I have 2 that I use, but if it was just one, I would keep my FolkRoots teardrop baritone dulcimer that I keep in G-gg-g bagpipe tuning.  That way I can play in the keys of C and G.  I just used it in a video I posted.  It took me a while to get used to it but I like it a lot.

I can't do it! I just can't do it!......OK, if someone was holding a gun to my head, I'd choose my Uncle Will Singleton built by John Knopf. But, I'd have to find a way to smuggle in my other dulcimers! 

This question just broke my brain. :)

Definitely the one I just bought. The tone is so beautiful it made me cry the first time I heard it. I can't imagine owning another one that sounded better and also had a 25.5 VSL so that my fingers don't hurt. Love my Tony Vines Bella Dulcimer.

Enjoying the responses and photos for this question. My new "favorite" that I likely would grab in the zombie apocalypse would be the chromatic McCafferty that I received this summer. Terry kindly customized the inlay pattern on the fretboard, which I LOVE and it has that loud, nice tone that Dusty described below. But I like my all-walnut Folkcraft for it's warm, full tone and I like my cherry/redwood McSpadden for it's happy sound, etc., so it would be a hard choice. 

Like so many others on this thread I am blessed to already own the dulcimer that I would choose...Bigfoot!  It is a Folkroots model by Folkcraft with a pick-up and a Galax back making it ready for any situation.  I have literally played hundreds of dulcimers from dozens of makers and have never loved the sound or feel of another dulcimer like I do this one.  Bigfoot is also very stunning in a visual sense with the zebrawood and ebony/sugar maple inlay work.  I am often asked about the inspiration behind the design.  The concept is a nod to the Rugg brothers (Howard and Mike) of early CapriTaurus and Folkroots fame.  They still own the original building in California where those early instruments were made as far back as the sixties, but it is now the Bigfoot Discovery Museum where Mike Rugg serves as the curator.  

Dusty said " it seems reasonable to ask what someone likes about the one dulcimer they identified in response to this forum question."

'Way back at the beginning of this thread I said I like the "high silvery' sound that many traditional dulcimers give.  Like my John Knopf-made Uncle Ed Thomas replica, my Bobby Ratliff Sow model Virginia Hogfiddle, and the Ozark Walking Stick that I built a couple years back.  All of these are narrow (less than 6") and shallow (under 1.5" deep) with tall fretboards for playing Noter & Drone.

Shape doesn't mean anything -- the three mentioned above are all different shapes.  I honestly couldn't pick one except in a "moment of truth" with my boat sinking and my arms full of survival supplies.  Then it's whichever one I can reach fastest/easiest just before I roll over the railing into my dinghy.  Any one of those could be my "one" dulcimer...

Great information, Dusty, thanks for sharing. I don't think this has moved us away from the topic of this thread. I appreciate the details about your McCafferty. I hope to be able to try one out at a festival, where he or Steven attends.

 Yours is gorgeous! 

Susie, if someone asks how many dulcimers you need, the right answer is "one more."

I don't want to go too far astray from the original goal of this thread, but it seems reasonable to ask what someone likes about the one dulcimer they identified in response to this forum question.

I bought my McCafferty before he was making radiused fretboards, so I can't speak about that attribute.  Terry's dulcimers all have a loud, round, well-balanced tone.  The tone resembles a guitar more than the high silvery sound of a traditional dulcimer.  The action is excellent and the intonation is superb.  One feature of McCafferty dulcimers that I love is the extended strum hollow.  Most of us end up strumming over the upper end of the fretboard, and that extended strum hollow allows us to pick and strum there without clacking against the fretboard. Terry uses K & K Sound twin spot pickups inside, and although I don't have too much experience with this stuff, I find them to be phenomenal pickups that provide plenty of amplification without distorting the acoustic tone of the instrument.

Mine is the shortest of the three options Terry offers.  The body of all his instruments are the same size, but he makes three different VSLs: 28", 26.5", and 25".   I think it is inevitable that you lose a little sustain with a shorter VSL, and were I to buy the instrument now, I might get a 26.5" model. On the other hand, I've already gotten use the shorter VSL and have arranged a few tunes that require stretches I wouldn't be able to make on longer fretboards.

I did have to make one adjustment to the instrument before I felt comfortable flatpicking.  The strings are pretty far apart. that works well for fingerpicking and for playing slow tunes, but I found it difficult to flatpick with any speed.  I use a single melody string, and the first thing I did was to move that single string to the inside groove on the nut.  I then made an extra groove for the bass string that was the same distance away from the middle string.  My bass and melody strings are now about 1" apart.  I have thought of making a new nut and bridge with grooves that are even closer than that, but for the moment I am doing OK with that distance.  

