Forum Activity for @alathea

Good morning!

Mainly for wood protection, a little for aesthetics. It is the naked-est of all the instruments I own (guitar resembling).

Stain -why?  Lacquer, maybe, will lose some mellow in the tone.  Pick guard, maybe, stick on, no, mounted off the surface, possible, need to know how you plan to mount.

I've been recording a lot lately and falling in love (again) with my beautiful cherry, 7-string American épinette. I have always bewailed the fact that I didn't know the maker; the man from whom I bought it only could offer that he had gotten it, used, in Virginia. I will, once again, reach out to the Internet dulcimer and other instrument community for help; if you have any information, please let me know. I am eager to know and, as I wind things down, and begin my instrument de-acquisition, I'm sure the next owner will appreciate it as well.
[It can be heard on several of my albums.]

My files are all too big. See my Facebook post for pix.

https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=10224215474392337&set=a.1860687234702

My older daughter did choir and madrigal in HS- full costume. Her senior year she was the Queen of the Madrigal “court”. The rest of them not so much musical, though. They have other interests. My 22 yr old son DM’s for about 4 different groups online and plays Warhammer 40k, my younger son and middle daughter are K-pop fanatics. We’re a weird lot

Welcome to the site!
Wow what a lot of music playing runs in your family- how nice!

I have a spruce Merlin and wonder if anyone has opinions on stain, partial lacquer, pick guard…yea/nay

it’s untreated, bare spruce. I know it might affect the sound a minute bit but I’m worried about damage over time. Sure I could buy another one- they are pretty inexpensive, but I’d like to avoid it. 

thoughts?

Hi, y’all. I’m Cedric “…. Hi Cedric…..” and I play a Merlin. Well, only recently,  but I majored in baroque, classical, operatic, and contemporary voice for almost 4 yrs, and I’ve played guitar as a noodler for about 30 yrs, so it’s coming along quickly. I dig 80s hair metal and classic rock but I also really love Rockabilly and outlaw country and rootsy/retro rootsy stuff.

My wife’s family has guitar, harmonica, mandolin, and a couple fiddle players in it. Family reunions are great, but unfortunately many of the rootsy instrument players have passed away over the last 23+ years that my wife and I have been together. So, I decided to take up dulcimer, to go with my boudrahn, tongue drum, and tin whistles. My wife is an orchestral percussionist, singer, and piano player. I also sing barbershop and did some undergrad study of how modern guitars evolved from citoles, gitterns, lutes, etc. As you can tell we are quite a musical household. 

 Army veteran, discharged in 2002 due to a stupid injury ( it’s funny now, though it wasn’t at the time…) I went in pre 9/11 and was out 6-7 months after- only a year total- so much for that college money, right? I had dropped out of college when my mom got cancer and moved my wife and son back to podunkville, so I didn’t need it anyway, at that moment. Luckily mom went into remission not long after I got out because she was my medical dependent, so no Army, no cancer treatment.  I finished college a few years later but in IT Management, basically has to start over since my music classes didn’t count except as electric 😂. I work for the VA now helping veterans since I barley feel like one, doing my part. I used to do IT for hospitals but that didn’t do much fit me other than cause stress. 

I’m a total polyglot! 

This may be off-discussion slightly, but I wanted to add my 2 cents (or maybe only a penny )

I have an old acoustic mic (sorry I have had it for years and don't even know the brand).  It used to have a nice clip on it - but that is broken.  The mic is on a bendable wire and fits nicely into almost all of the sound holes on my dulcimers.  My issue was that if you moved or bumped the mic or cord while playing - it of course would amplify the bang.  I was looking and recently found that Scotch Tape makes a wall-safe tape.  It worked wonders - I put the mic in a sound hole and then used the wall-safe tape to secure it.  Voila!  It holds good and the best part is - no residue!

As I said - this may be off-topic a bit, but maybe it would help somebody out there!

Keep strummin' and smilin'!

Cindy

Sounds like a fun time, Ken!  May God protect you and yours from the hurricane in the area.

Played some Border Ballads in The Scottish Borders, it's true -- Hugh the Graeme (mentions Clan Hume), Kinmont Willie, Tramps & Hawkers, Lammastide,  Lock the Door Lariston and more...   Spent four nights in Wedderburn Castle and used their kitchen to cook breakfast for the 20 or so clansmen and women staying there with us (the others had to do with whatever the could).

