Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

If you want to go to lighter strings on a 23 inch VSL, I suggest 0.011 for the melody strings, a 0.015 for the middle, and 0.023 for the bass. You could always try going down once size on each string to see if it is too floppy. For the most part, experimentation is what you need to find the right strings for you and your dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is a link to the Ron Ewing article in DPN. https://archive.org/details/dpn-1990-016-03/page/20/mode/1up

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That is a beautiful dulcimer. It looks like the case needs a little repair. I'm sure you'll enjoy it when you pick it up. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Both days are permanently on my calendar.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John's suggestions for strings are good. Here is another string calculator. https://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html It tends to suggest strings on the light side which you will see if you use it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

There's really no need to post the VSL as you have learned from the builder what was on it to begin with. I would go with that. The configuration the builder used makes it very easy to change tuning from DAA to DAd without breaking the melody string.

With regard to cleaning. For years I've used Martin's Guitar Cleaner/Polish on my dulcimers without any problems.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I am not familiar with Ellen Yeoman or the Mixolydian Musical Woodworks. That probably because I live on the opposite side of the country. It looks to be a nice dulcimer typical of the 1970s. Whatever you use to clean and polish your guitar should be fine. As Richard noted any product using silicone should be avoided as it makes repairing cracks and finishes difficult. Let us know the vibrating string length from the fret board side of the nut to where the strings come in contact with the saddle and we can offer suggestions for string gauges. Strumelia's suggestion to start with DAA or CGG is good; especially if you want to play noter style. Again, welcome.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I can understand that. I also do a lot of finger dancing. Folks think at playing noter style is easy, but it takes practice to make it sound good. Keep on doing what you're doing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I often play noter style in DAd. After a little practice you can manipulate your noter to fret the middle string. Of course, there is no reason you can't use your finger to do that. I think playing with a single finger rather than a noter changes the traditional sound. The zing of moving from one fret to another just seems not to be there for me. Another option is finger dancing where you use several of fingers to press down the melody. Watch some of Don Pedi's videos. It is fun to discover new techniques in playing. There is no right or wrong way to play the mountain dulcimer. Enjoy whatever way you choose to play it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I am saddened by the news of Terry's death. It is always somewhat of a mystery when an active member suddenly becomes silent. I wondered why he disappeared from the forum. Now I know. He was a delightfully positive person who truly cared about bringing joy and happiness to others. Yes, Dusty, loved that hat. RIP, Terry.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

This is an interesting conversation. I don't think there is a good method for measuring a decline or increase in popularity. Is it possible to compile a list of everyone building mountain dulcimers 15 years ago and today? Or a list of dulcimer clubs? Or the number of subscribers to Dulcimer Players News? Since the pandemic there seem to be less festivals and in person festivals seem to be declining in attendance. I have no concrete data to support this. Meanwhile, online mountain dulcimer groups and festivals seem to be increasing. Again, no concrete data. Two new museums of the Appalachian dulcimer have opened in the last year. I've been part of the mountain dulcimer community for over 50 years. I know many more dulcimer folk today than I did back then. Personally, I've never met anyone who told me that their interest in the mountain dulcimer began because it was included in a Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, or other concert by a popular musician or band.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Looks good. I'm glad this worked out for you. Enjoy playing the dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Glowhazel's last post was four years ago. If you do a search under the members tab above for Glowhazel you will find all of the posts and videos from this member.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Damon, I enjoyed your video. It was a great way to get to know you. I have no idea of how electronic music is produced, so I can't help you with how that relates to the mountain dulcimer. Also, I probably haven't fished for 60 years. I do like your entrepreneurship. I wish you much success with your lures and your music.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

This is a link to his Facebook page where he plays his latest dulcimer. I don't know if all his dulcimers sound like this one.

