Rick Thum / Dusty Strings or Masterworks ???

[Dick Glasgow]

OK As some of you ED members might have noticed, I'm looking into the possibility of buying an American H-D & having it shipped over here to Ireland & my first thought was, go for a small light one.
However, the more I check out the makers sights, the more I'm intrigued by the options & possibilities.

My first choice was a:

Rick Thum Traveler 14/13

However, when I'm going to all the bother of paying for shipping, import duty & tax, etc etc, I'm thinking I might as well go the whole hog & get as good as I can afford & something that'll mean I never need to upgrade.

Now I will only ever want to play Trad Music on it, so Irish, Scottish & Old Time, in other words I've no desire or need to go down the chromatic road.
For this reason I reckon the two front runners for me, at the moment, are the:

Dusty Strings 16/15 (D35)

& the

Masterworks 15/14

So I'd appreciate any advice or tips anyone here can give me, based on player's experience of actually playing these instruments, or even just hearing them being played?

Now, to my knowledge, I have never actually heard any of these H-Ds in the flesh (or should that be wood?), but the finest sounding H-D I have heard is the James Jones owned by Rick Davis.

Just so's you know, I would go for a deep, rich tone every time, over volume.

But here's a thought!
Do you know of any links to MP3s, where I might get a chance to hear any of these makes of H-D in action?

Thanks
Dick

P. S. I'm playing an Oakwood 12/12 at the moment.

[Dick Glasgow]

I have just checked with Customs here & been informed that in addition to the standard rate of VAT, I can expect to pay duty of 3.2%.
They also gave me a Commodity Code for that.

So if I were to go for a Rick Thum Traveler H-D it's going to cost me £225 {$450}, then I'll need to pay appx £89 for shipping + appx £38 Vat + appx £7 Duty

Which will put the total up to: £359 or $730!

A Rick Thum Wren will cost me: £317 or $643

A MasterWorks 15/14 will cost me: £540 or $1096

While a Dusty Strings 16/15 will cost me: £606 or $1230

So I wonder which one actually offers the best value for money, at those prices?

Cheers
Dick

[hdgal]

Hi Dick,
Having never played a Rick Thum I can't give you any advice on that. But I did own a music store and we carried both Dusty's and Masterworks so I have lots of experience playing and working with both brands. I tuned them up and played them all as they came through the store. Masterworks and Dusty Strings are my two favorite brands (though I, too, have seen a James Jones or two that I would love to own!) and I've personally owned both and performed on both. Currently I play a Masterworks Russell Cook "Special Edition" which is a 16-16 with chromatic bridges.

Ok...the differences, and why I made my own choice for a Masterworks:

Quality: Both of these makers are known for producing some of the highest quality instruments you can get. This is a tie, in my opinion. You can't go wrong with either one.

Size: Dusty's are bigger and heavier, and this is one of the reasons I opted for a Masterworks. I simply couldn't carry a big Dusty everywhere I want to go. Since they are bigger, the space between courses is larger. Russell has made a real effort to cut away excess wood to reduce size and weight. He actually makes what he calls the "Ultralight" which addresses this problem specifically. Our band likes to perform in a tight circle around a condenser mic (Bluegrass style) and the Masterworks allows me to get much closer to my bandmates. I do use the Dusty Strings tri-stander leg system on my Masterworks, though, so I have no worries about my instrument toppling over. I can also pick up the whole instrument and move it out of the way quickly when I switch to guitar. If you go to our website at www.thenextchapter.net and look under "Concert Photos" at North Texas Irish Festival 3 and Pickin at the Pavilion 6 you'll see some examples of our set up. I think there's a shot or two under our "Celtic Christmas" photos, too. So you can see that size is a really big issue for me. It's got to be light enough for me to carry and small enough for me to get in close and share the condenser mic with my son. (We feel that we can accomplish a tighter sound by being physically close to each other) Also, as I mentioned earlier, the space between courses is larger on Dusty's and since I like to play fast, I feel that I can accomplish more speed without a bigger stretch from top to bottom of the dulcimer.

Tone: Because the Dusty is larger I think it has a deeper tone (a larger soundbox will always produce a deeper tone). I think the Masterworks has a brighter tone. Even though I normally like low, deep tones myself, for some reason I'm drawn to the more 'bell-like' tone of the Masterworks. Both have beautiful voices, though, so this is just a matter of preference.

