Hi Ken.

Nothing strange about it at all, most dulcimers made today have this fret pattern.
It's only 'old school' types like ourselves who insist on only having a single diatonic fret pattern('do' at the 3rd) rather than two diatonic fret patterns('do' at the 3rd AND 'do' at the open) that most folks use today.
That being said, having an instrument that only has the 'do' on the open string has definite disadvantages compared to one that only has 'do' on the 3rd fret. Choice of strings and having no leeway below the Ionian root being the main ones.

You could, of course, add a 6 fret, in the same way that old dulcimers have a 6+ added, to give you the style of dulcimer used by most people today

The only things stranger than his fret pattern is his spelling of "Appalachian". I wouldn't tune it, I would never have bought it.

Hi John,

Our normal dulcimer only needs a melody string capable of the range G > d to accommodate the four standard tunings.
On this instrument you would need a string capable of the range F > d. This is a bit of a stretch, and whilst the thicker string would help tune Aeolian, it would probably then break in Ionian.

It may be an unusual fret pattern for regular dulcimer players but it's not unknown elsewhere. The scheitholt depicted by Michael Praetorius in 1620 has the exact same pattern. And it's not farewell Old Joe Clark - the mixolydian scale starts on the 4th fret. So if you've gone for DAd tuning that'll give you the ionian scale in d, whereas DAG would give you mixolydian in d at the 4th fret. Guess you'd have to restring it with a thicker melody string for that though.

Here's another odd fret pattern. Same maker as the other.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/MOUNTIAN-DULCIMER-KENTUCKEY-STYLE-/17089617...

John P. Your right about the first one being an Ionian tuning from the open position. So long "Old Joe Clark".

I have an old one from Michigan with the same fret pattern (no 6 but a 6+.) I haven't tuned it to anything because the strings are so high off the fingerboard I can't fret it. Neither can I lower the bridge because the strings would not touch them when tuned to pitch. I am taking it to my repairman as an engineering problem to see what he can do. All in all though I agree with John P. It's diatonic and ionic with the do note being on open instead of 3.

Rob

Same way you tune any other dulcimer really Dan. This is still a diatonic fretboard, the difference here being that it starts at 'do' ... not the 'so' we are familiar with.

The home fret would be tuned to the tonic, the bass drone tuned an octave below that, and the middle drone tuned a fifth above that.

john p

Dan Goad said:

II notice he also lists Martian strings. Is this another one from the fella who go all peeved when we told him his instrument wasn't right???

ya got me on what they where thinking when they set it up.

That is an odd setup. Don't think I'll be bidding on that one. Don't know how I would tune that thing.

I wonder if anyone will ever tell this seller/maker that he has a very strange fret pattern.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/APPLICIAN-MOUNTIAN-DULCIMER-HAND-MADE-IN-THE-USA-/170895966191?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ca317fef

As near as I can tell he goes 0,1,2,3,4,5,6+,7,8,9,10,11,12,13+,14. How would you tune it?