Forum Activity for @skip

A 'dream dulcimer'? There is always seems to be a new one, or a return to a prior choice, as I change/adapt/grow/? [words don't fit]. McSpadden, Bear Meadow, Aolelus, Folkcraft [currently have], Blue Lion [ditto], and others, have been on my list during my relatively short association with dulcimers. Some have been much too costly, but not all. Some I made.

The thing is, once acquired it's no longer are a dream, it's a reality and I dream again.

Looking at my manual, player/recorder via 3.5mm stereo cable [probably male-male], nothing about a mic.

Just a note, MD's only, no guitars here.

I've got one. You will probably have to set it for yourself. If you use a mic/mic pickup be sure to set the knob to mic to start with. I don't use the other settings, tremelo, etc., just the 1st knob. Some of those selections are really sensitive and loud. The batteries seem to last a long time. In some ways I think I like my 15w Crate a bit better, larger speaker ad 2 inputs, but it's really heavy. Overall I like the Roland.

If you sing also I believe I would look at one with 2 inputs.

Steven Seifert's Join the Jam and Join the Jam, Harmony may work for you. There may be other books with both melody harmony parts that might work for noter/drone also.

One playing an octave higher [add 7] or lower [playing a bass] may work some also.

I usually use 26.5. I have a 22 1/4 that I play most of the time lately.

I've added frets to my dulcimers and some other folks dulcimers. So far the only difference I've noticed is in the appearance of the fret board, not in how they sound or look overall. All of them sound the same as they did before the added frets were installed. I don't play using a noter though and usully use hammer-on's instead of slides. So fo me adding frets is very much a personal preference. Besides you can always have some of each.😆

A heavier bass string, about .022-.023. Loosening the strings one tone [step] [ D3 to C3] really shouldn't get that bad, it's only about a half turn of a tuning machine unless you have a really light bass string. 

http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html

This can guide you in your string choices, it recommendations can be a bit light by a couple of sizes.

I build with 4 tuners, play using 3 strings. It allows double melody, 4 equidistant or single melody string setups.

By the way, the distance between the 8 and 8+ frets is less than an 1/8" than that between the 6+ and 7. The spacing is not the challenge, it's the fact that it's there that you need to learn.

I have a folkcraft with a 22" VSL which has the 1+, 6+,8+, and 13+. and have had no problem with the fret spacing at the high end. You just get used to it like any other spacing. I suggest you get the higher one if you are getting the 1+ and 6+, you may grow into playing at the higher frets over time. Keep in mind the music you play now and any future changes in your play lists and style of playing.

I don't think changing the string[s] a few .001's is going to make much of a difference in the sound, you're still at the same frequency. I suggest you consider trying strings/tuning it as a bass or baritone if the sound really bothers you. Playing a tune using the bass string or the middle string for the melody may give you some indication of what the sound could become.

I haven't tried it but 'sticky putty' may work.

Tape the noter to the splint?  :)

Cut a dowel or wood pencil just short of the fretboard width and tape it between the legs of a standard capo. Run the tape parallel and between the strings.

MobileSheets Pro is for andeoid currently but is in the process of being ported to Win 10. Some folks are using an emulator with some success. 

http://zubersoft.com/mobilesheets/forum/showthread.php?tid=3298&pid=16111#pid16111

These folks may be able to give you a better idea of what's available.

I found this which may help.

http://www.flutopedia.com/scales.htm

Sue Carpenters 'Patterns and Patchwork' up until I started using a tablet which contains books, smn, and audio files.

Who's 'Emily Dickinson', asks one of the great unwashed. :)

Never mind, I looked her up. Probably not a good role model other than the number she produced vs had published.

The middle string s/b 'd' not 'D'. The big 'D' is the one below middle C, the lower case is the one just above middle C. You would be looking at Gdg, not GDg. The easiest way to remember is do the strings in order, either up or down.The Strothers calculator usually is a bit on the light side. 

The layout on the calculator popup is lower notes [larger strings] to the bottom and higher notes [small strings] to the top, all in the right order.

As far as the 'F' goes, try taping a 2" straightened paper clip or a toothpick in place as a temporary fret. If you have access to a micrometer/caliper, frets are about .040"-.043" high.

You can use just about any tuning you want going down [looser], DGdd, DAcc [or is it DACC?], DAAA, and CGcc are used. You run a really good chance of realizing your fear going up [tighter] to GDgg with the strings on there now. you can check http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.htm for string sizes.

They are all the same 'A', the 4th fret on the bass [which is the same as 'D' below middle 'C' in DAdd].

It seems to me you're trying to put 10 pounds of apples and bananas in a 4 pound bag, trying to get gigs mixed with billing. I don't do  gigs or try to arrange them but I would think arranging them is something like interviewing/applying for any kind of job. I suggest you develop a 'job description' you can use whenever wanted. A short 'demo cd' may also be relevant. Mary is trying to describe what she is doing in a few words, you want to get a job which will require more.