If you go to my video page , you'll see that five of my last six videos were made with my McCafferty dulcimer.  And here's a picture of the top. The back and sides are figured cherry and the top is redwood.  The inlay is a wolf in front of a full moon with little stars for position dots.

Dusty,

I need another dulcimer/instrument, like I need a hole in my head. That said (haha), I've told myself, if I were to get one, it would be a McCafferty. I'm happy to see your response, that that would be your choice. Can you post a pic of yours? He makes beautiful dulcimers!

I'm glad this is only a hypothetical discussion.   Yesterday alone I played three different dulcimers and two different guitars. 

What if?? That requires considerable consideration. Like Dusty stated one does not always shine on every song--thus the justification for having more than one.

However IF I had to have just one, it would be the Leonard Glenn reproduction Kevin Messenger made for me.

I have several wonderful dulcimers, and they serve different purposes. A tune that shines on one does not necessarily work so well on another.  However, at any given time I usually consider one of them my "numero uno."  Right now that would be my cherry/redwood McCafferty with a 25" VSL.  It works equally well for fingerpicking and flatpicking.  But ask me in a few months and my answer will be different.

Playing only one dulcimer is like drinking only one kind of wine.

There's no way I can choose one. I have to choose two. My Doug Berch  is my go to dulcimer for plugging in, and my Folkcraft Custom  with a galax back is my go to dulcimer for when I'm unplugged (generally speaking). It's like having to choose your favorite child. 

Hmmm, that's a real hard one.  I have two wonderful mountain dulcimers and two wonderful little epinettes (which i kinda think of as small scale dulcimers)

I've often thought of getting another dulcimer, and have been sorely tempted a few times but somehow I resisted. So... because i don't actually know what it'd be like to have other dulcimers, I'm going to choose one of those four I already have and am familiar with playing.

Of the four instruments above, if I could only keep ONE (oh what a terrible choice!)... I'd probably choose my sweet mahogany epinette that @john-henry Crocker made and sent to me as an amazing surprise gift the Christmas of 2011.  It's got a beautiful voice and it's so precious to my heart... two of the best reasons to choose it!  

Thank you all re the burl maple. I've built quite a few from that tree; as well as a variety of other products. The one in the photo is one of a set of two.

@Kusani, the burl maple top on that dulcimer is astounding!

If I can only have one it would be one of my Uncle Ed Thomas reproductions.

Wow, @Kusani !  That wood is stunningly beautiful!  

I feel lucky to have several wonderful dulcimers!  If I could keep just one-- I've referred to it before as my nursing home dulcimer because I'd have to choose one when I go into nusing home someday-- it'd be my Blue Lion Jean Ritchie model. 

I believe I would chose one of my own builds, #7. It has a burl maple top, walnut/maple back, and walnut sides. The wood is from trees I cut several years ago. 

If I could have only one mountain dulcimer, it would be my Blue Lion Jean Ritchie Model.

My purple 28 inch ultra-lite. It is what I'd describe as the most traditional....

DAN

www.dulcimore.com

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I have a Folkcraft resonator with a pickup. It has a 23.5" VSL , double back, and a reversible nut [raise/lower action and multi string layout], can be setup as a bass, standard, or baritone. I would have the same thing in a chromatic. Then I could play in any style, including dobro style, or most any genre, as my interests change. I play chord/melody primarily. 

Yeah, the subject comes up periodically.  And the answers are as varied as the kinds of music people enjoy playing, and the way they play -- Chord Melody, Fingerdancing, or Noter & Drone.

I, for example, am a hardcore Noter & Drone player of 15th century to 19th century Anglo-Scottish Border Ballads and their descendants as played in this country.  I want a dulcimer not more than about 6" wide, not more than 1-1/4" or so deep, with a 1" tall fretboard, staple frets, and Just Intonation.  Those traditional instruments have what I call a "high silvery" sound.  John Knopf, Bobby Ratliff, Dan Cox and Kevin Messenger all make dulcimers of that Traditional type which I would be proud and happy to own.  And I do own dulcimers by John and Bobby.

The kind of dulcimer I prefer has changed wildly over the last 40 years.  Originally I liked, and built, deep, wide dulcimers with much more baritone/bass response.