Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

You can use this website to calculate the string size: http://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html . It tends to be a little on the light side. When I did the calculations, I came up with D = 0.018, A = 0.012, and d = 0.0090. I would suggest trying 0.020, 0.014, and 0.010. When you take the strings off, you can use a small block of wood and hammer to knock the pegs out if they do not come out on their own. You can clean them off with a mild soap. Murphy's Oil Soap works well. A small amount of peg dope available from a violin or music shop can help lubricate the pegs for easy turning and grip. I also use the Murphy's for cleaning the entire instrument. Where the scratches are, you might need to sand them out and refinish the area. It depends upon how much you want go get rid of them. Best wishes on your project and the new (to you) dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thank you for sharing this sad news, Jan. My sympathy goes out to all who knew Brian. I enjoyed chatting with him.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for sharing that poem John.It is beautiful. I'm adding it to my collection of dulcimer related literature.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I don't know about the best place, but you can find limberjacks all over the Internet. The places I would usually suggest are either no longer in business or no longer carry them. Are you sure you don't want to make another one?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Dear Bob and Sue by Matt and Karen Smith. They visit all 58 national parks and write about it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Humidity swells wood. A well constructed dulcimer should not suffer from humidity. If you are going to play outside in high humidity for 14 or 15 hours a day, you might have a problem. If you play mostly inside in a humidity controlled environment, you should have few, if any, problems. My philosophy is that if you are comfortable, your instrument will be comfortable.

I wouldn't over matter much about this.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Frets wear due to the pressure of the strings on them. Do you press really hard on the strings? If so, you might notices some grooves in the fret board as well. Another factor is the amount of playing time. Do you play 23 hours a day, seven days a week? I have not used stainless steel frets, but I understand that they hold up to even the toughest playing. I'm not familiar with the Evo fret material. I have no experience with it. If you can't adjust your playing pressure, you may need to try the harder frets.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Currently reading Ghost Ship by Clive Cussler and Graham Brown. I finished both the Jefferson book and the latest issue of Fretboard Journal.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That's a great idea, Ken. My son left a keyboard stand in the attic when he moved out, but my concern has been that it isn't that sturdy when strumming. I'll have to dig it out and give it a try. The tray table looks to be more stable. If mother nature has its way, I may have plenty of time to do that on Tuesday after shoveling snow.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with Dusty. Check the string calculator. It tends to give a "lighter" gauge string setting so you can always go up, e.g., if it says 0.010 you can use an 0.011 or 0.012. For a 27 VSL I like .011, .013, and .024. As for the bridge material, what is the nut made of? Most builders use the same material for the nut and the bridge. Just match it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

On a standard 88 key piano, middle C is C4. Middle C has a frequency of 261.63 Hz. Yamaha uses C3 because that corresponds to MIDI note 60.When the note is pressed, you are actually playing a frequency of 261.63 Hz. If you set your tuner to A=440 Hz. As Dusty says, the D is below middle C, A below middle C, and d above middle C if you tune DAd.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Unless I'm doing a reproduction of an older dulcimer, I make them four string. My personal preference for playing is 3 string. It's easier to do hammer ons and pull offs on a single string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm still reading Thomas Jefferson The Art of Power. I just received the latest issue of The Fretboard Journal, so I'm reading that as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Very nice looking dulcimer. You don't see many with staple frets under all the strings. It's hard to tell from the photos, but the wood may be mahogany. There's no label inside? Do you know what kind of tuners it had on it originally?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'm now reading Thomas Jefferson The Art of Power by John Meacham. Also reading the latest issue of Martin - The Journal of Acoustic Guitars.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I remember we sang Happy Birthday if any of our classmates had one on a school day. Songs that I recall are Skip to My Lou; Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star, Sweet Betsy from Pike and I Ride An Old Paint (Cowboy day in first grade), and as we moved on we used at song book entitled  Twice 55 which had 110 songs in it. Here is a link to it on Amazon:  Twice 55 .

