Forum Activity for @ken-longfield

We are responding to a thread that is four years old. I'm not sure how popular the Cherub pickup is among mountain dulcimer players as I haven't been to any "live" festivals since the pandemic. Bear in mind that this is a pickup and not a microphone. It responds to vibrations created by the strings and any touch on the instruments surface. It clips on to the top of the dulcimer through a sound hole. It may not fit in narrow or small sound holes. I'd be interested in knowing how it works if anyone here uses one.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Autoharp seem to find their way to me, although don't play. I usually either give them away or sell them. My sister has an autoharp which I completely repadded at one time. I've replaced pads on other autoharps as well. Also replaced string, repaired tuning pegs, etc. Partly, this is because I have friends who play and also having been friends with George Orthey and a friend of Greg Schreiber. I also hosted and emcee autoharp concerts for about 20 years, so I know a lot of professional players and builders. I enjoy listening to autoharp music.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I built my first three dulcimers under the tutelage of a violin maker, so I had good instruction on fitting pegs. While I can describe the process, watching it is probably better. There are some good videos on YouTube that deal with peg fitting. Anyone can check them out if they want to the job. For me the process was watch one, do one with my teacher watching over the process, and do another on my own.  Of course, like any task it gets easier with practice. You develop a feel for your tools and the process. It would have been easier for Curt if the original owner kept the original pegs. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Curt, you can buy the pegs and install them yourself. Bear in mind that the pegs are tapered and the hole into which they go must be tapered as well. A viola size hole reamer is the tool you will need to do this. Also, if the holes were enlarged for the banjo tuners, they will need to be plugged, drilled, and reamed. It depends upon how much time and money you want to spend. Pegs are inexpensive, reamers are not although since you are only doing this one job you can probably get away with an inexpensive one.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Hi, Nate, I'm the other Ken. Here is a link to an NPR segment on the Lego dulcimer made by Peter Alway: https://www.npr.org/2005/02/06/4487244/lego-my-dulcimer As far as I know Peter was the first person to build a mountain dulcimer out of Lego blocks.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song.:

Hi Dwain, I didn't say that the tuners were mechanical. They are, as you noted, Grover Stay-Tites which are friction tuners. I think they came in banjo and ukulele sizes. Those on Curt's dulcimer appear to be banjo size.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

A slight correction, Ken, Backyard Instruments began selling cardboard dulcimers in 1980. I don't know if they were the first, but that's 44 years of cardboard dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I'll need to check my files on Sunhearth later today to be certain, but I don't think Walt Martin was offering those Grover banjo pegs as an upgrade in 1975.  If you send me a private message with your email address I will send you pdfs of the 1974 Sunhearth flyer. I also have two magazine articles on Walt Martin and Sunhearth that I can send as well if you are interested.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Like my brother Ken, I have never heard of this maker. I agree with his assessment.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

GreatLakes 73, the others have given you the advice I would have given. Unless you have a Folkcraft or McSpadden who market specific strings for their instruments, dulcimer players should buy individual strings and make up their own sets. I'm surprised how often in doing repairs and I need to restring someone's dulcimer they are surprised to find that I don't have specific sets but rather have tubes of individual strings in various gauges. Many times they come back to buy strings from me even though I tell them they get the strings from JustStrings.com or from other vendors. Of course, that also means that they want me to change the strings for them. I hope you find what you need.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Here is a link to the obituary for Rob Lackey. https://spicermullikin.com/robert-neil-lackey/ It is in the chat area, but I know some folks don't use that. Rob was one of our greeters here. He was a wonderful dulcimer player besides being an accomplished guitarist. He was very active in the mountain dulcimer and folk music communities around Fairmount, WV. He will be missed by family and friends.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That was a delightful video. I enjoyed watching it. Thanks for directing us to it Robin.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Wow, it was fun reading through this thread again. There is much good encouragement here for all dulcimer players. Thanks for calling it to our attention Strumelia. It caused me to look up the scale length (VSL) of various instruments from mandolins at 13-14 inches to electric bass guitars at 43 inches. Most modern acoustic guitars fall in the 24.5 to 25.4 inch range. Five string and four string plectrum banjos around 26.25 inches. Like John Keane, I find a 27 inch vsl comfortable but I have dulcimers with longer and shorter scales.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Jeannie, welcome back to FOTMD. Yes, I remember you and have wondered what happened to you after the fire. I hope you will start playing again.Thank you for stopping by. I look forward to seeing you here from time-to-time. Best wishes.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Marg there are a couple of things to consider. First is whether you want friction tuners or geared tuners. Since you mention the Stewmac choices the Grovers are friction and the Five Star are geared. The second is cost. You can see the difference in price. Both of those install easily although you may need to make an adjustment in the size of the holes. Since you mention not changing the head design, have you considered replacing the wood pegs with geared violin tuners like Wittners? Here is a link to them: Wittner-finetune-violin-peg They may give a better look to the dulcimer and are priced between the two offered by Stewmac. 

