Thanks to both of you for your responses! Going to the string store this week...
RIP John Huron
Strumelia gave you the link to the Strother's string wizard. Checking for DAd tuning, it looks like 0.029, 0.020, 0.015. The GDg tuning come out to 0.022, 0.029. 0.011. It think the middle string in this tuning should probably be "d" at 0.015.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
An 18" scale is quite short. In my mind it's a length that is more common to epinette des Vosges (a small French dulcimer/zitter 'ancestor'). I typically tune my 2 epinettes to the key of G... 2.5 steps higher than the usual mtn dulcimer "D".
So, if you normally play in DAd you would tune GDg. And if you normally tune DAA you would tune GDd.
You would want to check which gauge strings to use to best tune to any note at a scale unfamiliar to you: https://www.strothers.com/string_choice.html
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Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
I received one of John Huron's instruments as a gift; I'm hopeful someone on the forums can help me with what strings I should put on it.
I believe he called it a "bird-house guitar." It has 3 strings, and frets laid out like a dulcimer. The length from the nut to the floating bridge is 18". John signed it inside and inscribed it "OH-048 10/95 Bristol, TN." I reckon it was tuned "D-A-D" but the original strings are long gone, and I don't know what gauge to buy - any help would be appreciated!
Thank you!
updated by @caledoniasoul: 11/07/26 12:16:44PM
I owned one of his dulcimers and had a nice conversation with him not too long ago. May his memory be a blessing!
updated by @jerry-posner: 03/12/26 06:42:58PM
This is indeed sad news. I visited John at his home many years ago when I started building Thomas dulcimores. He showed me his shop and his drawings of the Thomas he had measured. He had a lot of stories to tell, all interesting.
There is an article by him in Foxfire 12.
Sad news, thank you for letting us know Ken.
John Huron was quite a Renaissance man when it came to early folk instruments. He made traditional mountain and gourd banjos, limberjacks, dulcimers, rhythm bones, and other early American instruments. I have two mouth bows made by him. One of his mountain banjos resides in the Smithsonian Museum.
His talent, skill, and knowledge is a great loss, but he left behind a great many gifts in preserving our heritage!
https://tnartscommission.org/permanentcollection/john-huron/
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Site Owner
Those irritated by grain of sand best avoid beach.
-Strumelia proverb c.1990
Thank you for sharing this sad news, Ken. Though I never met Mr. Huron, his name is, indeed, part of current mountain dulcimer history.
I just learned today that John Huron who led many in the building of Thomas type dulcimers died on the morning of March 6, 2026. His obituary can be found here: John Huron . I met John when I attended Dulcimerville in Black Mountain, NC. He restored my J.E. Thomas dulcimer to playing condition and gave me the inside mold in case I decided to build one. He was a part of current mountain dulcimer history. Rest in peace, John.
Ken
"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."