Sustain: The Dusty's have 'broken bridges' and this does quite a bit to cut down on sustain. The breaks between the Masterworks bridges are smaller and so there is more sustain and it tends to ring longer. Again, this is a personal preference. I like the sustain of the MW--I think it contributes to that 'bell-like' quality I mentioned before. But a lot of folks are trying to cut down on sustain so the sound doesn't muddy up. If you want less sustain, Dusty's are the way to go. If it doesn't matter to you, either is a fine choice.

These were probably the main differences that we pointed out to our customers so they could each make the best personal choice.

Hope this helps and let me know if you have other questions.

Jeanne

P.S. I sure wish we had connected in Ireland, Dick, so you could have tried mine out to have a better idea. Darn!

One other thought...if you want to try out a Dusty Strings and don't mind traveling a bit in Ireland, Harris Moore in Dingle owns a big Dusty. I'm sure he'd be happy to let you take a look, and give it a try. Keep in mind, though, that he travels in Europe a lot during the winter months and might be hard to track down.

[Dick Glasgow]

Hello Jeanne,

Thanks for all the tips.

I don't mind the size, if it gets me a nice rich tone, so I'm leaning towards the Dusty.

Interesting to hear how the bridges can make a big difference, when it comes to sustain.

That's been a great help.

As for Harris & Dingle. We'll actually be down in Tipperary in August, so I've written to Harris, at the Museum, & maybe, if it suits, we might go down a day early & go on down the "extra couple of miles" ( ;D ) to see him, & hopefully I can have a wee rattle on his Dusty H-D.

Cheers
Dick

[jt3d]

Hi Dick!

I have a Masterworks 15/14, and love it, but at the same time I'm finding more of a want for les sustain. My particular HD has sustain that is out of this world. But the more accomplished I've become at playing fiddle tunes faster, the more I can see the need for less sustain. Still, due to economic factors and the fact I love my Masterworks, I won't be going away from it any time in the near future.

I would suggest going with the biggest (by that I mean the most notes available) that your pocketbook can afford.

GOOD GRIEF!!!! They are KILLING you guys there with all the extra cost to ship something from here to there.

[gypsy]

OUCH! my heart goes out to you about the freight. I've played Dusty Strings, and own Masterworks, the Russell Cook Edition. The Dusty Strings is a fine instrument but.........to my ear, was a little tinny sounding for the money. And it was disorienting for me to play.......felt as though the sound was coming off about 3 inches above the strings. And i played several, just seems to be one of thier quirks. My masterworks has an awesome bass bridge, and holds tuning wonderfully well. I can go 60 miles to a gig, over a mountain road, and just have a couple of courses to touch up. After the tuning nightmares i have owned in the past, i REALLY appreciate that. And Masterworks gives a trial period. O'course, i would imagine that Dusty Strings would as well, they are a pretty darned reputable luthier. As for Ricks dulcimers, i have never played or seen one, so no help there. If weight is not a problem, and you aren't in a hurry, and have a bucket of ducats, Nick Blanton makes an amazing dulcimer..........

[Dick Glasgow]

Thanks for the thoughts Jim & Gypsy.

Funny thing is that over at ED, most folks seem to be saying that they've had tuning problems with their Masterworks & the other problem with them is a huge SUSTAIN!

Sustain is my big problem with my OAKWOOD & I've even covered up all the sound holes in an effort to dampen it.

I do also own an old 2nd hand Folkcraft but don't like playing it:
A = because to my ears it sounds VERY tinny
&
B = because I have constant tuning problems with it

So these are two things I want to avoid with any new instrument.

I have checked out those Nick Blanton - Compacts but at $2,740 (£1,348) they are way out of my price league.
Unless, of course, my next Lotto Ticket comes through for me! ;D

It is very frustrating not being able to sit down in a store & try the various models out, even for the sound quality & sustain factors.
I'd love it to be low on sustain, but have a deep rich sound & maybe that's the problem, trying to get both in balance, in the same instrument?

I know the perfect solution ...... I'll buy one of each!