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, Dusty, that's the article. There are a number of other interesting articles in the book including one on Barbara Allen, folk music in schools in an highly industrialized society, and professionalism and amateurism in the study of folk music to name a few. The book (ex-library) cost me 99 cents, but with shipping and tax I wound up paying 5 dollars.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I just started Silent Prey by John Sandford. It is one of his Lucas Davenport novels. I just finished James Patterson's Cross the Line which was a Christmas present from my son and daughter-in-law. Yesterday I received Studies in Musicology 1935 -1975 which is compilation of articles written by Charles Seeger. I ordered it mostly for the article on the Appalachian dulcimer, but several of the other articles look interesting. I probably won't read the entire book.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I tune my banjo F#, D, F#, A, D (from 5th to 1st string). You can play melody on the first string just like on the dulcimer. I use a clawhammer or a two-finger style strum.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Steven, enjoy your new dulcimer which I am sure you will.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The paraffin on the ends will keep the wood from drying too quickly. I dried some walnut in my unheated attic for several years. I just stacked and stickered it and left it there until I needed it for a project. Sounds like you are on the right track.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Lisa, your impression of Alan is correct. His contribution to preserving and disseminating folk music; especially fiddle tunes, is tremendous. We owe him a great debt of gratitude for his hard and enduring work in this field. He will missed by family, friends, and colleagues. Rest in peace, Alan.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Jennifer, while I can not be certain, from the photos it does look like cherry. That would be my guess.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

On Saturday at the Pocono Dulcimer Club Winterfest I encountered a similar dulcimer. The shape is the same. The peg head shape is slightly different. The pegs on the one I saw are wood, not mechanical friction tuners as in the photo here. The lower sound holes are identical, but the upper sound holes on the one I saw are round. Another difference is that the one I examined was made of wormy chestnut. There was no label inside. Bill Davis did sell kits but I do not know whether any of them were this style. This shape is also the shape used to make the "Masterpiece" dulcimer in Chet Hines book How to Make and Play the Dulcimore.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Back in the mid-1970s while visiting International Violin Company in Baltimore, the owner talked me in to trying some "marine" grade plywood he had on hand for a dulcimer. It was mahogany on the outer layers. It worked well for a teardrop dulcimer. I did not to try doing an hourglass bend with it. I did not weigh it, but I thought it was a little heavier than my solid rosewood dulcimers of the same pattern. I also made a courting dulcimer using the plywood for the back and sides. It seemed to work well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It's always great to meet other members in person. Glad the two of you found some time to play together. Thanks for sharing the photo. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If you play a lot of chord/melody style playing this might not be the best dulcimer for you. Think of how you would play a 1-0-4 chord or even a 1-0-3 chord. How easy is it to make a 2-3-4 or 2-3-5 chord on the 28 inch scale. You could use a fret scale calculator and print out a 29 inch template, cut it out, lay it on a table and try chording. On the other hand, if you do some noter player, this will be an excellent dulcimer. One other consideration is that it will look very nice hanging on your wall.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Good article. Thanks for sharing it, Lisa.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Also, for the bass string, you might try a nickel wound string rather than a bronze wound string.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

It would help to the VSL (vibrating string length) of the dulcimer. Measure it from the inside of the nut (fretboard side) to the inside of the bridge. Also, I have not idea what a "pluckier" sound is. Is it high pitched? bright? shrill?

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song.

Jan, I have never used FingerEase. I did use FastFret for a while. From my searching the Internet, I understand that FingerEase contains silicone which is a great lubricant, but not friendly if an instrument needs repair. It prevents finishes from sticking to the wood even after the wood has been sanded bare. Your use of it by spraying a cloth first and then putting in the strings/fretboard helps keep the silicone off the rest of the instrument. FastFret is a mineral oil based string/fretboard treatment.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Your friend did a very nice job of  restoring the instrument. It looks good. I trust that you are enjoying playing it. Thanks for sharing.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

There you go, Robin.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The Mummers may be making a comeback up north, but here in Pennsylvania they are an 118 year old tradition.  http://phillymummers.com . I always liked the string band tradition. All those folks walk down the parade route in fancy costumes playing banjos. I'm glad to see it being picked up again in Newfoundland.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song." And the banjo can be loud and raucous.

Thank you! Best wishes to you too!

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Sounds like a good deal; dinner and researching an interesting dulcimer. Looking forward to what you find out about this dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Nellie, the head of the screwdriver should be as wide as the slot in the screw head. It can be little wider if the screw is not recessed in to the top of peg. If it is narrower, you can still use it, but it is more likely to damage the screw head. I am guessing that you have mechanical friction tuners that use a flat head screwdriver. If you have open geared guitar tuning machines, you will need a Phillips screwdriver. In that case you will need a #2 Phillips head screw driver.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

 Interesting discovery, Sam. It would be good to know more about it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, I was wrong about the back and sides. Howard tells us that it is koa. What a great find.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Howard can give you the full details on your instrument, but since the label says "Rugg & Jackel" that would mean it was made during or after 1976. Before then it would have been "Rugg, Rugg and Jackel." The D200 is the model number with the "S" signifying a spruce top. The back and sides appear to be mahogany. I can't tell if they were still using a laminated wood at this point. I'm sure if Howard see this, he will offer the definitive answer. Hope this helps.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."