Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

I'm curious about how folks here have joined or used the new ED site. There does not seem to be many folks participating there and I wonder why? Could it be that the administrator remains anonymous creating a less friendly and personable atmosphere? Bruce Ford, the creator of the original ED, participated using his name and we knew a little bit about him. The same is true of Lisa here and Bobby at The Traditional Mountain Dulcimore site. Even at Discovering Dulcimers on Facebook some of us know the originator, Maria, and Wayne Anderson who maintains the page. What do the rest of you think?

That's a really nice looking Fender Strat. The Champion 20 is great amp. Here is a photo of guitar I built. I use it with a Fender Mustang LT 25.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

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LisavB, I'm glad to hear your are using your stay-home time well. I'd love to see your pick Fender Strat. Last summer I built a Fender Strat look alike from a kit. I painted it emerald green. It is my first and only electric guitar. I bought a cool little Fender amp to go with it. Haven't tried cutting my own hair yet, but that may be in the future.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm not a big fan of the single wooden peg as a string anchor. I think wrapping all the strings around it looks ugly. Just my opinion. I use brass coated brads which I install in a line, either in a horizontal line or on a slant. I generally cut the heads off the brads so that I can use either loop or ball end strings. I like having a separate anchor for each string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I first met Maddie when both of us worked in Shenandoah National Park. I can't remember if we first met in 1971 or 1973.  Occasionally my wife and I would drive from our location at Loft Mountain to see and hear Maddie perform at Skyland. This was in her pre-mountain dulcimer days. She played guitar and (I think) was just beginning to play hammered dulcimer. We had some good times in the park, but lost track of each other after my wife and I finished our stint at Shenandoah in 1973. A few years later we reacquainted, when we saw she was presenting a concert in our area. By then she was playing mountain dulcimer and I had begun building them. Over the years our paths crossed a few times and I wound up submitting an article to DPN which led to my doing a few more on dulcimer builders. When Maddie and Ralph began mountain dulcimer week at Shenandoah University, I signed up. This led to my running sound for all the concerts and helping out by making copies for the workshop leaders. I also did a few workshops on dulcimer maintenance. All of this was at Maddie's urging ( she would not take "no" as an answer). She even managed to get me on stage to play with other workshop leaders. I must say that she was very good about getting me out of my comfort zone. She was always so positive and encouraging. Even though we did not see each other often, I will miss Maddie and our friendship.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I, too, live in a rural area. All our dulcimer activities are cancelled because the nursing homes where we usually play are not allowing visitors. Also, a community Lenten service were to play at was cancelled. So I just plan to stay at home, play music, and work in the workshop. I have a PA German zitter to repair and a few instruments I hope to build. I should keep fairly busy. Oh, and I have some writing to do. The more I think about, the busier I will be.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, a Folkcraft, but I don't think it is a kit. The kits did not have that type of peg head.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sound posts were used by "Uncle Ed" Thomas and Charles N. Prichard in their dulcimers. Thomas had two sound posts; one about the 3rd fret and one about the 10th fret. Prichard had one sound post in the center of the fretboard. A friend made a reproduction of the Prichard dulcimer and when I asked him if he put in a sound post, he replied that he hadn't. He did on the next one he built and noticed an increase in the volume of the dulcimer. I put one in a dulcimer I recently built. People have commented on how nice it sounds, but I can't say for sure it was because of the addition of the sound post. Matt is correct. If you want more volume from a mountain dulcimer, add a possum board.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Indeed, it is a small world. You did a nice job figuring out what you needed to do. It looks like a very nice instrument.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If you can contact the folks at the luthiery in Hindman, Ky, they may be able to help you. I am sure that they have seen and handled many Amburgey dulcimers. Do a google search for  Hindman, KY and Doug Naselroad. The Appalachian Artisan Center and the Hindman Settlement School are other things to look for. Hope this helps you.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Marg, I've seen explanations for the differing directions of the hearts, but darned if I can remember them. Most of the early dulcimers had the hearts with the bottom pointing to the left. One theory for the change is that they looked better hanging on a wall with the hearts pointing down.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Marg, I certainly do. This photo was taken by John Huron shortly after he finished restoring the dulcimer. Somewhere I have a video of Joe Collins playing it. I'll see if I can find it. There are photos of it from the first Berea gathering as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

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Nina, the 1,500 number is not absolute. It is based on a guess that he made some dulcimers before he started numbering them. I'm not saying that I have the last one that he made, but a higher number has not surfaced yet. Thomas was helpful in moving the mountain dulcimer out of the mountains. Women who worked at the settlement schools purchased instruments and gave them to friends and/or relatives in New England. It is reported that he sent one to Eleanor Roosevelt and the King of England. I'm not sure that either of those reports has been verified.