This is general information as I don't know the maker of your dulcimer and I am guessing it has a scroll peg head. If you have any questions, ask here or message me.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well I'm in to the organizing mode. I'm busy scanning all my notebooks of tab in to an iPad. I have 117 pages entered so far which is almost one notebook. I think I have six more notebooks to go, but there is some duplication of tabs. Getting rid of the notebooks will free up some space on my shelves.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I look forward to the photos. It sounds like an interesting project. It is amazing how a one little irregularity in a side can throw the whole instrument out of whack. It takes creative thinking to correct some of them.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Thanks for sharing your video Macy Jayne. It must have been a fun project. I enjoyed watching it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

That is funny. I think it is the living who put the pressure on to preserve what our ancestors did.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Yes, those are excellent books and must reads for folks who want to learn about mountain dulcimer history and context. One part of your question we have not addressed is the use of European predecessors of the mountain dulcimer. Wilfried Ulrich addresses some of this in his book The Story of the Hommel. There are many such instruments in museums in Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, etc.Unfortunately I am not aware of English translations of literature that describes how folks used these instruments. What is clear is that they were "folk" instruments and not considered to be of great value musically. Again, they were mostly played by folks in their own homes for their own enjoyment. 

I do what to respond to Kenh's comment about amplification. The zitters used in Pennsylvania Dutch communities had feet on the bottom and were often played by placing them on tables when played. This increased the volume of the instrument. Some dulcimers builders in the late 19th century (J.E. Thomas, C.N. Prichard) made dulcimers with feet on the bottom which allowed them to be played on tables as well. It may have helped when dulcimers were used to accompany dances.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Both Kenh and Dusty offer good points. Dusty's offering of Lucy Long's comments reminded me to mention that role of the dulcimer was different in different communities. Dr. Long specifically researched the role of the dulcimer at Beech Mountain, North Carolina. Things may have been different in various communities in Kentucky, southwestern Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Of course we shouldn't forget southeastern Ohio and perhaps southwestern Pennsylvania (the area the borders WV and OH) and some areas of Tennessee. I'm not sure when the dulcimer tradition began in Arkansas, but let's not forget that as well.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

A hundred years ago (1923) the mountain dulcimer was beginning to emerge from isolated communities in the southern Appalachian mountains. With the beginning of the settlement schools northern teachers began sending dulcimers north. At this time the dulcimer was pretty much an instrument played at home for one's own enjoyment. It may have been played at dances but was not a concert instrument. In other words people usually would not have played as a solo performer in a public forum. In 1935 the Galaxy Fiddlers' Convention began. I can't recall if a dulcimer contest took place that year or started later, but we can probably mark that contest as the beginning of dulcimer concerts.

You can find a good bit of information in the discussions Nate cited. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

This will be a quiet Christmas at home. I played at our local historical society's museum for our annual Festival of Ice the first weekend of this month. I played Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday music. We will visit our daughter's family after Christmas and help them pack up the first floor of their home which will be renovated in January and February. We will attend our usual service of worship on December 24th in the morning and the evening Christmas Eve service. For the most part I'm avoiding crowds until after mid-January as I will have cataract surgery on December 14 and January 4.I don't want to catch a cold or the flue and have to reschedule.  I'll be at home most of the time playing dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I agree with Ken. That's a great interview. You did a good job. Thanks for sharing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

This is great news. Glad to see that progress has been made on this issue.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

shootrj2003, I'm glad to hear that you were able to get the violin back in to playing condition. I like your ingenuity in finding and making tools to do the job. Keep it up and before long you'll be carving your own violin tops and back. Good work.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Wally, thanks for that link and the information. I have two friends who make violins and have a learned a little from both of them, but I leave the building and repair to them. 

