My oldest dulcimer is from 1931. It doesn't party. I don't take it out on camping trips or to parties. I do take it to mountain dulcimer events and allow others to play it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Way to go! That will be a great help with your restoration.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thank you, Strumelia.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks for the photo, XLIV. As you can see it is too large to show the entire instrument. You might try resizing your photo and reposting it. I usually post my mine at 8 x 10 inches or 5 by 7, but sometimes my mind slips and I post them at 8 1/2 by 11.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Please post some photos of the unfinished rebec project. I assume you want to finish the project. I'll offer what advice I can after I see what you have. Sounds like an interesting undertaking.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I agree with Strumelia that 27" is pretty much "the normal/standard range for a dulcimer." If you haven't already done so, you might check out this site: https://dulcimercentral.com/gallier-dulcimers
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Twenty-seven inches is my favorite VSL. I use 28.5 inches on dulcimers for noter playing. I think if you do the calculations on the Strothers calculator they won't be to far off from what I suggested. Restring that dulcimer. It deserves to be played and enjoyed.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks for photos Jonathan. It looks like the builder may have miscalculated the placement of the seventh fret and moved it but never filled in the slot. Not sure what another reason would be. Your dulcimer looks nice.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Jonathan, can you post a photo of your dulcimer? It may help us to better help you. Also, if you the maker of the dulcimer that would be helpful. Since your father played noter style, it makes sense to start learning in DAA. You double melody strings would be tuned to the A below middle C. The middle string would be the same. The next two strings would "d" and "D" respectively. The bass D, your thick string would be the D below middle C and the other "d" would be just above middle C.
Using 29 inches as the vibrating string length which you estimated to 28-30 inches, the "A" strings would be 0.012, the "D" string would be 0.018, and the high d 0.009. The Strothers string calculator tends to be "light" on string string suggestions so I would change the D to 0.020 and the d to 0.010. If those turn out to be to loose when tuned to pitch you could try 0.011 or 0.012 for the d and 0.022 for the D. You can find the calculator here.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm not Ken Hulme.I'm the other Ken. Here is the link to his article: https://fotmd.com/strumelia/group_discuss/2316/ken-hulmes-i-just-got-a-dulcimer-now-what-article
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
No one in our family plays instruments so would you have any ideal what I should ask for this Mark Blair dulcimer or any suggestions on a member that might like to have it?
Another possibility if you aren't interested in the money would be to donate it to the Appalachian Dulcimer Museum in Sperryville, VA. I'm sure John Hallberg would be interested if he doesn't already have one.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
@ken-longfield , you never fail to amaze me with how much you know about dulcimers and their makers.
Thanks, Strumelia. I've been around the Appalachian dulcimer world since the late 1960s. Over the years I've met many folks in this community. If I hadn't worked most weekends since 1969 I might have met more. Keeping my eyes and ears open I learned about the history of and people who love the Appalachian dulcimer. I'm still learning and enjoy every new encounter with dulcimer folk and history.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I agree with John and olddog75 that $300 is a fair price if you are looking to get it in to the hands of someone who will enjoy playing it. Of course you can always ask for more and if it doesn't sell lower the price. It just depends upon whether you want to get it in the hands of a player or try to make money.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Mark Blair made some wonderful dulcimers. He, along with his wife Carol, wrote a couple of books of music for Appalachian dulcimer. One is a book of hymns, Best Loved Hymns for Appalachian Dulcimer and the other was a book of Christmas hymns. I think the latter might have been self published. Back in November, 2024 I spent some time with his wife, Carol, and their son. We had a good time reminiscing about the dulcimer community around Washington, D.C. in the lat 1960s and 1970s. Looking at the Facebook page John suggested I see that he made 700 dulcimers. I would consider him one of the "revival" builders.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Robin, it is a possibility. I don't have the Foxfire plans in front of me to compare, but from the photos posted there are differences from the Mize dulcimers I've seen. The tuning pegs are not quite the same shape and the end block is different from Mize dulcimers. I can't see the peg head well enough to make a comparison. Folks who use plans like Mize's are known to make modifications that appeal to the builder. If the owner of this dulcimer does find a label inside we will know for sure.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The dulcimer looks familiar but I can't place it with a builder at the moment. It appears to be well built and the wood is very nice. I think the to is butternut and the rest of the dulcimer is walnut. It has a 6 1/2 fret but not 13 1/2 fret (octave). Wood tuning pegs are not something most players appreciate these days. On a good day you might be able to sell it for $300 - $350 but without the builder's name that could be a very optimistic. In reality it may only bring between $200 - $300.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
My guess is that if you play in modern finger picking style it would be helpful, but I've never played a mountain dulcimer with a radiused fret board. I see that some banjos which have traditionally had flat fret boards are now being made with radiused fret boards. There are some dulcimer makers who are doing fret boards with a radius, but I can't remember who they are. As to pros and cons, I have no idea.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
My experience with Black Mountain dulcimers is that they are good instruments. They are not fancy, but are well built, play well, and sound good. Back in the 1970s and 80s I considered them an excellent entry level instrument which could become a lifetime instrument. Whether or not it is an upgrade from your current dulcimer you will have to determine from playing it. They have a very comfortable VSL and in my opinion make very nice chording dulcimers.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm glad that was helpful. Often it takes it a little experimenting to get right action for your playing style.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I really can’t tell much from the photos and am not sure what you want to know. Folkcraft kits came in two shapes; hourglass and teardrop. From the scroll in the photo yours appears to be an hourglass shaped one. I’m not sure what style nuts and bridges were used back in 1987. I think they are similar to the current Delvin bridges. You can see them on the Folkcraft website. Usually the bridges needed a lot of trimming to get a good string height.