https://www.facebook.com/1476972546/videos/pcb.10227628895016066/642826021478704

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

John's given you good advice. Just make sure any wax you use is silicone free. You can call McSpadden and ask them what they would do. Just do a search for The Dulcimer Shoppe or McSpaden and you will find the phone number. BTW, the obvious way to tell that you have four string rather than six string dulcimer is that you have only four tuning machines on the headstock. The FM12W is a nice instrument. Enjoy playing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a beautiful psaltery, Susie. Of course, I wouldn't expect anything less from Masterworks. I am sure it will give you many hours of enjoyment. Thank you for sharing it with us.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sounds like a fun time. It certainly brings back memories watching the Sam the Sham video. Although we have a small coffee shop in our town, it is not much of a hangout. It can seat about 10 to 15 people if that. While the owner roasts his own beans, you really can't get a cup of coffee there. If want a latte or espresso, that's fine, but ask for a cup of black coffee and the wait staff looks at you like you came from another planet. And decaf, no way. Needless to say, I've only been there once since it opened three years ago. Now if they had folk music, I might venture in, but what would I drink? Thanks for sharing your wonderful experience, Strumelia.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great story, Jim. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I think it is an optical illusion created by the shadow and camera angle. With different lighting, especially no glare, and camera directly above the fret board I'm sure you would get a better look at the strings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Following up on John's reply (again), you might join the UK and European Dulcimers Group, and ask if anyone is looking for a dulcimer. John and Paul Crocker are active in the British dulcimer community. John is a member here as John Henry. Paul is also a member here as Paul Crocker. I'm sure there are some folks in Great Britain who would enjoy having an older FolkRoots dulcimer. Best wishes on finding it a. new home.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree, John. The two used FolkRoots dulcimers I bought are doing just that. I look for inexpensive dulcimers that I can rehabilitate which our dulcimer group can put the hands or on the laps of folks who want to learn to play the mountain dulcimer. After a few months of playing those folks usually ask if they can buy the dulcimer they've been playing. As the lending instruments are purchased by students, I start looking to restock the herd.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If Howard Rugg sees this post he can help tell you about the dulcimer. From the information you provide it was completed on July, 26, 1988 and was the first one completed that day. The top is spruce and the body is walnut. It is in very good shape. Without a 6 1/2 fret is not as desirable to dulcimer players today. I would put it at the lower end of John's estimate. I've recently purchased a couple of similar D50s for $125 and $15O.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

My friend, Rob Lackey, had a Mawhee dulcimer. Here is a link to a YouTube video of him with the dulcimer playing Black Eyed Susie. Unfortunately, Rob died a little over a year ago so we can't ask him any more questions about his dulcimer.

You may already be aware of this video if you've done a search for John Mawhee on the internet.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's wonderful, Anne. Glad you enjoyed it and a lovely time. Have a great 2025.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Happy New Year everyone!

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a very nice looking dulcimer and appears to be well constructed which I would expect from a violin maker. A concern I have 's the cracked sound hole on the treble side, lower bout. It looks like it needs to be repaired. Wittner tuners can be put on this instrument. If the holes are too large, they can be plugged and re-drilled. If too small, they can be made larger. The dulcimer does not have a 6 1/2 fret which is popular with finger pickers, but one can be added. I think it would be a good instrument for any player with a little attention to things I mentioned. It might need an adjustment to the action and I have no idea if it is fretted for equal or just temperament. Something I would do if it were my instrument would be to get rid of the current string anchor and replace it with four screws or brass plated nails, one for each string. That will make replacing strings easier.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm sorry. Your photo is too large to see the dulcimer. I can't even read all of your post. Can you resize the photo and then repost it so we can help you with your question?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm not sure where to begin in offering help, but let's start with where your photos of the dulcimer are stored. If on a computer there may be an app that can help edit your photos. I transfer photos from the app to my desktop and when I click on the photo and it opens I have an option to change the size of the photo. I'm on a MacBook and am not sure how you can do that on a PC, but I would guess there is something similar on one.

Another option is to upload your photos to a photo sharing and storage site and then post the link to the photos in your post here.

If you are working with a mobile phone or tablet, I have no experience with uploading photos from those devices.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Matt. That sounds like a lot less work. If you want a round top you could cut a dowel in half or sand it down. Using an overarm router and an extremely small straight cut bit you could rout out the slots for the frets. Just trying to imagine some possibilities.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

For me it would depend upon how deep the scallops are. One method might be to use a variety of thickness of drum sanders. Another method would be to cut kerfs across the fretboard and then use a chisel to remove the wood left after sawing. You might need a file to smooth out the surface a little. Just a couple of quick things that come to mind.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, I wish I had paid closer attention to the details back in 1974 when I began my friendship with Lynn McSpadden. I didn't pay much attention to the kits or teardrop dulcimers at the time as I was enamored by the hourglass shape. I guess I built a half dozen or so of them before I started looking at building teardrops.

