Forum Activity for @robert-schuler

Marg, you can make a very good end pin with a nail. Drill a hole first then glue in a nail. Tapping in a nail will shock the dulcimer and possibly break something. Remove the nail head before installing. Set the nail about 3/4" deep....Robert 

Strawberry season started early this year. We were picking from late April until a week ago. Cool dry weather made some of the best berries ever. Next year's plants arrive in three weeks.

Asparagus picking ended two weeks ago, now I'm letting the ferns grow for next year. Hope to be picking tomatoes from the greenhouse  by late June. 

I hope everybody has a great garden. Life is good...Robert 

I saw my first hammered dulcimer in a 1972 issue of Singout magazine. I went back and  read it again only to get lost in all the other great stories from folks long gone and others now very old. It gave no history just a how to build our own for $5.

I can't add anything about its origins but I did build one 17 years ago. I keep it in my dining room always handy to play whenever I pass  by...Robert

DavisJames, the drones and tuning in modes is what makes a dulcimer such a unique and beautiful sounding instrument...Robert 

ErthLing, I built a chromatic dulcimer for a customer and was quite excited about the project because it gave me a chance to explore the possibilities before I shipped it. But after playing diatonic for 50 years I found the extra frets a distraction. But give it a try. A lot depends on the type of music you want to play... Robert.

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

Very useful if you sing in a lower key. My long neck banjos are baritone. 30" scale dulcimers make great baritones. .. Robert

I'm always tuning between daa, dac, and dag. It's the way those of us who play primarily diatonic dulcimers find those extra frets. Modes expand the dimensions of our instrument....Robert

Great poster!!!. Absolutely love it, the old timer sorta reminds  me of me😊....Robert.

Either date sounds good to me. Actually sounds as good as a dulcimer...Robert 

Dusty, I tried Sally on my 1.5 8.5 fret model thinking the minor notes in dad tuning would be a breeze. No such luck. I switched to my pure diatonic model tuned cAD and it played well. I tried dAA with a capo and as you said it was wanting  for an 8.5 fret...Robert. 

Sally in the Garden, I wanted a tune to add to my list of tunes for playing on banjo in double C tuning. I've been playing Sally for the last week. It is a minor mode tune that plays nicely in clawhammer  style.

Ok so next was playing on dulcimer. At first I didn't think It could be played noter style but in  aeolian mode it worked well, only have to jump to the A string for an open A and first fret B.... Robert.

Online company called Just Strings sells every kind of string for every kind of string instrument. Including individual strings ball or loop end...Robert

First I'm thankful to have a porch to pick on, although it needs a coat of paint. The day was cool and cloudy with a nice breeze.

Lately I've been playing my Galix dulcimer that I neglected for a couple of years. If you never played a Galix, you don't know what your missing.

I played the quintessential Galax tune Fly Around My Pretty Miss. Tater patch, Groundhog, and a favorite of mine although a bit unconventional for Galax style St Anne's reel.

I was hoping it would rain so I could play a little longer but it didn't so I had to get back to work picking sweetcorn instead of my dulcimer. I hope everyone had a nice day. If not we'll then play your dulcimer and things will get better...Robert

Back in 1971 I had a cheap what some call a bottle cap banjo. A good Vega banjo was around $300. I could not afford one. Then 30 years later they were in the one to three thousand dollar range. I thought I could build a shop and build my own for less. I did!. I've got long necks, short scale, normal scale, fretless, semi fretless, six string. 10" , 11" , 12" pots , block rims, plywood rims, brass tone rings, wood tone rings. I had to restrain myself from building more and focus on dulcimers. All together they cost me about the same as one high quality open back banjo....Robert

I build dulcimers in a humid coastal climate and I do worry about shipping a dulcimer to very dry climates. So far I've had no complaints. I  always use aged dry wood to start with and that helps.

All instruments need a time to acclimate to there new home.

I would be more concerned if the dulcimer has wood pegs. Wood pegs are like barometers when the climate dries I  know  because I'll hear strings popping in the night!. 

Back in the sixties during the guitar boom, made in Japan imported instruments came with a thick plastic like finish to survive the ocean crossing. Which is why they sounded so bad.

Today imports are shipped climate controlled.

I would say start with good aged wood and a good thin oil finish and cut your fret slots with a saw intended for fret tang dimensions  and you'll be ok... Robert 

Lisa, your plant points toward the promise of spring.....Robert

Could you post some pictures.

A Fingerboard can easily account for 25% of the soundboard. So raising it has to make a difference. You only need to raise it a couple millimeters. I prefer to hollow out under the Fingerboard and leave 4 mm. on each side glued to the top. I add a soundhole on the fingerboard like I've seen on some Galax dulcimers, that might help tone a bit and looks cool too.

I think restraining the top with a glued fingerboard can actually help in making that very  intimate tone that is unique to dulcimers. Although I welcome those who push the envelope we better be careful not to end up with dulcimers that sound like skinny guitars....Robert

I highly recommend Johnnys Selected Seeds in Winslow ME. They have the largest selection of seed for sprouts and micro greens. All are organic and definitely not treated with fungicides. Check them out.... Robert

Nice sprouts! I making dinner  and would love a bunch of them NOW.