Now I'm hunkered down to endure the coming of hurricane Ian.

Rubbing alcohol and acetone dissolve dried super glue.

I wear nitrile or latex gloves when working with CA glue. It is nasty when you accidentally glue your fingers together.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Welcome home, Ken! I'm sure you have stories to tell.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's great work you're doing with kids, Erin!  You're not only helping kids learn the dulcimer, but you're preserving our folk song traditions.

Getting the younger generation excited about music is awesome, Erin. I started into music when I was 9 and have made it a life-long passion.

That's a crazy adventure Ken. Hope you don't get hit too badly by the hurricane now.

Glad you are safely back Kenh.

I haven't been on this site for a while, but was reminded of it today and wanted to check in to let everyone know about an online Youth Dulcimer Club I host. 

Youth Dulcimer Club meets weekly on Zoom on Monday evenings. It's for kids learning to play dulcimer -- any ages and levels are welcome. We've got kids from all over the US and Canada involved! Check it out at https://www.erinmaemusic.com/dulcimer-club

Welcome home, weary traveller!  Glad to hear you're back in one piece, and that you (mostly) enjoyed your time there on The Islands.  Hope the hurricane skips your area.

@ken-hulme I'm glad to learn you have arrived home all in one piece!  Y'all batten down the hatches and stay safe!  

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...."  Almost everything went perfect -- flight over, visiting friends and family in Sussex and Lincolnshire, Orkney and the Scottish Borders. 

Our Clan chief, the 15the Earl Home passed away about 10 days before the Queen.  His son, Michael succeeded as 16th Earl, and Charles succeeded a King Charles III.  The Clan Gathering went really well, and our new Chief was able to attend even though he's a member of The Company of Archers --  the Royal bodyguards when in Scotland.  We even saw him on TV as part of the processions and parades of the royal funeral.

Then we went down to Birmingham and ran into snags.  First Sally got Covid (relatively mild), which deleted our canalboat trips and delayed  our flight home.  Then an Aer Lingus SNAFU has our luggage somewhere at Birmingham International (we have iTrackers on them) and cost us a $175 taxi ride from B'ham to London Heathrow airport (all good there).  Caught a British Airways flight to the Dulles, near DC. Then home today to Florida.

And now.... we face the possibility of a hurricane!

Thank you, Matt! That’s a good thing to know. This isn’t the first time this has happened. Last time, I just started a whole new fret board with the intention of fixing the one that I messed up.

That's the way to do it, Molly!   But if you have more money than most of us here, StewMac sells a fret tang crimping tool that puts slight crimps into the tang to make it wider, for just $111.39, plus tax.  Such a deal!

Cyano acrylate (super glue) is a luthier's best friend.  Put down some tape around the fret slot, CAREFULLY put a small amount across the slot, press in the fret and weigh down appropriately.  In this case, clamps would be messy.  Stewmac sells containers of cyano with very narrow tips for just such purposes.

Hi, Folks. I have a question. One of my fret slots is just a hair wider than the rest, and my 6.5 fret won’t stay in place. What do other luthiers do in this situation?

I hope I can still find something reasonable on the Internet. Once I saw a man playing with a similar system. I wish I had asked him where he had bought it. Anyway, I hope I can still find and buy it. Actually, it will still be earlier to find this thing than the coolest guitar accessories for my kid. I mean, he plays guitar very well. I bought him an amp a few months ago and sent him to the garage to play. But he never likes the accessories I buy for him. I guess I’d better take him out to the guitar store next time. Anyway, guys, I’d highly appreciate your advice on that system. Can I still find it somewhere?

Thanks, Matt. I'll do that. My instructor has a teardrop bass, and she wants me to try it before I jump at anything so I can make the right decision as to what I want. 

Lorilee,

The "common wisdom" in dulcimers is that there is no tone difference between hourglass and teardrop.  Although probably true for standard dulcimers, many luthiers who build bass dulcimer believe they get a better bass sound from a teardrop shape.  They still make hourglass bass dulcimers because they sell better.  If you are interested in a better bass sound, at least compare the sound of a teardrop with an hourglass for the better bass sound.

