I am signed up for Dwain's workshop. The nice thing about the Pocono festival is that you can sign up for individual workshops rather than for the entire festival. Looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month Dwain.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Having set up many violins & cellos etc over the years....You may want to explore using a sound post. Not really a "dulcimer" thing, but you're an outside the box kinda guy anyway. If you Google "adjustable soundposts" you will find much info good and bad about using them in so- called "real" instruments... Bottom line, is that moving the amount and location of tension to the vibrating surfaces [top and bottom] can and does change the tonal qualities. I suggest an adjustable only because there are no standard rules when it comes to dulcimers and the dimensions. Instead of having to re mount your strings, an adjustable may give you more room to play around, or just source some dowel rod and have at it..[or pencils, chopsticks,...] Changing the tensions to the body and try and find the "sweet" spot[s] if any? Then we'll have to find out if heart holes with pointy bottoms sound as good as rounded ones......
just the meanderings of a wandering mind......
While the sound post may not be "a dulcimer thing," two old time dulcimer makers, James Edward Thomas and Charles Napoleon Prichard, used sound posts. In the case of Thomas, he actually used two; one at the 3rd fret and one at the 10th fret. Prichard's was in the middle of the fret board half way between the scroll end and the tail end of the dulcimer. Both used staples rather than modern frets.
A friend of mine who was building reproductions of the Prichard dulcimer did not know that Prichard used a sound post. After I told him about the sound post and its placement he said it made a substantial difference in the volume of this instruments.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Nate, when I built my first dulcimer the end of the fret board was cantilevered. That was the what the plans I was using called for. The plans were designed by Joseph Wallo who worked in Weaver's Violin Shop in Washington, D.C. It is the shown in the bottom photo of this post.
I have added another photo of a courting dulcimer I built for a friend and both fret boards have cantilevered ends.
My first dulcimer is now fifty years old, been under string tension that entire time (tuned DAA), and has not warped. I don't know how the courting dulcimer faired, but it is only 47 years old.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks, Wally, I misunderstood you. I have Chet Hines' book and quite a few others books like it. I'm sad that I never met Patty Looman but I do have a few tabs Patty made for some of her workshops.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Dan, my comment about Thomas calling them dulcimers comes from a conversation I had with Mike Sloane. Also, both Ralph Lee Smith and Jean Ritchie refer to Thomas as making and selling in dulcimers. I think if he used another name for the instrument that would have appeared in their writings. If there is a specific reference to Uncle Ed using another name, I haven't seen it.
Wally, the name "dulcimore" appears in writing way before Bill Schilling started his club. I think Kimberly Burnette-Dean found that spelling in estate lists she found while researching dulcimer history in southern Virginia and western North Carolina.
"Mountain Mahogany" is virtually unknown to those of us living east of the Rockies.
I've never heard of it living in Pennsylvania. I see that it is very hard and dense. I should make a good tipper. I sure the shillelagh and walking stick are very sturdy.
Ken
"the dulcimer sings a sweet song."
From observing and listening to the IADD posts on Facebook, I say that the movement to celebrate our beloved instrument is gaining ground. Thank you to all who posted offerings for this day. I celebrated by working on a few dulcimers I have in my shop for repairs. I did play a few tunes.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
That's a good question Nate. I wish I had a good answer. I don't think it is a stylization. You may be closer with your second suspicion. Perhaps these various names came about by spelling out the name of the instrument spoken in different dialects. It would probably take a linguistic study to confirm this. I'm not a linguist and have idea how one would go about doing this.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I can't speak for what Ken Hulme meant, but I would say that the popularity of tunings differed by regions. What was popular in southwestern Virginia (bagpipe or unison) may not have been what was popular in Kentucky or North Carolina. Tunings were selected to suit the voice of the player if she/he was singing with the dulcimer. In a 1-5-5 tuning the bass string was set to "a good note" and the other strings a fifth above it. A good note being one that suited the singer's voice. Tunings also depended upon what suited the song, e.g., major or minor scales. Accepting a "standard" tuning allows folks to play together. When I first started playing it was CGG and moved to DAA and then to DAd. If you listen to other dulcimers players today, you will find many playing in other tunings when the perform solo.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I'm coming in late to this discussion Linda, but let me add a thought or two. First, I think the tuners are banjo friction tuners ( probably Champion) and the plastic buttons were replaced by walnut buttons. I don't know if this was done by the manufacturer (Grover) or by McSpadden. Second, wood is subject to changes in humidity and temperature. After taking the dulcimer out of the closet, there may have been some swelling or shrinking of the wood in the peg head. Sometimes when the screw bottoms out another washer, which is thicker than the original, can be used to thicken the side wall of the peg head allowing more space for the screw to tighten. There really isn't anything to malfunction on those pegs as they are a friction fit, but unlike violin pegs where the friction is within the peg hole, the friction on these pegs is against the wall of the peg head.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Making progress! For clarification @ken-longfield, to set up the action, you put the dime on the fret board, and the nickel on top of the fret?
