TK O'Brien 9/8 Backpacker What do you think of it?

[Dick Glasgow]

TK O'Brien 9/8 Backpacker ............ What do you think of it?

I've been looking into options for a relatively small & cheap H-D, to use for Children, to promote Hammered Dulcimer playing in this area.

Now recently, one of our members here, Dizzie, kindly wrote to me with details of the 'TK O'Brien 9/8 Backpacker H-D'.

If you are not familiar with it, you can check it out on Dizzie's MySpace

So I was wondering if anyone else here has had any experience with this Dulcimer?

If so, I'd really like to hear what you thought of this instrument? Ta.

Cheers
Dick

[dulcimike]

Hi, Ptar.

I looked at this very model of dulcimer for taking into schools or for community programs where I would need a good number (say 10-12 or so) dulcimers. It looks good at first, and the price is pretty low, but if you look carefully, the top box across the treble bridge, the C box, is not complete. As the number tells us, it's a 9/8, not a 12/11. It's missing the B/E, C/F and D/G (or D#/G#) courses on top of the treble bridge and the A, Bb, and C courses on the top of the bass bridge.

Try playing June Apple, or Pretty Little Dog on this in their proper keys/modes of A Mixolydian and Am. Or try playing Katie's Lilt, Fair Young Mary, Julia Delaney or Easter Thursday in their proper keys. If you never play in those keys or in C in that octave, you're fine. But I do, and I teach tunes that use the courses this dulcimer is missing.

So, although it looked good at first, I have to give it a 0 on a scale of 1 to 10. In fact, I have found a fellow who makes 12/11 kits who would assemble them for me and sell them with cases and stands for about $350, so if I find out I really need some dulciemr for school or community dulcimer classes, I'll get those from him.

Just my pence, which at today's exchange rate is......two cents.

[Dick Glasgow]

Thanks for the feedback Rick.

If & when I get a grant organised over here, I think I'll come back to you for the details of this 'OTHER' maker.

Next question:

What's 350 Dollars in £s?

[dulcimike]

admin said:

Next question:

What's 350 Dollars in £s?

Hmmm. Don't know. Haven't weighed that much money. ;-)

But my guess is that, at today's exchange rates, it's nearly £175. What's that in stones - something like 12.5?

This is a much too weighty discussion to be having at this time of night.

[Dick Glasgow]

£175 eh. Hmmmm

Tell me, how many of those kits could you fit in your hand luggage, when you come over here, next year? ;D

But seriously, I wonder if the cost of having a bunch of them sent over here, would be way too expensive?

Next time you see him, please ask him about freight costs for say 6 from USA to Ireland .. Ta

Cheers
Dick

[dulcimike]

admin said:

£175 eh. Hmmmm

Tell me, how many of those kits could you fit in your hand luggage, when you come over here, next year? ;D

But seriously, I wonder if the cost of having a bunch of them sent over here, would be way too expensive?

Next time you see him, please ask him about freight costs for say 6 from USA to Ireland .. Ta

Cheers
Dick

I have emailed Jeff about the dulcimers (including soft case and hamers - Hmm, did we discuss a stand with each when I talked to him? I'll find out) to get a quote on 6 and shipping from VA to your address. I'll let you know what he says offline.

[ceadach]

Hell all,
This is an interesting topic. These questions have vexed myself and other makers for sometime now. This might cross over into the building forum, any might be relavant to both.

For sometime I've toyed with the idea of building a 6/7 dulcimer just like the Rea style instruments. These instruments are portable and within the ken of a beginner to tune. So..... As an experiment, I retuned my bass courses on my 13/12 like John's and tried my hand at playing some tunes using only 6 trebles and 7 basses. I was surprised at how easily some parts of tunes were and utterly shocked at the difficulties of others. I gained a whole new admiration for John's skill with his instrument. ( or Willie Rea and the late Nat MaGee for that matter...) What sounds like effortless playing on John's recordings is the result of years of disciplined practice!!!

I did make a single 10/9 instrument on request from a friend. He wanted a 9/8 but after some thought, I talked him into a 10/9. After some fooling around I came up with this tuning.

Trebles --- Basses

1. ‘’c / f ‘----
2. ‘b/ e’ ---- Bb/Bb’
3. ‘a/ d ‘ ---- G#/G#'
4. ‘g/ c’ ---- F
5. ‘f#/ b ---- E
6. ‘e/ a ---- D
7. ‘d/g ---- C
8. ‘c#/f ---- B
9. b/e ---- A
10. a/d ---- G

Forgive the poor chart, it's the best I could come up with...

The instrument had chessmen and could be a bit more flexible in retuning the a "connected" bridges dulcimer. (They also move about more and might frustrate a beginner.) The top two basses were divided in octaves like the treble of Irainian santoor. Akward as it looks, these courses took little getting used to. I found this tuning solved some of the problems vs 9/8 in C major and A major. F major is possible, but admittedly not very easy. It worked out well enough and my friend loved it, yet I wouldn't want to have this as my only instrument or ask a beginner to cope with the somewhat usually tuning.