Matt

Thanks for the offer Jan. Like I said, I'm just curious and not that curious to really put you to all that work of tracing the bridge. I knew Robert Hutchinson and played many North Country dulcimers at his booth during a couple of arts festivals. I think Buzz would be more interested in a tracing of the bridge it he is going to restore the North Country dulcimer which was the beginning of this thread.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Ken, I'd be happy to make a tracing for you and send it by snail mail.

Thank you for all of your replies. They do give me a lot to think about. I'm really considering getting a bass, maybe from Blue Lion? My instructor has a bass that I'm going to "fiddle" with, but it's a teardrop which is not what I'm looking for. so I don't know... so I'll see what I think about hers, and knowing me, I'll soon be looking for one!

I built a 30" scale dulcimer  2 inch deep with the duel purpose of tuning for bass or baritone. It sounded quite nice as a bass but I keep it tuned baritone. Having a bass in your stable can come in very handy if your going to play with others. If I build another I'll probably go to 2.5 or 3 inch deep. But I'll definitely keep the 30" scale. ..Robert

I'm happy to have Matt's respect and also to be corrected.  Just don't tell my wife I was wrong.

Of course one can play chords on a bass dulcimer, just as one can play chords on a bass guitar. But generally, the purpose of a bass is to, well, play the bass part.  The fiddle weaves the melody, the guitar provides the chords, and the bass plays the bass lines.  I certainly don't want anyone to be locked into those small roles, but it does seem that most of the time, that is what we'll be doing.  It is more important to be comfortable playing chords on a standard dulcimer than a on bass dulcimer, but of course you can do it on both.

And by the way, if you really want to prove me wrong, send me a bass dulcimer.  I promise to play lots of melody and lots of chords on it.  I'll gladly admit to having been mistaken.

With all due respect to Dusty Turtle (I play his lullaby book and enjoy it), there are many places where a bass dulcimer is great with chords.  I teach a 3/4 workshop and emphasize the bass players keeping the beat by playing the chords at the start of each measure.  Really adds depth to the music.

If you flat pick, the bass dulcimer can be a strong player in the melody.  In Eulberg's new 50 First Songs, Proud Mary and Sitting on the Dock of the Bay are great when played on a bass dulcimer.

I prefer the 26" VSL with a bass.  The heavier strings do make it more difficult to fret and the shorter scale makes it modestly easier.  Yes, a bigger body gives you better projection.

Absolutely get a bass dulcimer and go crazy.  Don't let people slot you into playing only the 1-3 beat.

Blue Lion also has the 5 string Acoustic Jam bass with a 26 1/4 " VSL and 1 5/8" fretboard and Folkcraft has one with a 26" VSL with a 2" wide fretboard. I have the AJ5 Blue Lion and removed 2 strings. 

As far as construction goes, I believe they about the same as a standard, just deeper for the volume needed for the lower notes. The string tension is about the same so I don't see a need for heavier construction. I've converted ones I made to bass and baritone with no problems. I even converted a regular Tennessee Music Box to sound like a standup bass for kicks. Hard on the fingers to play though and not very loud because the box is too small.

Lorilee, I would think a bass dulcimer should have a pretty big box, but that could be achieved with depth, allowing the dulcimer to be on the shorter end of scale length.  I believe the New Harmony baritone/bass model only has a 25" or 25-1/2" scale length.

But remember that with a bass dulcimer you are most likely going to play bass lines, not chords, so even an instrument such as Blue Lion's 27-1/2" bass should be playable even by those of us who are vertically challenged.

How does the build of a bass dulcimer differ from a standard? Is the same basic body with a different nut/bridge/strings or is there more to it? Can a person get one without a really long VSL? (short person here!)

That's a great picture,  Thanks Jan!

Thanks to Dusty and Strumelia as well

Thank you Jan. Now I want to know more. How wide is it at the base and the top? What is the diamond of the four holes drilled in it? What is the distance from the top of the bridge to the top of the center hole? What is the distance between the top center hole and bottom center hole? What is the distance from the outer edges to the middle hole to the outer holes? What is the thickness of the bridge at the top and and at the bottom? I'm just the curious sort.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."