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I hope this reply isn't too late. I would not put the strings back on until the sound post is put back in place. It is easier to reset the sound post without the pressure of the string on the bridge and top. What do you mean by "mixed up the wood tuners"? You took them out and don't know which holes they should be in? Depending on how the violin was made, by an individual or production shop, will determine how the pegs are fitted. Good luck with you project.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Moondancer, I'm traveling at the moment and will be home on Sunday. I have brochure from McSpadden from 1974 which shows the M8 and the price with case at that time. I'll scan it and post it here. I may also have a price list for McSpaddens from the early 1990s.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The spruce top was an upgrade on the M8 and is solid wood as were all the tops. George Looney was one of the craftsman in the McSpadden shop. People think that because a person's name appears on a McSpadden dulcimer that that was the person who built it. That was not the case. Building McSpadden dulcimers was a team effort and all the craftspeople had a hand in each dulcimer. They took turns doing the various tasks. The person who was responsible for gluing on the back was the one who signed the instrument. Your dulcimer appears to be in very good condition. I'm sure that you will enjoy playing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

If I recall correctly the M-8 is about the size of the kit John is building. If, as you say, it well cared for, you will have a fine dulcimer to play. I do hope you are able to get it. I look forward to seeing it.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The wood laminates that McSpadden are of excellent quality. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one. I've never heard of one separating. I think they were three ply with the outer layers being cherry or walnut and the inner ply either birch or poplar. I'm not sure when the changeover to all solid woods was made, but it was probably sometime in the1990s. BTW, the reason the Schnaufer model is no longer made is that the cherry laminate from which it was made is no longer available. David specified that only the cherry plywood could be used for the body of his signature instrument.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I found a good bit of discussion about nickel allergy on guitar player websites. I found many alternatives including plain stainless steel strings (although some may contain small amounts of nickel). One item that folks often did.not consider is that the frets on the instrument often contain nickel. For someone with a nickel allergy the frets may need to be replaced.

A consideration for strings is to use coated strings like Elixirs although after a while the coating will wear off.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I took violin lessons when I was in 5th and 6th grades and then stopped when I started 7th grade. Sometimes I think it would be fun to start up again, but then I realize that I already have more instruments than I have time to play them all. Over the years I've had a few violins come through my hands and I get the itch. Cleaning out a closet the other day my discovered another violin. I didn't know it was in there. I'm not going to start playing. Really, we need to pass it on to someone who will. Maybe I'll just take it out of the case and see what shape it is in. Well, let me tighten up the bow and see how it sounds. I'm not going to play that violin. Maybe I'll just fiddle with it a little bit.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The only time I've played with a concertina was in a jam, but I was playing guitar, not dulcimer.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

What fun to revive this thread. I remember many years ago going to Bryan Bowers concert and he walked on stage with a stack of autoharps all tuned for different kep=ys and songs. He spread them out behind him on the stage in those triangular shape guitar stands. He turned to the audience and asked what you call a group of autoharps like this and then answered his own question: an embarrassment of autoharps. I've never been embarrassed by all my dulcimers.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

You can send him a message here. He is jcalkin. Do a search under members for him and then click on send a message.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

The link Rob posted didn't work for me. It is missing the "l" at the end. This one works: https://www.orpingtonfolkclub.org.uk/Interviews_&_Articles/Interviews/001.html

Good article and interview.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Well, young lady, that was a popular song in of the college coffeehouses I frequented back in those days. Thanks for bringing it to my attention again. The folks who sang it did not do it as well as Art and Paul, but it was lovely nevertheless.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

You can purchase a plastic recorder or tin whistle for less than $3.00. A plastic ukulele can be had for $5.00 or less. The least expensive dulcimer kit in a quantity lot of 12 is $52 each and then you need to factor in the cost of building (labor, glue, paint or other finish, tools, etc.). Given tight budgets for the arts in education, which would you choose.

Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."