Cyndi - you might want to read my Blog article called I Just Got A Dulcimer - Now What? It's an illustrated glossary plus information on tuning, playing, care and feeding of the dulcimer.

Hi Cindi - type of strings has nothing to do with make or tone of dulcimer. You need to know the VSL(25", 27", 29") and the keynote you want to tune to (C, D,G etc), Buy dulcimer strings unless you can't find them, In general any set of strings with .010 to .012 melody and middle drones and a .020 to .024 wound bass string will do just fine for most average VSLs and tunings.