Marg, some information needs to be updated. I own a J.E. Thomas dulcimer, #1465 dated February,1931.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thank you Susie and Robin. I've never had a 12 fret guitar and didn't want another dreadnaught. This one is based on the Martin 00 design. It will be a steel string guitar. I'll post photos when I finish it and may play a few chords so you can hear how it sounds.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Back in 2015 I asked my luthier friend if he would help me build a guitar. He agreed and I started work. Over the last four years there have been many interruptions due to illness, travel, and my friend remodeling his house and using his shop for storage space. I've been back at it recently and today we set the place for the bridge and saddle. Here are three photos of where I am on this project. After taking the photos I took the neck off and pore filled the neck. I also did a final sanding on the body before it enters the spray booth later this week or early next week. The body will be nitrocellulose lacquer while the neck will be finished with Tru-oil. As you can see more frets need to be added to the fret board which will happen when the neck is permanently attached to the body. While all this is going on I am restoring two PA German zitters and continuing to build a couple of dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

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What a wonderful song which is performed well. Thanks for posting it here Robin.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well Happy Anniversary to the Heart of the Dulcimer Podcast. I enjoy listening to the podcasts.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I had learned of David's death on FaceBook. His passing leaves a large hole in the folk music world. Salt, I do remember Jose Greco and Arthur Rubinstein. Both were wonderful performers in their own right.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Way to go, Glen!

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, Rain Dog, the new site began on January 13, 2020. It is starting to be populated by former members and new folks.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Greg. I knew that at least one of those fellows did that.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I remember a builder who made fine tuners out of small trapezoidal shaped blocks of ebony. I'm not sure if it was Walt Martin, Keith Young, George Orthey, or someone else. They worked very well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Like KenH, I've never heard of him and agree that you have a very nice looking dulcimer. Working for Huss and Dalton he should have good experience in instrument building.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Glad to hear that playing one instrument is helping you play the other. When I first started playing guitar I did stretching exercises for my left hand to reach some of the chords. The span of my left hand from tip of thumb to to of pinky when spread to its widest is greater than on my right hand. After you play for some time, I am sure you will notice this difference as well. Have fun learning your instruments.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with the others; a job well done. Thanks for sharing this delightful performance.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks, Dusty. I enjoyed the video and was impressed that the group took the songs at a nice even pace (slowly).

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with Skip that it may be a problem with the slot in the nut, but also it could be a problem with the saddle/bridge as well. You may need to fill the slots and recut the slots for that one string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I've used a "D" tuning on my banjo and played the melody on one of the D strings using the rest of the strings as drones. It is not ideal, but works.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

You chose RVW's Fantasia on Greensleeves as an example of what you would like to do. A fantasia often involves playing with a "theme" or phrase of music in several different styles. It tends to be highly improvisational. You really need to be very familiar with and comfortable with the tune before you start improvising on it. One of my favorites is Seven Variations on God Save the King.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Great to hear that you have the McSpadden. Enjoy the dulcimer. I'm sure you will have fun playing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Definitely over.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I found the Nature Coast Dulcimer Works site. That repair looks very similar to the one I did. That's cool having a Diamond dulcimer with f-holes. I don't think they made a lot of them like that. Enjoy your dulcimer. Lucky, Louise, and the crew were pioneers in the revival era of dulcimer building.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

No, I'm not. I'm In central Pennsylvania. The Diamond I repaired was a six-string dulcimer. Talk about a long peg head. Here is a photo of the repaired dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

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I'm pretty sure that Lucky used a floating bridge. I just checked a photo of a Diamond dulcimer I repaired, the peg head was broken off, and it looks like a floating bridge. If I go into my shop records I could confirm that, but I'm too lazy this afternoon to head down to the basement.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Angelina, Lucky made his dulcimers with a long vibrating string length making them perfect for noter/drone style playing. You can check, but I think the length is about 29 inches. I think he originally tuned them to CGG and later used DAA. Of course, with the proper strings you can  tune to DAd.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Happy Thanksgiving. Enjoy.

As many have mentioned the Hindman and Berea gatherings have brought many of us together. It is a festivals that I met many of the folks from FOTMD or the dearly departed Everything Dulcimer site. I think the number of members I've met in person is over twenty. I know it is getting too high for me to count on all my fingers and toes.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

In DAA you have three notes below the starting note of the scale. In DAd you have to grab those notes on the middle string. Although no one know who originated the double melody string, we suppose it was to increase the melody line of a tune. DAd makes it easy to play tunes across the fretboard rather than in the linear pattern of DAA. If you play noter/drone style you still have the same drone notes in both tunings.

We don't have dumb questions here. We ask questions to learn and grow. There is nothing dumb about that. Please feel to ask questions for which you do not have answers. We do our best to answer them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I forgot to answer your other questions. I am not sure to which of Mel Bays books your are referring to in you question. Some of the Mel Bay books offer both DAA and DAd tunings. These being the most popular tunings. Other books also include DAc and other tunings. Currently, DAd is the default tuning for most dulcimer festivals and clubs, although folk are beginning to discover and appreciate DAA and other tunings.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."