Ken

The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Okay, time to eat my words and apologize to John for doubting him. I went back and looked at McSpadden catalogs for the late 1970s and early 1980s and found that McSpadden produced a T-K4 kit based on there T-9W dulcimer. The catalog photo, which isn't very good, strongly resembles your dulcimer Marg. It should be approximately  35 1/2" long, 5 7/8" wide, and 2 1/2" deep. It describes the peg head as having "a single leprechaun shoe curl. 

John, I think you nailed it. Again my apology for ever doubting you. You the man!

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Marg, there really isn't a nut as the zero fret serves that purpose. It is a string guide to keep the strings in the right places. I think Wally may be on to something. The peg head looks similar to one I had on a Dulcimer Factory instrument (which I no longer have). On to further searching.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm not as sure as John is about the provenance of this dulcimer. The only thing that speaks McSpadden to me is the zero fret. I'll need to look through my McSpadden material to check. I don't know that much about the years from1962 - 1974, so I'll see what is in the files. The material used in making this instrument and sound holes appear to un-McSpadden like to me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Very nice collection, Peter. At least while the McSpadden's owned the company no dulcimer was made by an individual. According to Lynn McSpadden the person who was responsible for gluing on the backs on a particular day was the one who signed the dulcimer. By that time someone made the fretboard, another worked on bending the sides, another gluing the sides to peg head and tail piece, etc. The last glue up was adding the back to the already completed top, sides, fret board, tail piece, and peg head glue up. After that someone else did the final sanding. Then there was the next step of applying the lacquer finish by someone else. There were at least four or five people who signed dulcimers initially. I think Richard Stolze and Larry McSpadden continued to work for the Dulcimer Shoppe after it was sold, so they continued to sign instruments. If people want to believe that one person made their dulcimer, they can do so, but that simply wasn't the case with McSpadden dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I have a video from McSpadden produced in the mid 1970s where Lynn McSpadden says that used aliphatic resin glue in building his dulcimers. This is what I used when I made my first few dulcimers around that time. It came in a can as a powder which you mixed with a prescribed amount of water. Of course, you could make it as thin or thick as you liked, but the thicker you made it caused the glue to crystalize creating weak joints.

Lynn began making a dulcimer in 1962 and finished it in 1963. I don't remember him ever telling me that he used hide glue.

White Elmer's glue has a polyvinyl acetate base. The yellow wood glues contains less water and is aliphatic resin based.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Back in 1974 I would guess that McSpadden recommended using a wood glue like Original Titebond or Elmer's Wood Glue. As John says, they'd only have a drop or two of glue coming from the factory, but if this is a home assembled kit, it is difficult to know what glue was used. I could be white Elmer's glue which makes it very easy to disassemble. You might check at Stew-Mac to see what nut blanks they have available. I'm sure you can find something that will fit your dulcimer. You want to the surface of the nut butting up against the fret side of the slot. If it were to butt up against the peg head side you would be changing the VSL and throwing the intonation of the strings out of whack.

John's suggestion of check at a Guitar Center or local music shop for a nut blank is also a good idea. You won't pay shipping that way.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with John on the 1/8" spacing. Any closer and you are sure to have problems. Depending upon the glue used your should be able to remove the bridge with either water/heat for wood glue or a sharp side ways rap with a hammer for super glue. In the first method I use a little water placed along the bridge where it meet the slot it is in and then use a heat gun to soften the glue. As the glue softens I can pry the bridge out of the slot. In the second method I use a piece of wood the width of the nut, place it against one side of the nut, then hit the wood sharply with a hammer. It doesn't have to be hard hit. Make sure you have the dulcimer securely clamped in place so it doesn't move when you hit the bridge. On hourglass dulcimers I place the dulcimer on its side and can put my right arm in its waist while holding the stick on the bridge. Then I can give it rap with a hammer. Be careful.

I have used very fine wood particles which I save from sanding. I have small bottles of ebony, rosewood, walnut, maple, and oak dust which I use on corresponding bridges. The finer the wood dust, the better. Even though it will harden quickly, I let it set for an hour or so before trying to add new slots.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'll second John's post. The FolkRoots kit will make a very nice dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."