@jon-w-harris , that's such a cool story of how Russ Green inspired you to start building dulcimers in the mid '90s.
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@jon-w-harris , that's such a cool story of how Russ Green inspired you to start building dulcimers in the mid '90s.
I met Russ at a local event in 1995 or 1996. I had obtained my first dulcimer from the Flat Creek dulcimer shop in Hardy, Arkansas and was looking for an instrument for my wife. He did not have a dulcimer with him to meet the need so I made an appointment to meet with him at his shop. We spent 2 or 3 hours with him selecting a dulcimer and he offered to give me a tour of the shop. Russ and his wife were gracious hosts. I left with enough information and inspiration to start building dulcimers. We looked forward to seeing them at local vending events. His fretboards were a little narrow for me but Russ had no problem with it and his fingers were about 1.5 times the width of mine.
I'm afraid that I can shed no light on Russ Green. But I recently acquired one of his dulcimers. I agree with your assessment. Really, a high quality build, quite lovely to behold, and sounds even better.
Anyone familiar with builder/player Russell "Russ" Green. He worked in Detroit, apparently built dulcimers in his basement, and continued to build after he retired to Hartselle Alabama. He passed away in 2000. I'm from Alabama and am interested in makers from the state, but had never heard of Mr. Green until I came into possession of two of his instruments earlier today. They are simple but quite well-crafted dulcimers: internal bracing, full kerfing, good intonation, clean seams and joints, etc. They have skinny fretboards for 4-stringers (around 1.25"), but they still play nicely and have good tone with OLD strings. Can't wait to clean them up and see what they can do. Does anyone else here have a Russ Green dulcimer, or did anyone know him? If he is a largely unknown maker, it is truly a shame.