I've been accused of being something of a dulcimer minimalist, as I can't see the need for "reverse engineered pianos" like a 31/22/21/13/6/8 course instruments for playing trad music or starting out beginners. ;D Having said that, for a just few more courses, IMHO, a 12/11 or 13/12 instrument is a far better bet than 9/8 for beginners or anybody wanting a smaller instrument.

Chad

[dulcimike]

ceadach said:

Hell all,
This is an interesting topic. These questions have vexed myself and other makers for sometime now. This might cross over into the building forum, any might be relavant to both.

For sometime I've toyed with the idea of building a 6/7 dulcimer just like the Rea style instruments. These instruments are portable and within the ken of a beginner to tune. So..... As an experiment, I retuned my bass courses on my 13/12 like John's and tried my hand at playing some tunes using only 6 trebles and 7 basses. I was surprised at how easily some parts of tunes were and utterly shocked at the difficulties of others. I gained a whole new admiration for John's skill with his instrument. ( or Willie Rea and the late Nat MaGee for that matter...) What sounds like effortless playing on John's recordings is the result of years of disciplined practice!!!

We have spent time with William Rea, who plays an exact copy of John's dulcimer, and having looked at their tuning, it does make for an interesting challenge to play on one of theirs. In fact, from what Nat, William and Geoffrey say, John never played anything above the G on the bass bridge which meant he never played a C#, for example.

In fact while visiting William this year, I had the thought of tuning one of my dulcimers to the tuning of William's/John's and learning tunes that way - but I thought the better of it not long afterwards. ;-)

ceadach said:

I did make a single 10/9 instrument on request from a friend. He wanted a 9/8 but after some thought, I talked him into a 10/9. After some fooling around I came up with this tuning.

Trebles --- Basses

1. ‘’c / f ‘----
2. ‘b/ e’ ---- Bb/Bb’
3. ‘a/ d ‘ ---- G#/G#'
4. ‘g/ c’ ---- F
5. ‘f#/ b ---- E
6. ‘e/ a ---- D
7. ‘d/g ---- C
8. ‘c#/f ---- B
9. b/e ---- A
10. a/d ---- G

Forgive the poor chart, it's the best I could come up with...

It's as good as you can do on one of these forums without taking a lot of time.

ceadach said:

I found this tuning solved some of the problems vs 9/8 in C major and A major. F major is possible, but admittedly not very easy. It worked out well enough and my friend loved it, yet I wouldn't want to have this as my only instrument or ask a beginner to cope with the somewhat usually tuning.

Yes, at least the 10/9 has a full octave of F and C which I would consider essential for learning a fifth-tuned dulcimer![/quote]

[ceadach]

<<Yes, at least the 10/9 has a full octave of F and C which I would consider essential for learning a fifth-tuned dulcimer!>>

Exactly. It's like having a fiddle without the possibility of adding an E string. Interesting that the Rea instruments have the full octave C position in the treble.

<<We have spent time with William Rea, who plays an exact copy of John's dulcimer, and having looked at their tuning, it does make for an interesting challenge to play on one of theirs. In fact, from what Nat, William and Geoffrey say, John never played anything above the G on the bass bridge which meant he never played a C#, for example.>>

What an honor to meet and play with Willie, Nat and Geoffrey! Willie's comments about John's use of the bass bridge are interesting. I wonder how they play those D tunes???

<<<In fact while visiting William this year, I had the thought of tuning one of my dulcimers to the tuning of William's/John's and learning tunes that way - but I thought the better of it not long afterwards. ;-)>>

I haven't given up completely on the idea of building a Rea style dulcimer. I suppose one would get used to a 6/7 over time.
John certainly proved that it could be done!

[dizzid11]

Hi dizzi here i use the backpackers basically in schools because they are cheap, portable and i can do all thing i nedd to with them for exaple teach scales nursey rymes londons burning etc.

for this purpose i think they are great as i can fit 20 in the boot of my car.

I have started selling 12/11 tk o'brien dulcimer with a bag, stand , book , hammers , tuning lever warranty etc for £250 which i think would be about the same cost as if you ordered one from america then paid the vat once it arrive in the country.

you can see them all on my website dizzi.co.uk

allso heres a youtube video of the 12/11 in action

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBrq1CajCZU

hope this helps xXx

[mrcaland]

i have been toying with the notion of getting one of these to shove under my desk at the office.
there are some more samples of this instrument on youtube by user name "kenhardtofind"

www.youtube.com/user/kenhardtofind

enjoy

on a side note. Dizzi Thank you so much for posting your teaching vids on youtube.
I was unsure about buying and learning an HD until i found these.