Picture! Picture! Picture!
Locating Bridge and nut
Thanks to all who responded. I finally got things right. I was missing the .15" allowance for compensation. When I
took that into consideration and ran it on a fret calculator, I ended up with a 25.5" VSL, so from the nut to octave is 12.75" but octave to bridge is + or - 12.9"
Bill R
The width of nuts/bridges, and the depth of the notches aren't terribly important. The distance between the inside edges is. the VSL. If the nut & bridge are that bad, it would probably behoove you to make new ones.
Still would like to see pictures -- overall plus closeups of the places where the nut/bridge ought to be.
There are 18 Dulcimer frets, no real marks showing the locations. I sketched it out in CAD and it appears to be 25 3/8 " VSL . When set up I tuned it to C, checked at first Octave, OK Checked second Octave ,Very close but when I note it at the first fret, it is Sharp. The original bridge and nuts were included, they were 1/4 to 3/8 wide and deeply notched, looks like they were an after an alteration
Yep -- what Ken said -- photos of where the nuts/bridges "should" be would be a big help. There should be wear marks, if nothing, else to show where the errant nuts and bridges were originally placed.
Bill, can you provide a photo of the dulcimer? The most important thing is to determine where the the nuts were located. Once that is determined, you can measure from the fret board side of the nut to the middle of the seventh fret. Double that measurement and that should be where the strings contact the bridge. A little fine adjustment may be necessary for better intonation.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
How many, what frets does it have?
Situation, old hand made courting dulcimer with no bridge, bridge reference or nuts. What is the most accurate way to determine VSL?
Thanks, Bill R