Yes
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I seldom go to festivals anymore for workshops but just to visit with dulcimer friends. However, Dwain, your workshop interests me. I might register for the Pocono festival just for that. I can easily drive over, take your workshop, and return home. I'll see when it is scheduled to take place. Thanks for offering this.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Marg, it looks like it cracked along the grain of an area that has no support under it. A friend of mine has something similar happen when she had her dulcimer on her lap and when she bent over to pick something up off the floor a part of her anatomy pressed down the dulcimer's top. In many old dulcimers you damage like this. It just the nature of the beast.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
If it were my dulcimer, I would glue a thin strip of wood along the underside of the crack. If you have any quarter sawn spruce, pine, or cedar, that's what I would use. I would glue the strip with the grain of the quarter sawn patch running perpendicular to the crack. It looks like you have enough room to get a clamp through the sound hole to do this. Of course, first start with super glue repair of the crack and re-enforce it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Three cheers for the new owner! That person is receiving a beautiful instrument.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
FYI: https://bnnbreaking.com/world/us/fairmont-state-university-honors-robert-lackeys-legacy-with-memorial-jam
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
In another dulcimer site a member shared a link to a video about folklife in Ohio. It was produced by Ohio Bell and does show some dulcimer information. Ralph Rinzler from the Smithsonian Institution is the narrator. Besides my interest in the mountain dulcimer, I am interested in many aspects of folklife and suspect others here are too. Simple Gifts Enjoy!
Art, it looks like the tuning pegs are traditional violin pegs. When tuning you need to push the pegs in to the peg box as you turn them. They stay in place by friction. There are now geared violin pegs that look like the pegs you have. Do at search for Wittner violin pegs. Some of us who build and repair dulcimers use these measurements to set action: The strings should just touch the top of a dime placed on the bridge side of the first fret and top of a nickel placed on top of the seventh fret. I think Canadian coin are about same thickness as USA coins. If you haven't already done it, it would not hurt to make sure the contact point of the bridge should be the distance from the nut to the 7th fret doubled. The StewMac fret calculator says that the break point for the strings over the saddle (bridge) should be 72.159 inches for a non compensated bridge. I agree that eliminating the crude space would make the dulcimer look better. If you put notches in the bridge, just make sure to keep the touch point (break point) of the strings in line across it.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I agree with John. Nice find. I suspect you will ask about the cracks in the back. Those can be fixed easily with some CA glue or wood glue and clamping.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Hi, Marg. With regard to the Lazenby dulcimer I would not use wood filler on it. Instead I would plug the hole with a piece of hardwood dowel rod. You will need to measure the diameter of the hole when you take the screw out. You might need to enlarge the hole a bit to fit a readily available dowel. Glue the dowel in to the hole using wood glue. You will then need to drill a hole the diameter of the end pin or just a hair smaller and tap the pin in place. This hole should be drilled at a slight angle like the other ones. Those look like standard hitch pins. It might be hard to just by one. If you send me a private message with your address I'll send you one. I'm pretty sure I have a few of them downstairs in my shop. I won't be venturing down there for the next week or so until my eyes get adjusted to the cataract surgery I had yesterday. Hope this helps you.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Well, Birdseye maple is hard maple (acer saccharum). According to the Wood Database, the Birdseye figure comes from poor growing conditions where the tree attempts to get more sunlight by creating more buds. The buds looks like eyes when the wood is cut; especially when flat sawn. Flat sawn wood is not particularly recommended for instrument building as it makes the wood more difficult to bend without splitting. My guess is that once the wood is bent and a finished applied, it is fairly stable. I've never worked with it. As a dulcimer wood I think it is of average quality being more valued for its appearance than for its tonal properties. I'm sure there are other opinions out there so don't take this a rule.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Not sure what type of thoughts you are looking for Marg, but Birdseye maple is a pretty wood. It should produce a little brighter sound from it than from walnut or mahogany. Of course, other factors come in to play; e.g., shape, material of the top, VSL, depth of sound box, etc.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Sounds like a lot of fun Marsha. I was going to say that you need a banjo player, but I see that behind the man on the right that person might be playing a banjo. And to the right of man on the right that appears to by a banjo on the chair.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
From your avatar photo you appear to be chording and your wrist is lower than the fret board. I find it much easier to chord if I raise my wrist and come down on the fret board with my fingers. I try to maintain contact with the strings using the tips of my fingers. I don't know if this will help you, but it works for me.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I usually try to tune "dead on" when I'm playing alone or with a group. This means I have to adjust the tuning after playing a while as the temperature changes in the room where I play most often. If I can get the needle on my tuner in the center for all three strings I'm happy. An addition to your question Nate "is to what standard do you tune?" I use A440 which our group uses. I think most orchestras these days use a standard of A442 and I've been reading that some groups are going up to A448 or in that neighborhood to "sweeten" the sound. Now having said all that, often when playing alone I'll just tune the dulcimer to itself.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Can you specify when placing the dimes or nickels- the coins should be placed on top of the fret, right? (not on the wood of the fretboard surface between or next to the frets).
