Michael, I purchased a pickup from Folkcraft for my Folkcraft dulcimer and installed it myself. It is an under saddle/bridge pickup. If you don't have the skills and tools to do it yourself, take Dusty's suggestion and send it to Folkcraft to have it done.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
Michael, if you can afford it, you might consider sending your instrument back to Folkcraft and asking them to install a pickup. Find out how much that would run you.
If it's too much, Rob's suggestion of the Schatten Dualie is a good idea. I've never used one myself but I've heard good things from several other folks.
No laughing here. Inquiring minds want to know! It lets you plug into an amplifier. There are basically 2 types: magnetic and piezo. Magnetic picks up the vibration of the strings, like an electric guitar. The piezo picks up the vibrations from the top giving a more "acoustic" sound.
I use the Schatten pickup that Rob's talking about and I am pleased with it. I have nothing to compare to as I haven't used any other pickup. I stuck the pickup onto the top of my dulcimer with the double sided tape that Schatten provided, but I actually screwed the jack receiver onto the tail piece of my instrument as I figured it was a sturdier application than glueing or taping.
If you want a stick-on pickup, I highly recommend the Schatten Dualie. Inexpensive and a great sound. I've used mine on my nylon strung guitars, and dulcimers since the dualie has been in the US. (Schatten is a Canadian company.) Never a problem and they are great folks for customer service.
If Jerry Rockwell is making any more of his magnetic, over the top pickups, they are choice as well. Different than the Schatten since they use (I think) a Bill Lawrence humbucker. I'm sure others will offer you more suggestions as well, but those would be my choices.
Thinking of adding a pickup for amplification to my hourglass Folkcraft. Recommendations?
