With a 23" scale, you'd have to use somewhat heavy strings to keep the DAd tuning from being too floppy (especially for the middle A string). What gauge strings did you put on it for that tuning?
I used just regular Folkcraft Roller Wound Strings, .011, .011, .013, .024RW & I had no problems at all. They're very gentle underneath the fingers.
The shortest scale dulcimer I make is 24". I use 12 12 14 22 strings without any problems. The nice thing about short scale dulcimers is tuning to pitches much higher then Dad...Robert
If you want to go to lighter strings on a 23 inch VSL, I suggest 0.011 for the melody strings, a 0.015 for the middle, and 0.023 for the bass. You could always try going down once size on each string to see if it is too floppy. For the most part, experimentation is what you need to find the right strings for you and your dulcimer.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
With a 23" scale, you'd have to use somewhat heavy strings to keep the DAd tuning from being too floppy (especially for the middle A string). What gauge strings did you put on it for that tuning?
I have a 4 string Chromatic Mountain Dulcimer in DAD Tuning with the Doubled Melody String (the bridge & nut are cut to also allow for 4 equidistant strings) & what I did rather cleverly here was to use a 23 inch scale length (the shortest scale length) which keeps the tension of the strings down. A really short scale length makes the strings more flexible and easier to play.
