Great display, Mike! I knew you could come up with something creative!

"Sweet" (No. 56) is just about done now. I'm trying to get her to her owner by Christmas, but I'm running out of time.

It feels weird to work on such a small dulcimer now...

Well Mike, a big thank you to your wife and daughter. They did a great job!!!

It's a monkey from some movie (ah, Monkeybone). He was there when we moved in and has established that window as his territory. He often plays whatever instrument happens to be displayed there. My wife and daughter though it humorous to dress the monkey as Santa and Uncle Eddie as an elf.

Merry Christmas to you Mike and to your family and everyone at the shop!!! Thanks for posting a picture of Uncle Eddie all decorated for Christmas! By the way, that almost looks like a sock monkey Santa

Merry Christmas to all of you at the shop. Can't wait to come visit again.

Merry Christmas from "Uncle Eddie" and the guys in the shop.

Well, we did actually consider decking Uncle Eddie out with Christmas lights and other seasonal adornments. What ensued was one of those conversations where we considered the likely reaction of his namesake to such shenanigans. Most of his part of the conversation is not appropriate to repeat on this forum but it did include "if I'm going to be lit up for Christmas, it won't be with blinking lights" (some descriptive terms deleted).

We did tastefully encircle the window where he looks out over town with a string of white, non-blinking lights. I'll see if we can get a decent picture tomorrow.

John, Merry Christmas to you!!!

Hey Mike, you do need to dress up Uncle Eddie for Christmas and post a picture .

Thaks for the kind thoughts, everyone. It's been quite a ride.

Hey, Mike S., have you and Doug dressed Eddie up in Christmas lights or anything? That would be a cool thing to do this cool time of year.

Merry Christmas to all, just one week away now!!

I just know Uncle Eddie is a world record .

5 times bigger'? Length? Width? Volume? -- I believe it qualifies on all those accounts. I think Guiness has instituted a "minimum" bigger/stronger/faster etc. to stop folks from claiming a record by simply beating the current record holder by a small amount on a single occasion. Saves their staffers a huge bunch of work too.

You took the words right off my fingertips, John.

John Tose said:

And what do they mean by `5 times bigger'? Length? Width? Volume? If it's the latter, then you've probably more than done it.

Shoot, just call it the biggest until someone proves you wrong!

I would be willing to guess that that is if not pretty closed to being 5x bigger than a normal normal dulcimer. It is the biggest Dulcimer I know of out there.

NEWS FLASH!

Dateline: Tuesday, December 17, 2013

"Uncle Eddie" may very well be the ( unofficial ) world's largest mountain dulcimer!

I received an email during last month's southern tour from the Guinness World Records folks that a dulcimer must be at least 5 times "normal" size to qualify as the world's largest mountain dulcimer. But they gave no details on who had previously made one of these, or where or when, etc. However, I received another email from them stating that there were currently no entries in that particular category! This made me wonder what was going on. I questioned them, and they wrote back, saying in effect that their minimum starting requirement was 5 times normal size. WHY?? Seems arbitrary to me. So... doesn't it follow that "Uncle Eddie" would be the de facto world's largest mountain dulcimer?

Thank you, my dear. I needed a little cheering up.

But I wasn't trying for a record when I built him, so why should I be disappointed that he isn't a world record holder?

He is what he is--- a very large musical tribute to the man who started much of the legend of Kentucky dulcimer building.

UE says chill, it's all cool 8)

John, sorry to hear that but I'm sure yours is the largest Cumberland style. He sure is a beautiful dulcimer too

Patty....

I heard back... from Guinness World Records.... on last week's trip...

The news is... not good, I'm afraid.

They claim that the world's largest mountain dulcimer (currently) is 5 times normal size!

But they give no more details! I imagine it's a modern-style instrument, but it would have to be nearly 15 feet long and weigh something like 100 pounds.

I'm pretty sure Uncle Eddie is the largest Cumberland-style dulcimer out there, but I can't be sure...

It was a let-down, to be sure.

I'll definitely have to do that John. Thanks for sharing Uncle Eddie with us! Please let us know when you hear from Guinness World Records

John C. Knopf said:

Patty,

All you need to do is jump on Interstate 66 west, to 81 south, to US 23 north, to KY 15 northwest. Nothing to it.

Shouldn't take you more than half a day! Uncle Eddie is looking forward to a visit.

Glad you are back home John!!! Happy Thanksgiving to you and your family . Uncle Eddie has a home in Hindman. I've just got to find a way to get out there. Not only would I love to see Uncle Eddie but I would also love to see the shop and maybe Mike can teach me how to make a dulcimer.

I thought lots more folks would see Uncle Eddie in a shop like that than in my Michigan basement!

Tourists look for dulcimers in Hindman... Most Michigan people don'teven know about them (or care).

It was an interesting trip, but I'm glad to be back home, especially with the worsening weather.

Mike, that's so cooooool that the giant one will be in your shop window for a while.

Robin, he is indeed spending some time in Hindman. He now occupies a position of prominence in the display window seen at the left of my above picture. He did continue wandering a bit before returning to Hindman, including stops in VA and in Richmond, KY, where I hear that he drew an admiring group of dulcimer enthusiasts and got his picture in the paper.

Patty,

Wait'll you find out where 'Uncle Eddie" will be living for a while...

(HINT: He didn't come back to Michigan).

Great pic Mike!!! I just finally realized that Uncle Eddie is bigger than the door

Finally figured out how to add the pic from the Hindman stop on John's journey, I think.

Thanks everyone, it was a short visit, but , a good one. we went to my shop and talked dulcimers . Swap some stories and then John was on his way. Terry I do believe you are right ,I just looked at your picture up close, Hey my long lost brother.

Wow Kevin, what a fantastic photo. I know ya'll had a blast talking dulcimer. You know Kevin, if you were to get a tan and trim the ole beard just a tad, and I were to wear a ball hat, standing beside each other, people would swear we were brothers. Great photo.

What an amazing meeting and photo. It doesn't even seem real! I think you guys should also have swapped places and gotten another picture that way, too.

John, I envy you the stops you are going to be visiting on your trip.

Marvelous photo. Now when it comes to hammer on's, do you prefer a tack hammer, claw hammer, or 5 lbs. sledge?

Great pic. That thing is big even in a Picture.

I do love this picture. Did you all compare weights and VSLs? LOL . Kevin, did you get to play John's Uncle Eddie? How does it sound? Did you get a sound file?

That is a great picture!

I'm going to make a print of this, surely is one for the album

John

Talk about the long & the short of it.... oh and the big dulcimer and little dulcimer make a nice contrast, too. LOL Sorry, Kevin, if I were taller than you then I might be picking on you. Looks great; sure y'all had a lot to talk about.

Thanks Peter, it is amazing how big that dulcimer is. 8' long.

Great photo, great story!

John Knopf was in the area ,on vacation and, decided to make a stop to visit. It was great to get to meet him and chat about dulcimer making. He said he is going to Berrea, Hindman, and the museum of Appalachia before heading back to Detroit. Thanks to John for bringing Uncle Eddie along. Wow ain't it huge. I just had to get the picture of my little guy next to his.