Ha! love all the comments. Yes, John, clear out some space. Ken, Walley, Now you've done it, every time I tune my instruments I will think "Directly About Diatonic".
The Stradivarius Effect
"My only dulcimer, SO FAR....."
Therein lies the first symptom of the affliction...
If DAD is Dulcimer Acquisition Disease, then DAA can be Dulcimers Always Accumulate.
A couple of other interpretations of DAS and DAD are Dulcimer Acquisition Syndrome, Dulcimers Are Sweet; and Dulcimer Acquisition Disease and Dulcimers Are Delightful.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings sweet song."
I believe DAS is Dulcimer Addiction Syndrome or something like that. I believe there are many acronyms out there for most every thing. I am a fossil hunting guide and when someone brings a rock for an identity check I tell them is a "leaverite", which means, "leave'er right there". There are a multitude of instruments out there in attics, storage sheds and places not conducive for the delicate construction. A "card carrying" DAS keeps a sharp eye out for them.
John, points well made and well taken. New, so not sure what DAS means. My only dulcimer so far came from an auction site with the business cards of its original owner (now deceased) still in the case - it was special to be able to look her up and know something about the life of the instrument.
Shopdad, what a wonderful thing to bring life back into an instrument that had such a rough start. Sounds like it’s a beauty today - complete with mermaid fishtail.
Thank you both for your experiences and insights.
Canard, (sorry, about the impersonal address since I'm not familiar with your name). I purchased a Hughes dulcimer on line. sight unseen. When I received it I realized it was truly "a sight" not to be shown off. It was later, labeled as a "wall hanger". The frets appeared to be what a youngster installed in the dark. The sound hole reminded me of the cartoons where the mouse ate it's way through the wall. The long and short of it, Its no longer a wall hanger. After removing the fret board, planing the frets down and cutting new fret slots. I added new frets and tuners. The mouse had to find another place of refuge and it plays like a song. Yes, there should never be a wall hanger. It was crafted to play, not to view as a relic decor. Hughes built the instrument and had his own "fishtail" design which, to me, Is his way of adding identity to an instrument that should bring melody to a silent world.
Thank you John, Very interesting comments. I am pleased to read the idea of adding some info to the inside label. When I built my Cedar Creek kit I added some notes as to where I purchased the kit and when I build it. All my homemade dulcimers have my own comments. The date is as important as the builder. I did all this for my kids and grand kids never giving a thought to other owners years down the road. I'm glad they have an identity now.
The handful or so of the violins Tony built, have been so far removed acoustically from the original build that we may never know what they sounded like as he intended. Polished, re polished, cracks and cleats added and necks modified over the centuries... And even today, in blind comparisons, expert musicians can only discern them from modern fine violins about 50% of the time. But yet the "value" remains....
I think it is due more to the history being held in ones hands, THIS is one of the few HE made, etc. On a smaller scale our dulcimers carry the same value system. One of Joni Mitchells dulcimers would surely sell for more based on its history, not the sound. Likewise, an $11.00 Hughes kit dulcimer, goes for more when the builder inscribes " To my Darling Laura-1973" ...
I would [almost-still thinking on this] encourage players to add to their stories. a simple note inside that "factory" dulcimer that says "bought on our trip to Branson....Bill and Kate Jones 1996" or" played with the Sandusky Strings" adds value to whatever the instrument brings on its own. It may seem a little hokey now, but imagine the same sort of writing on an instrument 100 plus years old. We are all in line...and the line keeps moving...
I know many of you have the DAS, and as such, probably have several instruments that perhaps have no makers mark. They are a prime place to start. Help give them an identity, if only to help someone in the future. "Barn find/2023/Virginia".
One of the finest violins I've had the pleasure to restore, had to have little patches made to cover where the drywall screws held it to a restaurants' wall.
'
The reason that Stradivari’s instruments continue to have a high value is that they have been in continuous play by master musicians since they were built. If they had only been stored by collectors, no one would have had the opportunity to hear their quality and over time, they would have been forgotten. They would all have ended on trash heaps.
Likewise, when instruments by the Meltons and other great builders of mountain dulcimers languish in thrift auctions where they are cracked or otherwise broken, many end up on the wall at a grill pub or in a dumpster behind a Goodwill. No one will have a chance to handle them and learn from how they were crafted, or the opportunity to restore them to life so that others can participate in the living history these instruments embody.
Bringing to attention those master-built instruments in peril of being lost is important to the continuity of our national musical heritage. Those who would try to stop this do a disservice to not only the dignity of these instruments but to the makers and players who have created and delivered the legacy to us all.