Cheers
Dick

[gypsy]

You betcha. One heads up.....DO NOT get the zero sustain masterworks, it is wretched. Was in on the prototypes, and they were awful. If you are trying to reduce sustain, use your leathers, and consider weaving yarn next to the hitch pins.........a row or two makes a big difference, and you can really dial it in.
Snicker..........them that complain about tuning NEVER owned a Foss dulcimer. Now THAT was a tuning nightmare. My Cook dulcimers really hold tuning well. Of course, i tune daily, and during a gig, hourly. Seems like over at ED there is fear of tuning..........i see WAY too much of "oh yeah, i tune once a month, or when someone is coming over" "I haven't tuned in 6 months, its fine" These are the people who make others shudder when they see me arrive. Until they hear my dulcimer!

[Dick Glasgow]

Thanks for the tip Gypsy.

I'm off to pinch some of Mrs Ptarmigan's wool ...................................

[jack]

Dick, sometimes I've felt my Oakwood had too much sustain, then one time I sat back and listened to somebody else playing it. It sounded just the way I wanted, maybe the sustain sounds different to the player. Even with the additional taxes, still seems a good price for some of the instruments you mentioned.

Jack

[Dick Glasgow]

Oh yes Jack, I admit it, I do like the sound of my Oakwood, a lot. I'd just like to be able to dampen the sustain, just a little & I wouldn't part with it. I'll just be bringing it down a notch to C/F instead of D/G.

I tried covering up ALL the holes but that surpsisingly didn't do the trick, so this afternoon I took Gypsy's advice & strarted knitting wool through the strings next to the pins & that certainly does the trick. So I'm going to play around a bit more with that trick tomorrow & see how it goes.

Aye pricewise, what with the exchange rate the way it is, it seems like a good time to take the plunge & get that slightly larger instrument which will do me.
I certainly couldn't justify, & don't need anyway, one of those huge chromatic monsters, but it'd be great to have those low notes to play with sometimes, that a 15/14 would give me.

[dulcimike]

Hi, Ptarm.

Another difference between the Dusty Strings and others is that they are built to take a beating - literally. Dan Landrum, who used ot be a Rock Drummer, still plays with, shall we say, vigah! He really lays into the strings. When he plays a James Jones, it sounds awful because James's dulcimers aren't made to be hit that hard. So, from that standpoint the Dustys are good for him.

As for the tone, I haven't played that many Dusty Strings, though I just got a D10 for a rental here. I need to play it some. Of course, it's smaller than what you'd be wanting, being a 12/11.

If the wool is working, then that's the way to go. And the price is right, eh?

I like the Masterworks dulcimers. That's what Christie Burns plays.

OK, time to go.

[Dick Glasgow]

Thanks Rick.

I'm off now to see if there are any Dan Landrum YouTube Videos.

Cheers
Dick

[dulcimike]

admin said:

Thanks Rick.

I'm off now to see if there are any Dan Landrum YouTube Videos.

Cheers
Dick

There may be some videos on his website, www.danlandrum.com

Cheers

[ceadach]

Hi Dick, Hey there all,

A few years back a friend loaned me a Dusty Strings 15/14 (made circa 1992) when he was abroad so it would get played and tuned in his absence. It was easily one the best dulcimers I've ever played, and I wish I owned it now! Some of their recent instruments have received mixed reviews, maybe they were "too new" and needed to be played in. There have been some complaints about some of their instruments being better than others; as a part time builder I can tell you that is just the nature of wood!!! Some instruments come out better than others. I played one of the "McCutheon" models the other day and it was amazing!!! And Rick is absolutely right, these things were engineered to take a literal pounding! The man who owned this dulcimer busks and plays fairs for a livelihood and is very pleased with it.

Masterworks and Rick Thum both make great instruments and have good reputations as builders and as people. You really couldn't go wrong owning one of theirs.

James Jones is someone I have great respect for. He makes meticulously made instruments that feature ingenious uses of naturally finished timbers, sweet sounding stable instruments that show a prolific imagination. I think his prices are quite reasonable in view his outstanding workmanship.

Not to make you choice any harder but another American maker you might consider is Michael Allen, I think he is one of best kept secrets. www.cloudninemusical.com/CloudNineMainFrame.html I have been deeply impressed by the sound of his dulcimers, and his prices are very reasonable. I believe Kendra Ward plays one of Allen's dulces.
Chad