Just picked the last of my romaine lettuce from the field. I had them on raised beds covered with black plastic mulch so frost never got them. Cold weather really brings out the flavor... Robert

My Jeffreys dulcimer is 49 years old today!. Number 1865. I still remember the excitement I had the day it arrived. Still in perfect condition. It became the model I use to make my own instruments. I never seen a dulcimer in real life before but it started me on a great journey into traditional old time music... Robert

Sight down the Fingerboard it may be warped. Try putting a very thin shim under the bass side of the bridge. A shim should be no thicker than a guitar pick. That might solve the problem. You might just have a fret that's too high in some spot. Check to see if all frets are set properly. A gentle tap with a hammer might fix that. Perhaps the frets were not leveled properly by the builder. Dulcimers are not rock guitars, raising the action with a taller bridge is fine, and the tone and volume will definitely sound better.... Robert

Here in South Jersey we've been continually blasted with rain and humidity since June. My and my neighbors vegetable farms are looking poorly. But I still have plenty of food for myself and family. Lately I have been going stir crazy, stir fry crazy that is ☺. 

I took 12 dulcimers that I built exactly alike. Only difference was the mixture of woods. Each one had its own distinct tone. As it should be. But all sounded good. Every piece of wood even from the same stock will have different densities and different vibration characteristics. larger or deeper body's don't necessarily sound better or louder. Nice thing about guitars is that you can go to any music store and compare, unfortunately that doesn't work for dulcimers. Buy from a reputable builder and stay away from the very low priced imports... Robert.

I built a HD in 2006. I keep it in my dining room and play it rarely. But I love the sound. If your right handed, learning the left hand isn't too hard. I found by only using the left hand gave me a degree of coordination. Still it comes down to practice. Changing to lighter hammers helps as does adding felt edges to soften the tone. One thing I would do if I built another is color the soundboard dark with walnut stain. It makes seeing the strings easier... Robert

I add a strum hollow on all the dulcimers I build. I assume my customers expect it. And it looks cool. But do you need one? I would say no. Personally I never play over the hollow. Usually it's over the twelfth to sixteenth fret area. But I can see it's usefulness with finger picking. Metal finger picks especially.... Robert.

I plant five acres of vegetables by myself for my roadside market so I get plenty of exercise. Around here in zone 7b there are hundreds of vegetable farms planting already. But for exercise, I would rather be riding my bike. Especially since traffic is alot less now. Only about 350 cases in my county so being out in the fresh air is quite liberating. I pray everyone gets through this... Robert.

I've got a pot of chicken soup on the stove. Trying to do farm chores with a pot cooking on the stove is a bit of a challenge. You know, being two places at once. Not a bad day for some porch picking too.... Robert

Thanks Robin for such a lovely video. I use a hammer from my hammered dulcimer. HD hammers have just the right balance, making it easier to pick out individual notes, and create that distinctive bouncy sound... Robert

Anybody who has played a dulcimer knows how much better they sound when the back is unrestrained. Possum boards really help but mostly they allow an easy way to free up the back plate to vibrate freely.Any hardwood will help reflect sound a little bit not very much. I did an experiment playing with my birch possum board then covering board with sheet  brass. Followed that by covering board with a cotton kitchen dish towel. There was barely any difference in volume. Just raising back of dulcimer any way you can is all you need.

Somewhere I saw someone who mounted a dulcimer on an acoustic table that acted as a resonator. I have to build one someday... Robert.

This Saturday was the first pleasant Saturday all summer to play on my porch, so I got a head start. Only had a hour to spare but it was time well spent!. Cherokee shuffle, Over the waterfall, Seneca square dance, Boatman, Girl I left behind, Big Sioty, Saint Ann's reel. And some basic noodling, I love noodling...

I find if I ride often I can quickly build myself up to longer distances each time. Land here is flat so its easier for me... Robert.

I suffered from chronic knee pain for 30 years. Got a bicycle 15 years ago, a hybrid type not one of those road bikes. Riding solved my knee pain, never suffered again! No pills no elastic braces. I wish everyone would ride and play music, it would really make us all healthier... 

A lot of pumpkin pies for sure!. I promised to give myself a day off and recoup, maybe learn a new old fiddle tune. But I'm only 65, still a kid yet. I recoup fast... Robert

Just transplanted 2 acres of pumpkin plants by hand. Countless deep knee bends lots of fresh air and sunshine. I'll be lucky if I'll be able to move tomorrow!... Robert.

I love sardines, I'm picking asparagus, sells so fast never have any for myself. The frozen food company down road is cutting spinach, fresh pea harvesting starts soon. Looking forward to enjoying garden fresh food again. 

Less sustain is not necessarily true. My 26" vsl models  tunes to dadd pitch two inches sooner than a 28" vsl so there is less tension on the strings allowing for sustain. There is a lot less chance for string breakage as well. ..Robert

Short scale dulcimers are much easier to finger when playing chords. I mostly build with 26" VSL. It's a happy medium...Robert

Don, I often desire a chromatic. Problem is mine have broken reeds. I have sent them to Hohner for repair which gets a bit expensive. I always think of "someday" learning to repair reeds myself, but someday never seems to come. 

This is a great time to get into harmonica since new companies are offering instruments with different tuning options, even custom tuning to order. Sometimes I think Hohner is stuck in the past and is reluctant to innovate... Robert