A trip to that dulcimer shop in Mountain View is a wonderful thing.  I was able to meet Lynn McSpadden there once, many years ago, and brought my McSpadden dulcimer for him to see.  He could tell how I played it by the condition of the frets.  Lynn was a talented man.

If your McSp dulcimer has individual metal tuning machines, you may be able to send them a closeup photo of your headstock and let them know which machine is failing... and they might be able to ship yo a replacement. Does swapping the tuner look like a job you would be able to do yourself? Are they attached with simple screws?
Do your tuners look like this ?

If you want a top level dulcimer and can't do repairs yourself, you should consider buying directly from the builder. It may be cheaper in the long run. 

I see the Dulcimer Shop website says

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I've visited the Dulcimer Shoppe in Mountain View, Arkansas a couple of times. The first time was in 1974 and then again a couple of years ago. The folks at the Shoppe are friendly and certainly knowledgeable about their dulcimers. My wife and I had a good time on our last visit and I was able to play a few dulcimers. They usually have a good stock on hand. They have a great assortment of accessories for mountain dulcimers, books, CDs, etc. After my first visit Lynn and I became Pen Pals exchanging letters from time to time on dulcimer related topics. There was an occasional phone or two over the years. If you do any camping there is a nice campground in Mtn. View. We stayed there on the last trip. The Ozark Folk Center is also in Mtn. View and work visiting. Take in a concert if you are staying overnight.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

Over the years I've put new tuners on many McSpadden dulcimers. I started by replacing wood tuners with metal friction tuners and then replacing those with planetary tuning machines. It's a relatively easy job to do on McSpaddens.

Thanks.  I do suspect that I'll need a new tuning mechanism.  It's not something I can do myself and my understanding is that McSpadden expects owners to use them for repairs.

Has anyone ever visited McSpadden in Arkansas?  I'm retiring next week and it's on my bucket list.

First, a gentle correction.  Amy Levy is the poet whose texts I used for my songs.  I'm Alex Lubet, composer and dulcimer player.

I agree with you, Strumella.  And of course I'll be getting in touch with McSpadden.  My experience with their service has always been excellent.

You all may find it interesting that I have two McSpadden 4FHWRs.  I needed to buy a second because my first was being repaired and I had a concert.  But now I have them with three and four equidistant strings (or did until I had to put a fourth string on the one I used for the concert).  I was really surprised at how different two dulcimers of the same model felt.  They sounded different, too, but I attribute that to the age of the strings and the pickup vs. contact mic. 

I really wish I could ever play without amplification.  When I played mostly guitar, I could occasionally play in a space where I didn't need to amplify.  Has anyone ever performed somewhere where they didn't need to amplify?

Yes, call the McSpadden folks about this issue, by all means.  And you could try replacing that tuning peg with what we call a "known good peg" to see if the swap improves anything for you.

Sounds like most likely a problem just with that one tuner.
But to be safe, also check all around the dulcimer - the back, sides, and the headstock- check for any cracks or glue failures, or any lifting away of the edges or the headstock separating from the body (though i don't think this is very likely on a reasonably recent McSpadden)
I suggest you call McSpadden on the phone and ask them what they think.

I'm sure it was a treat for your audience to hear you & Ms. Levy!  

@alex-lubet Thank you for the correction-- a mistake I shouldn't have made since I have the cd!  The mezzo soprano is Ms. Vargas and the long-departed poet, Ms. Levy.  

It seems that there's an issue with the dulcimer and not the string.  I changed strings three times and continued to have the same problem.  It was quite inconvenient as I had a concert Tuesday night.  I have another identical McSpadden (although with a contact mic, not a pickup).  I had it strung with only three strings, but added a fourth for the concert.  I was afraid to put on a whole new set so soon before a performance, especially since the problem I am having only occurred after a string change. 

Between the age of the strings and getting used to the contact mic, the sound wasn't quite as bright and I had to make some changes in the music.  A pickup only amplifies the strings, but a contact mic amplifies everything.  I normally do some "tapping" like guitarists do, but with a contact mic, all one can hear is the tapping and not the pitch, at least when playing harmonics.

I was pretty nervous owing to the last minute changes, but the concert was, I'm pleased to say, a success.  The program consisted of my own songs, set to the poetry of Amy Levy (from my album that streams in all the familiar sources) and an encore of Simple Gifts.  The vocal was by Victoria Vargas, I'm not a singer.

I'm also not a builder and will need to have my instrument evaluated and, I hope, repaired.  I love it dearly and would hate to have to replace it.

Thanks for reading and have wonderful lives.

It may be also helpful to see if the other strings increase in tension when the 3rd string detunes. 

When the string slips, some of the tension it had stored in the wood is transferred to the other strings, and they become sharper. Also if the instrument is bowing under the tension, you may notice that tuning up the string that doesn't stay in tune causes the other strings to go flat.

I'm guessing a bad string could be possible.  I'm guessing you've checked the winding at the tuner to see if the string could be slipping in the tuner (due to some overlap in the winding). 

There can be a bad string, but with modern wire it is unlikely that you will ever encounter one. It would almost certainly be because of a bad winding at the loop/button bass end.

You probably have too many and/or loose turns around the pin at the tuner. It can take a while for everything to slip into place.

I only change strings when they break, unless I am salvaging an old instrument. I also stick to noter-drone DAA tuning.

Hi All,

I hope you're doing well.  Greetings from Minnesota.

Is there such a thing as a bad string?  I put on a new set last Saturday and my first string keeps going out of tune, something that never happened before, even with strings that had been on for a long time.  (I always change them before a performance, such as I have next Tuesday, but it's been a while.)

I tightened the tuner (and then loosened it, for comparison), so that doesn't seem to be the problem.

I'm playing on four equidistant strings, with the first string tuned to A.  It's a McSpadden 4FHWR, which I love.  I do a lot of string bending, which, of course, can pull strings out of tune, but it's quite limited on the other strings and extreme on the first string.  I retune between songs, but this happens on the last song.

Any sage counsel would be deeply appreciated.

Thanks and have a great weekend.