A representative song title with an explanatory subtitle.

"Barley Bread And Elder Wine - Traditionally Styled English And Scottish Songs by Mary MacGow"

I suggest you not use terms like "British Isles" etc., unless you include songs from the others, Wales, for example.

I usually bend the end 3/16 back 180* before making the 90* bend which puts the cut end back in the hole. I also try to leave about 1/16  (bent end) extended past the post surface and put 1 wrap on the open end of the post and the balance of the wraps on th inside ( nearest the knob).

The ball is a tube, it can be crushed. Pinch it with pliers or vicegrips across the diameter and break it, the pieces are then fairly easy to remove. Don't pinch the string though, just grab a side, you may have to try several times. 

I'v found nylon picks [I use Herdums] don't make as much of a click as plastic ones.

Sue Carpenter has some in her "Joined In Harmony' book.

Here's how I string: Put the loop[ball] on its pin, pull the string snug to the tuner, clip the string 2-2 1/2 inches past the tuner [longer], bend the string 90* about 1/4" from the cut end. You can then insert the bent end into the hole , apply a little tension and turn the tuner to tighten, maintaining a little tension on the string as needed.

I agree with John with a follow-on point, it may cost as much to get needed tools and fret wire, if you don't have them, as it would cost to have it done. The notes gained depends on the tuning, they are increased a 1/2 step from the 1 fret (eg.: E>F; B>C).

Joe, once you find the pdf's click on the one you want to print. Whatever program you use to display pdf files should display it. The pdf reader should have the capability to print to your printer. I don't have a printer handy at the moment but I was able to get all the way in the process up to actually printing. You may have to open the song folder to get to the actual pdf file.

And DON'T carry your MD using the strap over the shoulder. A friend did, the strap came off the button, resulting in a major [12"] and several minor [1-2"] cracks in the top. It also happened to me and my wife but without any damage.

You will probably have to connect to a pc with usb and use the file explorer to locate the files. Try looking at root>sdcard>myfiles>music>pdf's [this is on my nook hd] or root>storage>sdcard0>android>data>[com]zubersoft.mobilesheets>files then the song. 

 I wear bib overalls so I'm forcing myself to hold off on suspenders right now since I'm still in the process of paying of the new Folkcraft resonator dulcimer I  needed for Christmas. No Sheitholt yet.

salt-springs; Sounds reasonable to me. I'm a bit farther on the timeline [about 15 years] so the accessories have increased some. They now include a 38 foot top of the line RV and 1T truck to pull it down to the lot in south Texas. This is needed to reduce the stress on the MD's caused by excessive low humidity caused by cold weather, much better than a wet sponge in my opinion. This adds about 150 k plus annual fees, taxes and travel costs. So far the journey has been well worth it! 

I also needed to get additional instruments; keyboard, bodhran [adds interest to the celtic diet], pennywhistles, a HD, a TMB, and an electric bass, so I could produce backup accompaniment for the cd I was going to make for my family and friends. 

I never made any rookie mistakes [tongue in cheek!], but I have had a bunch of educational opportunities caused by a 'hold my -------, I'm going to' attitude I get sometimes. Most worked out ok though, can't think of any I actually regret. Looks like that's what some of y'all did. As far as the extra picks, find a hard up guitar/mandolin/uke player. :)

There may be some appropriate suggestions here.

http://fotmd.com/forums/forum/my_posts/18882/i-have-had-a-stroke-and-need-help-with-my-right-hand

I've finally graduated to Planxty Eleanor Plunket, Steel Guitar Rag, Country Garden, and playing around with blues scales/riffs, or pieces of these.

That's not as easily answered as it appears. I've had many varied interests and most of them have turned into boring activities which I eventually dropped. I was never very interested in music until well after I retired when I was exposed to building MDs and HDs. That led me to discovering music was open ended as far as what could be accomplished and learned, from instrument construction/repair to music theory, playing, recording, equipment, etc. It was an epiphany. I'm a very private person with little desire to socialize [my wife's the opposite], but I have taught a MD class for beginners, participate in several dulcimer groups, have arranged a few pieces and in the last few years performed in public with my groups [and now doing a few solo's], none of which I would have done before becoming interested in music. Most everything considered, I think my primary goal is to stay mentally active, learning and trying new things, and have some social activities for us. As for the future, it's wide open, there's still a lot to try.

VSL = nut to bridge, which most folks would understand in the case of the Folk Craft. To me a scale is a specific, defined series of step/half step musical note progressions [think key/mode/chromatic, not song], not the length of a fret board. 

I think you s/b using C [chromatic] mode with that tuner. V is for violin, G, guitar and B, Bass.