Thanks for that info, Omar! I'd love to see your Melton Galax some time.

It was a thrill for me to see some original Meltons (and many other important historic dulcimers) at the Ferrum College museum a few years ago. I was the only visitor there on that Saturday morning, and I had a ball looking at all the dulcimer stuff, reading the history and taking lots of pix.

PS The fretboard has a strum hollow

I own a Jacob Ray dated 6/26/91 without a 6 1/2 and no double back.The soundboard hole pattern isthe same as theone pictured but the fret board holes are smaller (1/2" diameter) and were likely drilled after the dulcimer was assembled since the shavings are still inside the instrument. The nut and bridge are constructed out of .05 aluminum sheeting and appear to have been driven into a kerf and filed down and notched after installation. The rigidity of the installation and hardness of the aluminum give the dulcimer a clear ringing harplike tone.

"Nuff of yer bickerin', chillun! Simmer down! This is a respectable establishment (as far as I know).

Randy....it just happens! I get carried away 'n I can't hep it!

(hey you should talk about noters wandering over to strings where they don't belong...!) lol!

What's ur noter doing clear over banging into the middle & bass string area anyways Lisa?....careful you'll get a bad reputation with ur noter over there...... : )...

Phil, that's funny! I know the feeling...

the more I read here the more I learn. I have two other tabs open running back and forth looking up new things I have just read. going into Info-overload

Thank ya'll for the information

I had a chance to play several times with Phyllis when I went to Cullowee a few years back. If I remember her dulcimer is at least 28" VSL.

Hi Lisa,

According to Ralph Lee Smith, Raymond Melton's instruments did have a longer VSL than the historic Virginia instruments and those of the rest of his family. His were over 27"

Robin, I suspect that the 'false nut' was an older trick and not actually invented by Phyllis.

but anyway- what is the scale length of the Melton Galax dulcimer? Is it really long enough to break strings tuned to ee? It would have to be about 28-29 inches or more to start breaking at eeee.

I know that Ben Seymour made a Melton reproduction for Phyllis, I wonder if he used the same exact scale length from an original Melton.

Hi Lisa, I think that you are right -from what I remember now it was Phyllis Gaskings who introduced the false nut. Here is what Phyllis Gasking said about tuning up on the instrument she bought from Raymond Melton:

My only problem was those "A-modal" tunes requiring me to have a second dulcimer tuned to all E's. I didn't have a second dulcimer. It had been hard enough to get the first one! So I had to retune. Hmmm I broke so many strings in those days! Then one day I realized that I didn't need to retune; all I needed to do was raise the two drone strings up to an "E" and that's what I did! I put a "false nut," a kind of reverse capo, under the drone strings at the first fret, and presto: A-modal tuning!

Robin, since we are talking about how the Meltons might have incorporated creative solutions for playing with fiddle sessions... I wonder if it's at all possible that some of the Meltons might have simply tuned up to eedd instead of using the reverse capo. I know I would tune up, it's so easy to tune up one step, and it avoids my noter accidentally knocking out the little capo thingy (which I've been known to do).

Hey John, you don't know how important that answer you gave on the 6+ question is!!!!

I had no idea that the Melton's did that - I've just looked it up in Ralph Lee Smiths book and Raymond added the 6+ too. How did I miss that

From my own playing experience, I don't think that they added the fret to play in D (Galax playerscould do that already and would just miss out the 7th on the few tunes that use it - easy enough and there are plenty of recordings of Galax players doing just that!). Ihave a hunch thatit wasadded it to play in the key of A ionian/mixolidian from e,e,d,d, tuning using a false nut - the major 3rd is crucialfor playing major key ofA fiddle tunes.Raymond was certainly into playing with fiddlers and you need the keys of A major, minor and mixolidian to sit in with a fiddler - a 6+ added to a dulcimer scale gives you that:

I never knew about that 6+ before on these instruments !!!!

Thanks, everyone.

SometimesI wonder if I'm the only one left who appreciates the colorful history of the mountain dulcimer, then I get these nice comments from you, and it doesn't feel like such a lonely path to walk.

I drew up my own plans, not having any others available, after looking in several books, scaling Galax dulcimer photos from photocopies, and generally snooping around. It's not for everyone, but this is my idea of fun! No, this one was not ordered -- I just made it for me, actually, but ended up selling it. Oh, well.

By golly, there IS a 6-1/2 fret on that! Why did IDO that? Answer: Because none other than Jacob Ray Melton put one there onHIS Galax! See page 100 in the coffee-table book entitled "Hearts and Hands: Musical Instrument Makers of America" by Jake Jacobson. It's as plain as day on his fretboard.

She's a bueat! I've started sniffing around. I want one. I'm looking for plans too. Nice job on that one.

Hi John,

That looks like a fantastic instrument - and very playable

Is that a 6+ staple in there? Did you come across any old Galax dulcimers with one on your research or was it a client request?

I have the Galax that Don Neuhauser build for Bonnie Russell following the pattern he took from Bonnie's Roscoe Russell dulcimer. It rings like a bell It has a narrower fretboard than the Melton dulcimers and I've wondered if that was a Roscoe Russell or Don addition.

PS - Can't wait for Blessed to arrive this side of the pond

thanks research Is what I am doing now have a ways to go before I make any sawdust

Phil,

Just do your research, take your time and draw it all out first. Thaose are the main things I do -- I research allI can, try to see real examples somewhere, talk toa builder if possible, draw it all out on paper, and go slowly but deliberately. Keep it fun, though! Thanks for the kind words.

looks good one of the kinds of Dulcimer I hope to build someday I hope mine will look half that good.