Yes, I wasn't quite clear on that was I? The dime is place on the fret board. The nickel is placed on top of the fret.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song"
[/quote]. A set of number drills (1-60) is great for this, since each drill is a very small variant of its neighboring drills' diameter. So remove the bridge and substitute a number drill. [quote="Dwain Wilder"]
[/quote]
Thanks for reminding me of this Dwain. I think you either mentioned this to me some other time or you wrote it somewhere and I forgot all about it. I think this is a very sensible way to adjust string height. I appreciate your sharing it again.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Yes, they are mirrored. Somewhere in my files I have some photos of early courting dulcimers. I'll try to see if I can find one, digitize it, and share it here. It may take me a while to do so.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
The first thing I would do is check to see that, if the bridge is moveable, it is in the right place. If it isn't moveable, checking the action is a good start. A general rule of thumb is that the strings should just touch a dime when placed next to the first fret. I place the dime on the side toward the second fret. Then place a nickel on the seventh fret and the strings should just touch the nickel. If that adjustment doesn't work, then I would calculate the proper fret spacing for the vibrating string length of the dulcimer. Some programs let you print out a template. I would use this to check the fret spacing and re-fret if necessary.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Strumelia, I'm glad that you wrote "in general" as there are courting dulcimers out there that do have two fret boards with the peg heads at the same end of the dulcimer but fretted for playing by two people sitting knee to knee. I think this design makes the dulcimer shorter and easier to carry because you don't have peg heads sticking out on both ends.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thank you for the additional information Art. We will all wait until you get the dulcimer and you have more of chance to examine it. It poses some interesting questions and I hope we will be able to find the answers. I'm sure you will be able to get it in to playing condition. I've seen thin pegs like that on other dulcimers.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
There isn't enough clarity in the photos to really give an informed opinion. I agree that there are four equidistant strings. I have no idea what the function of the bar in the front of the bridge. It appears to be wood and fitted to the width of the fret board. It could be that what we are calling a bridge is just to space the strings apart and the bridge is that dark wood and may be moveable. I am interested in the pegs.Are they wood or metal? Is there no builder's label inside the dulcimer?
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Thanks for that link. Although I don't speak French, I found the video interesting. I'll search among my friends to see if anyone speaks French to do some translation for me.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
It appears in the first photo that there are four strings over the fret board which would be tuned to any standard dulcimer tuning where the melody string is doubled, DAdd or DAAA. I can't see the strings that off the fret board very well, but they might be drones perhaps a bass version of the melody string an octave or two lower and the other a the same of the middle string. The second photo shows a doubled melody string which four equally distant placed drone strings. Again, you could use a standard dulcimer tuning with bass octaves on the other two strings if they are thick wound strings.
This is just my guess and others may provide better information.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
John is correct, and like him, I have no idea about the plexiglass strip.
Ken
"the dulcimer sings a sweet song."
If you read lines 27 through 31 in the patent description, it appears that the instrument is intended to be played by two people like a courting dulcimer. It appears to be nothing like the dulcichord (five string table dulcimer) the John Molineux is playing in the video. I did enjoy the video. Very nice playing.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I have three of the double bags. Like Richard and Ken I highly recommend them. Well worth the price, although I did buy two of them used.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a great song."
Which this year is March 30th, the fifth Saturday.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Good find. Have fun with the book.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
I looked after Strumelia mentioned checking Amazon and you can buy it new for $22.29, but as John says you can find used copies as well.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
