Quartersawn wood is certainly nice; especially for bending, but it is not necessary. You can make a fine dulcimer out of slab cut wood. Just be careful when bending the sides. Personally, I would make the whole thing from ash if i had enough. I don't like mixing too many woods.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Here is a picture of Pete that was posted over at Banjo Hangout. I think it is very typical of Pete and I would share it here.
I not only remember them, but I have a couple. I also remember the LP pictured above.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks DT, I appreciated your musical tribute to Pete.
Here is one way I will remember him: It's a song I enjoy playing on my dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Pete influenced a couple of generations of folk musicians. While he will be missed his influence will be felt for many years to come. RIP Pete. I'm glad to have known you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a new song."
I am with DustyT in saying "Dress in whatever makes you most comfortable." Usually for indoor events I dress in slacks with an Oxford cloth shirt (short or long sleeve depending upon the time of year and temperature). For most outdoor events I wear jeans unless it is very hot. Then I wear shorts and a t-shirt. Outdoors I always wear a hat with a brim to cover my ears. I do this for medical reasons. Most of the time it is a straw Panama hat. I have worn a variety of footwear from my New Balance walking shoes to work books.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hi Ruth, I am sorry I did not see this post earlier. Robin Thompson just alerted me to it. While you can certainly use strings that are 40 years old, be prepared for some breakage. You can clean the strings using Scotchbrite or one of the artificial steel wool products. You can also use steel wool, but it is very messy and hard to clean up. You can unscrew the covers over the chord bars to clean underneath. Just keep the chord bars in the same position as you take them off so that you can put them back in the same place. You might list the bars on a piece of paper from left to right or vice versa. There are little springs under the chord bars. Be careful that they do not pop out. You can spend a great deal of time searching for them. Don't ask me how I know that! You might find a music store in you area the will sell a single autoharp string to replace the broken one. Sets of 36 autoharp strings are fairly expensive. Yes, you do need to use autoharp strings and not guitar strings. The autoharp strings are wound to fit the harp. It is not a difficult task to restring the harp. Another thing to watch out for is the felt falling off the chord bars. After 40 years the glue that holds the felt in place can dry out. You may need to glue pieces of felt back in place. Other than that, you should be able to clean the harps with something like Murphy's Oil Soap and then use a good guitar polish on them. To get the crud on the inside of the instrument use a vacuum cleaner with a narrow attachment to reach into the hole. You do not need to put it around, just get over the hole and let it suck the stuff out. I hope this helps. If you have any more questions, feel free to send me a private message or you can email me through FOTMD.
Ken
'The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I agree with Geekling; shame on Walmart and/or the employees who made that decision. I am glad to hear that you may have a place to rent. Hang in there Phil. We are all with you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Phil, this is very sad news. Do check in as you can and let us know what is happening. You have my deepest sympathy on your loss.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Ellen, LOL! I enjoyed reading about your dulcimer journey. It brought back fond memories. Thanks for sharing. And Happy Holidays to you also!
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Welcome back Guy.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sounds good Kevin. Looks good as well.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
My dream dulcimer is the next one I make or the one after that or the one after . . .
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I have around a dozen dulcimers. I just call them "my" dulcimers.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
One cardboard mountain dulcimer
One PA German zither replica I built
One hourglass and three teardrop mountain dulcimers I built
Seven mountain dulcimers built by others (Folkcraft, Blue Lion, Sweet Woods, Musical Traditions, Warren May, Uncle Ed Thomas and the Dulcimer Factory)
One autoharp
Three guitars
Three banjos
One 16/15 hammered dulcimer I built
Miscellaneous: tin whistle, harmonicas, jaw harp, bones, spoons, Catspaws, clave, tambourine, etc.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hi Roberta,
What a surprise! I have a Musical Traditions from the company in Sandpoint, Idaho. Mine is a cherry hourglass shaped dulcimer. I could take some pictures and email them to you if you would like them. I mailed the anchor pins late yesterday so they probably went out in this mornings mail from the post office. I think you should have them Tuesday or Wednesday at the latest.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Terry, I love those "ah ha moments" when they occur. Glad to hear about your piano discovery. Keep exploring and experimenting. That's the fun of music.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dennis, Folkcraft makes many dulcimers with internal pickups. I really like the Folkroots line with the Fishman pickup. It has a built in preamp so you do not need one as is the case with piezo pickups. I like that you can adjust the volume right from the instrument once you have your amp set up. Check them out on the Folkcraft website.
I have sold a few Folkcraft hickory dulcimers through my shop. Those who purchased them have been extremely happy with them. They were all hourglass instruments, but that won't make an appreciable difference in sound. Enjoy the dulcimer when you get it. You made a good choice.
Here is the tab from from the Dulcimer Association of Alabama in Huntsville. http://www.hsvmda.com/sites/default/files/tabs/WayfaringStranger.pdf
It is in DAD but you will need to use a capo at the first fret.
Hi Jeni,
1. You can order strings directly from Folkcraft, Prussia Valley Dulcimers, and Just Strings dot com are three places to buy strings. I don't know if Gary carries Folkcraft strings, but if you know the gauges of the strings you just need to buy four single strings in the proper sizes.