Ken
”The dulcimer sings a sweet song.”
You're welcome. If you need any help with the replacement let me know. I've done it many times.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
If the screw has bottomed out you can place a washer between the wall of the peg head and the shaft of the peg to increase the distance the screw travels. Then you can tighten the peg again. If this method isn't to your liking, you can replace them with geared tuners. The Dulcimer Shoppe sells ones that they put on their instruments. I've used them on a few dulcimers as replacements. Tuning pegs They take a 10mm or 3/8 inch hole which is about the same size as the hole in your kit dulcimer. It is fairly easy to do the replacement.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sounds reasonable to me too.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well, this is really for everyone. There is a Chat feature on FOTMD and I'm not sure many people know about it. At one time we had a rather active group or folks who showed up in the chat from time to time to visit with one another. You can find it in the bottom right hand corner. It is a blue ballon with three red dots on it in a white square. If you click on this it opens the chat window. Sometimes folks log in early in the morning before work which is what I did for a long time. Since I've been retired I don't get up that early anymore. I usually check to see if anyone else is in the chat window when I check in to FOTMD. If you see me there, or anyone else for that matter, stop in and say Hello.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
What Dusty said. That' what I do.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Molly, I agree with Richard although if you put it on an auction site it could go for more. It could go for less, too.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I pretty much agree with Richard's advice. I have a one of Warren's dulcimers and have no problem with the original tuners (wood). If I were to replace the tuners I would try to find some that fit without any modification to the tapered holes. There might be some Wittner tuners that fit. I'd keep the original tuners so the next owner of the dulcimer can decide which she/he prefers. If you are looking at the dulcimer as an investment (hoping it will appreciate in value) I wouldn't change it or play it. I'd box it up and store it away. If on the other hand you bought it so that you can enjoy playing it, you should make the modifications needed to make it playable for you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks for sharing your good news Jen. It's good to have you back and I hope you stay active. Let us know if you have any questions.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Enjoy your new to you dulcimer. Like John, over the years I've built several McSpadden kits; always for others. I'm glad to you found an instrument you like because it means you will play it often. If you need any other help let us know.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dwain gave you a very good run down on the various aspects of wound strings. In the end, if you experiment with different strings, it all depends on the sound you like. It is interesting to note (pun not intended) that the sound you hear as a player is not necessarily the sound someone listening to you play hears. Strum you dulcimer strings a few times and listen. Then ask someone to strum the strings while you sit about ten feet away from the dulcimer. Does it sound the same? Is there a difference? When you play you hear the sound from above and maybe slightly behind the dulcimer. When listen from ten feet away you hear the sound from a lateral position. Another aspect is volume which drives me crazy with our dulcimer group. Folks play to hear themselves, but five feet away your can hardly hear them. Put some force in to that strumming, I tell them. It might work for a quarter of one verse of a song.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I made my first dulcimer over 50 years ago. I've accumulated quite a few since then. Some instruments may only come out of a case once every five years or more. I have never detuned the strings and have noticed no particular ill effects on the these dulcimers. If anything, the strings maybe need to be changed after such a long time. But the the dulcimers themselves are fine.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I sent a link to a Facebook post about Jim Good. As you can see he made five string dulcimers; two melody strings, a middle string, and bass strings. He was an excellent craftsman and his instruments are treasured by those who own them. Your dulcimer appears to be in very good condition. Non-mechanical (wood) tuning pegs are not desired by many folks today and may affect the selling price of the dulcimer. It isn't easy to estimate a price for an instrument like this. If you put it on eBay and find a couple of folks who want a Jim Good dulcimer it could go for $500 or more. If you put a fixed price on it and sold through this website or one of the Facebook dulcimer websites you could probably sell it for $300-$350.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It's a nice looking dulcimer, but I don't have a clue as to who made it. I've never seen one like it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Few people seem to perform the old songs/tunes as solo pieces. They are most often found in the performances of dulcimer clubs or in jams at festivals. One person that consistently plays old time music, mostly from fiddle tunes, is Don Pedi.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Like Robin, I was able to identify them because I have a Blue Lion with those tuners.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
If the dulcimer is a Blue Lion as Robin suggested those are Schaller tuning machines. Here is a link to the Schaller website. These are very high quality tuners made in Germany.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Since the recommendation is to play in the DAA tuning I looked through my library of dulcimer instruction books. Some early MelBay books like Fun with the Dulcimer and Cripple Creek Dulcimer are good places to start. Another book that has lots of familiar tunes is this one: The Best Dulcimer Method - Yet! Those books can get you started. The DAA scale begins on the 3rd fret. The 10th fret is the octave of the third fret. Knowing that you should be able to start picking out some simple tunes.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Robert, you did a fantastic job on restoring your Arthur Dixon dulcimer. It has that original mountain sound that I like so much. Thanks for sharing the video. I'm glad that you found us here and that we could offer some helpful advice.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Yes, that makes sense. You need to make the touch point of the string on the bridge just a little higher than the tail so that the string is vibrating from the bridge and not the tail piece. So you are right that you will need to make a new bridge.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
