictures though.

Oh and it looks like there were two melody strings at one time before the nut and bridge were replaced. The groove on the bridge is evidence of that. It looks like you could add one back pretty easily if you wanted to.

Ken Hulme said:

If the bridge was moved, John, all the frets would have re-cuts, not just a couple.

Only 4 frets shown and it looks like a veneer overlay was applied, so not enough info.

The workmanship looks good and the sound is good = good deal.

Wood may be walnut with a spruce top?

No matter how it got to where it is now it's a nice dulcimer Jennifer. I like the scroll, the bridge placement, the fiddle edges. All the other stuff gives it character! I bet it does sound good. Back looks like walnut.

If the bridge was moved, John, all the frets would have re-cuts, not just a couple. I suspect the builder didn't have his/er table of numbers right next to the cutting, and mis-remembered a couple numbers in transferring from the table to the wood.

Yes, lots of players play above the 10th fret -- especially chord-melody stylists working on variations into the second octave

It looks to me like originally the bridge was further up the fretboard and someone has decided to move it backwards right to the end, then having to move all the fret positions to match. I can't imagine why anyone would go to all that trouble but if it sounds good now, maybe it wasn't so good before?

Does anyone actually ever use those frets way up above the tenth fret anyway? Most of us strum there anyway - well I do, you can tell by the wear on the fretboard surface - as the sound is less tinny than when you strum over the `strum hollow'.

That's a nicely worked scroll so the original builder can't have been lacking in skill...

That hadn't really occurred to me Robin, but that is possible.

Oh, I meant to mention that. I don't see any name.

nice find. I am glade that it has found a new home and will be once again singing happily. have you tried looking in the sound holes to see if there writing on who made it?

Hello! I found this dulcimer in a shop the other day and after playing it for awhile kind of fell in love with it. It's been banged around a bit and is inexpertly made, but that is what endears it to me. Most importantly though, it has a lovely sound.

I wonder if anyone has any guesses as to the type of wood. I'm also curious about the fact that the tuning pegs and the pins are set up for 4 strings, but the bridge and the nut for 3. An indecisive maker? A later change? It's also interesting that is only goes to the twelfth fret...luckily I rarely play higher than that. It's got a 28 inch VSL, and the strum hollow is really long! I've not seen one that looks quite like this...but then I haven't seen as many dulcimers as many of you. Here's some photos.

Oops, looks like some missteps with the frets!

Very nice Sheryl. You will have a fine instrument. Enjoy.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sheryl we share your excitement- post us pix when she arrives!

Check my response to your question in the thread Jennifer started:

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/group/beginnerplayers/forum/topics/worthwhile-to-buy-from-craigslist-as-a-brand-new-dulcimer-fan?commentId=3745489%3AComment%3A592478&xg_source=activity&groupId=3745489%3AGroup%3A36

Hi Sheryl, welcome to our little corner of the world!

If you join our Beginner Players Group on this site, you will find several discussions with good suggestions about buying a first dulcimer that is good quality but not too costly for a beginner. Check out our Groups section for special interests you may wish to learn more about, too.

The good news is that there are several various beginner dulcimers that would be reputable and excellent choices for you to get started with! Check out those discussions in the Beginner's Group.

-I know you are just learning your way around the site, and it may be a bit confusing at first... I deleted about eight other identical discussions to this one that you probably didn't mean to post in duplicate. -But rest assured, no harm done at all!

Sheryl, welcome to FOTMD. Sounding pretty is subjective to everyone's ears. So we all could help guide you, what style of playing are you looking into? Chording, noter/drone? That could help us help you.

Very interesting video! I loved seeing your instruments and hearing you play. I hope a lot of people see this!

that is way cool

Way to go, Greg. Congrats on the exposure. Keep up the good work building!

Very cool. Congratulations on the exposure!

Well that's just great, Greg! It's great to see homemade music and craftsmanship getting some publicity. You represent the folk traditions well!

I would put money down that the song is in the key of C. The only chord that doesn't quite fit is C#. Regardless of the key you play the song in, that C# chord is likely to cause some difficulty on a diatonic instrument. If you tune CGc or CGG you will be able to get the other chords with little difficulty. But that C# might be something you have to fake by just playing a note or two rather than a full chord.

Glenda, if you are really a beginner, I would suggest beginningwith easier songs that only have three or four chords. You might want to put this one on the "to learn" list for next month or whenever you get more comfortable playing a variety of chords. But if you already have experience chording on the dulcimer or other instruments, then by all means, forge ahead!

Hi Glenda, can't you ask the woman who wrote it what key it is in? That would help us a lot.

The guitar player might know the key as well, if they've been playing the song already.

Here's my Mirliton, made from $5 worth of 1/2" PVC fitting and pipe.

On the right is a Compression Slide-Repair Coupling, then a plain 1/2" coupling rounded on both ends, a 4-5" length of 1/2 pipe and last, a second coupling sanded into a mouthpiece. A 1/4" hole is drilled below the end. A membrane of plastic bag is held in place under the screw cap on the right end.

Sounds pretty good, actually.

love the sound of it.

Maybe I'm just not as funny as I think I am...

Ah - sorry I didn't get that, John... blame it on the fact that English is a foreign language to me.

Thanks for the additional info on the crumhorn.

I was making an attempt at humour, Peter. But your onion flute does indeed sound very similar to a crumhorn. They had a brief (50 years or so I believe) period of popularity in the late 1500s I think. They are a fairly simple reed pipe - double oboe type reed in a wooden pipe with a windcap over the reed to protect it, the lower end of the pipe bent up presumably imitating a horn. Limited to a 9 note scale they have a deep for their size buzzing tone.

Thanks for the reply, John!

Actually, I am not familiar with the background of medieval instruments, so I can't answer your crumhorn question (in German: Krummhorn"). To play the onion flute (or kazoo) at least half-decent, you should have some singing skills - otherwise an instrument would still be the better alternative. I think the onion flute has never been an instrument that has been taken too seriously.

Yes, I have played MD and kazoo together (by using a harmonica holder and one of my selfmade wooden kazoos):

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/photo/kazoonica-harmonikazoo

Here's something with kazoo and MD I recorded a few months ago...

http://mountaindulcimer.ning.com/video/st-louis-blues-kazoo-and-box...