You can also order the proper set of strings from The Dulcimer Shoppe, home of McSpadden dulcimers. For your T34 you will need loop end strings. I think the price is $5.50 plus $3.00 shipping. When I looked at JustStrings the 0.023 wound strings appear to come only in a pack of 5 for $10.55. The 0.010 and 0.014 are $3.62 each for a pack of 12 strings. You need to look under Bulk strings for these.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
.011, .011, .014, .024 will probably work just fine, but if you want to get the recommended gauges I suggest you contact juststrings.com They sell single strings of just about any gauge you could ever need, and their prices are very reasonable.
https://www.juststrings.com/singlestrings.html
Remember, strings of the same gauge are interchangeable. You may not find strings of your desired gauge listed as "dulcimer strings", but a .010 gauge string (or .014 or .023) can be used on any instrument requiring that gauge. Just be sure you order loop-end or ball-end strings to match the way the strings are anchored on your McSpadden.
I think you will be fine with those strings. In fact, after so many years with the old ones, these will feel positively silky to you. And the slightly heavier bass and treble strings should balance each other well.
Make sure double check your order for loop end, or ball end strings, whichever you need.
Finally re-stringing my 32-year-old McSpadden T34 dulcimer (yeah, I know...sorry).
For DAD tuning, they recommend 10/10/14/23. I'm having trouble finding that exact combination, so I'm wondering what might work. Yes, I understand the physics around diameter and pitch, but I'm not sure just how far you can stray from a recommended gauge before you affect either intonation or tone.
I found some 11/11/14/24s, which seem close enough.
Thoughts?
