I assume you have your Blue Lion by now. How do you like it? I recently ordered a chromatic AJ with nearly identical specs.

I have a couple pretty nice, mid but not completely top-shelf acoustic martin guitars, and love those.  This instrument will cost more than those each did by a few to several hundred, and it sort of surprises me I chose to spend more on this instrument rather than a guitar, my primary stringed instrument.  But, thinking there the production level of a large company like Martin makes good instruments available at the mid price point, even more so than I would expect the lower volume dulcimer makers.  So thinking it will be worth it.  My current dulcimer, pictured, is a nice little dulcimer, and will either be passed to someone else, or I will keep it as an alternate dulcimer travel where I am concerned about conditions or theft, or whatever, and it does not have the extra frets to make it chromatic, so might be interesting to play with it in a more traditional (not completely, as it has a couple of the “extras”) way. 

Well done!  There’s much to be said in the quality of a string instrument.

ENJOY!

Thank you!  And will do!  I have no stock picks to show, as it will be its own thing, but was going for this sort of vibe, but as an AJ, will be just slightly larger.  

Wow, cool!  Thanks for that!  In the limited learning regarding technique I have done so far, it has been sort of in a Joni style, using a guitar pick, and a percussive type of stroke.  Kinda guitar oriented in the mechanics, but on a different plane than an guitar with the strings oriented away from the body.  I am a long time guitar hack so that feels natural for me. @robin-thompson Hard to describe other than that for me.  Tim Hanseroth has a little video of him woodshedding his part on All I Want on Instagram, but I cannot figure out a way to share it here.  His nice, compact wrist action, without too much elbow, keeping it in time back and forth across the fretboard is what I am shooting for.  Not that I have that down in any way.  ;)

Will be interested in that lesson if the timing works out!  I have Joellen’s book too!

updated by @sunvalleylaw: 03/28/22 04:59:34PM

@sunvalleylaw, you will enjoy your Blue Lion!  And, yes, Janita is great to work with.    

I'm not a great player so measuring whether my skills were good enough to own a BL wouldn't have worked for me.  Yet I own two and enjoy them ever so much.   

In a couple weeks, Joellen Lapidus is going to be teaching online at the free Hindman Dulcimer Homecoming and will, I think, be teaching a percussive technique with the mountain dulcimer.  Information for "attending" the fest can be found here:

https://troublesomecreekguitars.com/2022-hindman-dulcimer-homecoming/  

Awesome, be sure to post pics when it's done. You deserve it!

I probably am not good enough to have done so, but ordered a nice one.  Blue Lion, AJ (Acoustic Jam) size, Redwood back and sides, spruce top, redwood fingerboard, Scroll head, strung with 4 strings in 3 positions, but with nuts cut to go equidistant if I ever wanted to, Strings attach with acoustic guitar style pegs and holes in the bridge, rather than on metal pegs on the end, fretboard will be Chromatic, LR Baggs pick up, Heart/F style sound holes, gloss finish. Janita has been amazing throughout the shopping and ordering process.  

Will be used in folk/folk rock music played in a somewhat percussive way, Ala Joni, I having been originally inspired by Tim Hanseroth of Brandi Carlile Band covering Joni’s “All I Want.”  

Again, probably too expensive given my skill set, but receiving a little inheritance allowed me to spend on something nice for my arty side. And I may consolidate some other gear/sell some stuff I am not using, also.   And I think my Mom (and Dad, having been gone nearly 11 years now) would be fine with that.  

Should be ready in about 4 or 4 and a half months.  

updated by @sunvalleylaw: 02/15/23 07:48:45AM