Back in 1968 Len and Sue MacEachron started Here Inc. In Minneapolis, Minnesota. In 1984 they sold Here Inc. to Gary and Eve Stone who changed the name to Stoney End and moved the business to Red Wing, Minnesota. In 2025, Grady and Nikki O’Gorman acquired the business from the Stones. My experience with the business is mostly from before 1984. The dulcimers and the kits they offered as well as all the other instruments were well constructed. The mountain dulcimers had a pleasant sound. I've had a couple of their instruments from the 1990s pass through my hands and they were good instruments. I think each successive owner tried (and succeeded) in improving the quality of the instruments and the company in general. I would not hesitate to buy one their instruments. The sell instruments from Hobgoblin Music, a UK based folk instrument company.

Ken

"The dulcimer sings a sweet song."

I’ve found your article

Do you know which edition of the newsletter your article was in (save me trawling through them all)?

As for Stoney End dulcimers, as should find out soon enough as I’ve bought a secondhand one which I should receive in a week or so.

I can't tell you anything about Stoney End dulcimers. There does not appear to be any prior mention of them on this forum. According to their website, the current owners have only owned the business for about a year. They offer wide range of instruments, so it is unlikely that two people produce everything in house. Buying from a luthier in the USA doesn't necessarily mean the instrument was "Made in America."

As to the instruments produced in Romania, I think virtually all of them are actually made by Hora. HORA S.A. is the largest and oldest musical instrument company in Romania, with a tradition of more than 70 years. 

https://hora-instruments.com/

These are sold wholesale under many labels. In the USA the dulcimers are branded AppleCreek. They are sold under various brands in the UK.

I have about five of the smaller ones and 3 of the larger ones. I use the smaller ones in dulcimer classes and lend them to students for practice at home. I will buy more of them as I find them on charity shop listings for less than $50 with case and shipping. They are well built and "not a bad sound."

As shipped from the factory, they have one major fault. The nut is high to allow for adjustment to player's preference. It takes only minutes with a needle file to lower the notches until the strings have a height of about a 1 Pound coin thickness at the first fret. If you are a Nonsuch Dulcimer Club member you have my article in their newsletter which provides more details.

There is nothing wrong musically with plywood faces for dulcimers. Too many folks buy for looks rather than for sound.

I don't know of any dulcimer production in China. The only one from Pakistan which I have touched seemed pretty good for the price, and I would buy a used one from a website if it was cheap.

Hi All,

I'm in the UK and looking to buy a dulcimer. There's quite a limited selection available, and most appear to be plywood models made in Romania (and possibly China). However a few music stores are offering Stoney End dulcimers which appear to be made in the USA, albeit at quite a price premium over the others available.
Are the Stoney End dulcimers any good for a beginner? Worth the price hike over the cheaper Romanian ones (Ozark, Muzzicon, etc.)? Any other suggestions to get a decent dulcimer in the UK?