2. One reason for the string riding up might be the angle of the hitch pin. Check to see if it is at the same angle as the others.
3. Loop end strings will fit tighter to the base of the hitch. If the problem continues with ball end strings switching is an alternative.
You didn't tell us what make of dulcimer you have. That may help us determine the problem.
Glad to hear about your experience sharing the mountain dulcimer at Grey Fox. Keep up the good work!
Welcome to FOTMD Mike! Good advice so far. If the old finish is lacquer, you can clean it with lacquer thinner and then just re-spray with satin lacquer. You can buy spray lacquer in cans at most hardware stores or home centers. Lacquer can be sprayed over shellac. I usually use a thin coat of shellac before spraying the lacquer on my instruments. Your first job as has already been noted is to identify the finish that is on your dulcimer. Best wishes for a successful completion of your project.
Ken
When I frist started attending dulcimer festivals in the late 1980s,I found that I was looked down upon as I played only in DAA. That is the tuning I learned in and did not know there was another popular tuning. I quickly adjusted to DAd to fit in, but still found myself doing DAA at home. I also played with a noter and that, too, was looked down upon at that time.
A friend of mine who put out a very good book for MD did so in DAA. He received nothing but criticism for doing so. He couldn't sell the book until he finally changed it over to DAd.
I am encouraged by the numbers of people now working on noter/drone style and tunings other than DAd.
As to the West Coast style I find more West Coast folks traveling to East Coast(and mid-continent)festivals and more East Coast people traveling to West Coast festivals. I think some of this is because we are reaching the age of retirement and are not restricted to doing festivals close to home because we have to be at work on Friday or Monday. I think this also applies to the reason we do not see large groups of young people at festivals; they need to be in school on Friday and Monday. Even the summer festivals are difficult for young people who need to work or are required to attend sports or other camps.
I do think festivals are opening up more to the branches.
To reply to Folkfan's question, I came to this music before getting a dulcimer. As a young person I was involved in a weekly square dance group. I want to learn more about the music which led to an interest in folk music in general. It was wanting to play dance music that I became involved in playing guitar, then banjo and eventually the mountain dulcimer.
Randy, I had that dulcimer at Dulcimerville. I don't know if you remember seeing it on the table. It was the one from the Joseph Wallo pattern.
Ken
Randy Adams said:
Not so long Ken...but interesting! I had mentioned International Violin in the past and you replied at that time with the 'short' version. Good to hear the longer story.
The story of my first dulcimer is rather long so bear with me. I wanted a dulcimer, but being a student, getting married, and with graduate school I could just not afford it. In 1973 I met a young man at the Iguana Coffeehouse in Washington, DC. We became friends and in 1974 he told me he was going to build a dulcimer. A man he knew who was retired from the Atomic Energy Commission where he worked was going to teach him how to make it. He told me they were going to Baltimore to buy some wood at International Violin Company. I asked if I could go along. He checked with the man and I was able to go with them. At International Violin Company I picked out six rosewood guitar sides (2 sides make the back and one side is split for the dulcimer sides) and two pieces of sitka spruce for the tops. I had enough wood to build two mountain dulcimers. I also purchased some rosewood tuning pegs and strings. On my day off I would travel from the inner city to Bethesda, Maryland to the man's workshop and work on the dulcimer. After about eight weeks I had a dulcimer.
Now there is more to the story. I was assistant pastor at Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, DC. The coffeehouse was part of our church's ministry to the young adults of DC area. It turns out the man my friend knew was a member of the church. I had not met him because he always attended the early service which the senior pastor always led. Since I was up late with the coffeehouse folks on Saturday night, I didn't usually arrive at the church until 9:30 a.m. on Sunday mornings. The man, whose name is George, and I became good friends. I built five dulcimers in his workshop during my time at that church. George was worried about taking his pastor to International Violin Company in Baltimore as it was located on "The Block" which is where all the strip clubs were at the time. IVC was located above the theatre where Blaze Starr was performing. George's hobby after retiring from the AEC was building violins although he had also made a dulcimer and a guitar.
Oh, and by the way, to the best of my knowledge, the young man who said he was going to build a dulcimer never did. We lost track of each other after we both left Washington so maybe has by now, but not back then.
Sharna, you are fortunate to be near Elderly instruments. They do excellent work. I had them sell a banjo for me and had them recondition it before selling it. I was impressed with what they did. It was better than new. That is a wonderful story about how you acquired your Blue Lion. I purchased mine with money that was left over from settling my father's estate. Every time I pick it up I think of him.
Shana what you need to look for is fret wear. This is usually a groove in the top of the fret worn there from pressing down on the strings. My ten year old Blue is showing some fret wear on the third through fifth frets. It is not enough to replace them yet. The only reason to re-level the frets would be if some were worn down and others were not. In leveling the frets you file down the crown and the crown needs to be put back which is rounding them. Sighting down the fret board should allow you to see if the there are any high frets.
Thanks Chuck. It was made of 1/4 inch plywood. I used the panels from a hollow core door to create the lip. It was originally painted yellow and then I changed it to brown. If I ever took all of those stickers off it would probably fall apart.
Okay, if finally found time to take some pictures of my case. I have used it for almost 40 years. Here they are: 
