AHHHH the lightbulb goes on lol...Thanks then I don't risk popping the strings too...thank you thank you thank you!!

Maria

I'm nervous because when I tune it now it feels like if I tune it differently (like I want to change it to daa for a music book my son gave me ) then it will pop those two double strings.

I'm guessing you are currently tuned to DAd, in which case you need to tune the melody strings down to A, not up.

Thanks so much for getting back to me and the info you provided. I will try and "unloosen" the screw a bit as I thought they were supposed to be tight...now I know...also I agree with the way they lay...maybe I will "attempt" to straiten if I can...worse case scenerio I will try to see a "professional" 

and thanks so much I really like it so far

Maria

It is difficult to tell from the photos but you may have the melody strings a little twisted where they pass over each other.  Getting as straight a line as possible from the white string spacer to the tuners may smooth up things a little.  Also, those tuners are not that easy to use.  They work on friction and the little screw on the ends of them sets how stiff they are to turn.  You need to set them so they turn easy but will still hold the strings at the pitch you want.  It takes a little trial and error to get that screw tension correct.

The first fret is actually a 'zero fret' - this is quite a common set-up on dulcimers.  The white 'nut' just spaces the strings correctly as they cross the zero fret.  All in all, the instrument looks lovely and should play just fine once you have the tuners sorted to the correct tension.  If you continue to struggle with the tuners then a guitar luthier should be able to swap them for either guitar or banjo tuners with gears.

Hi thanks so much for your response. I will try the suggestions. What do you mean "attaching them nearer to the center of the peg box?" is that something I can do or is that what the luthier has to do?

thanks

Maria

You might have tightened the screw a little too much.  Try loosening it just a bit.  A little WD 40 on the outside of the peg assemble can't hurt.  But don't get it on the strings!  A guitar luthier could defintely help.  It looks like the outside strings bend too much when going into the peg box.  Attaching them nearer to the center of the peg box would help.  

here's another pic

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On Friday I re'cd my ebay purchase of a 27 year old Walnut Valley Smoky River Dulcimer.

The seller is the son of the original owner who bought it new. The condition looks to be outstanding and I think it sure has a "sweet" tone. I am in the process of trying to "return" the Roosebeck (meeting with some issues as they want to charge me a 30 percent restocking fee and return shipping) The Roosebeck's fretboard was made incorrectly. The middle string was not in the middle which created an unusually large space between it and the double d strings which also were spaced too far apart to hit both comfortably. Adding to that is that I couldn't use the new Ewing Capo which I bought. The instructions said if the strings buzz it's the dulcimer not the capo. SO with that I found this little beauty.  It was packed in two boxes. The inside box is the original that it came in and the dulcimer had the original manufacturer's warrranty with the serial number. It was made in 1989 and it was the 86th instrument made that year. I did research after but heard mixed things about it. but I took a chance because I felt the price was right and it looked really good from the pictures. The truth is it looks BETTER than the pictures as the pictures did NOT show the correct color of this dulcimer. It's a deep walnut. Anyway my biggest and only concern is this: The tuning pegs are really tight. I did use a screw driver to tighten the outside part of it (it's the old fashioned kind with the gear I guess inside the white head of it) 

It does slip a bit when tuning although since I changed the strings (as soon as I got it) and have played it for the last 4 days it seems to be holding the tune. 

I'm nervous because when I tune it now it feels like if I tune it differently (like I want to change it to daa for a music book my son gave me ) then it will pop those two double strings. Those seem to be the "tightest"  it's kind of got a weird thing going on at the nut. There is a space after the 1st fret and then the nut and the a space and then the strings go into an indent into the wood and up into the scroll. But the two d's seem to almost cross each other to get where they need to be (another concern like the rubbing might make them snap)

Also is there some kind of thing like wd40 that I can use? 

Lastly would a guitar luthier help? I don't have any dulcimer people here in my town that I know.  

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