Rick Thum / Dusty Strings or Masterworks ???

[Dick Glasgow]

Last Saturday, I got my first opportunity to play my two very different H-Ds at two gigs in the one day, both Weddings.

One was in a large hotel lobby where I played my Rick Thum & it sounded wonderful.

Then we played in the Banquet Hall of Carrickfergus Castle, in costume, for the 2nd wedding , and for this one I played my Oakwood.

I must say, I feel a bit like a superstar, now that I have two great sounding Dulcimers to choose from, for any gig. ;D

Incidentally, I have now tuned my Oakwood down to C/F, instead of D/G & feel it suits our period work better.
Plus, it makes it really easy to play with my friend Sam, who plays Northumbrian Pipes, which are in F ...... anything for an easy life, that's me!

Cheers
Dick

[dulcimike]

admin said:

Last Saturday, I got my first opportunity to play my two very different H-Ds at two gigs in the one day, both Weddings.

One was in a large hotel lobby where I played my Rick Thum & it sounded wonderful.

Then we played in the Banquet Hall of Carrickfergus Castle, in costume, for the 2nd wedding , and for this one I played my Oakwood.

I must say, I feel a bit like a superstar, now that I have two great sounding Dulcimers to choose from, for any gig. ;D

Incidentally, I have now tuned my Oakwood down to C/F, instead of D/G & feel it suits our period work better.
Plus, it makes it really easy to play with my friend Sam, who plays Northumbrian Pipes, which are in F ...... anything for an easy life, that's me!

Cheers
Dick

Great stuff, Ptarm! Especially, being tuned down to play with Sam. Now you need one to tune to C#/G# so you and John Hastings can play HD and uilleann pipes together.

See? There's never an end, is there? ;-)

Glad the new one is working out well.

[cooper]

I know this is kind of late, but I thought I would share with everyone that I got to play a Dusty Strings D500. We have a meeting every month here in Oklahoma City, and I somehow had been talked into teaching the hammered dulcimer workshops a while back.

Anyway, I had a student show up at the last meeting that had just bought a Dusty Strings D500. The funny thing was they were new to the dulcimer, so the thing was way bigger then they needed (I really appreciate their ambition). They let me play it and I when up and down on that dulcimer and was blown away on how the sound is so even throughout it.

One of my biggest issues with Masterworks was on the middle bridge of my old 16/15 C when you played the lower strings (and the small bridge on the far left) it sounded like I was playing a different dulcimer, which annoyed the hell out of me. That is not the case with Dusty Strings. It was incredible because I thought that this HUGE dulcimer would have problems holding the sound level. I was wrong.

Now, I personally do not want a D500, but it was so much fun to play it (like the time I played a Cymbolim and Yan Chin). The only problem is it's making me more impatient to get my D35.

[lynngehringer]

I played the D600 I think, loaded and loved it, but I have medical issues and realistically, it would be to big and heavy for me to tote around, so I am now looking towards the Masterworks Russell Cook SE maybe next year or the year after, whenever I can afford it.

[Dick Glasgow]

it would be to big and heavy for me to tote around

Hey Lynn, have you seen these very useful gadgets? - WHEEELZ

[cooper]

WOOOOH! That is a cool site! They had a hammer for a mountain dulcimer. I wonder how that is used (I have never heard of such a thing).

I bet you can make your own cart out of PVC pipes (it looks like it was made with them). Although, I have been wanting to get a wagon for fairs because of my dulcimer, Greek bouzouki, frame drum and Arabic tabla (oh, and lunch box).

We had a celtic festival here in Oklahoma back in June and I met another solo dulcimer player there who had quite a cool set up for her MasterWorks dulcimer. She had Masterworks adjustable stand (which I highly recommend: ACC401 ), but she had drilled a hole in the corner of the back of the frame (top) and placed the top end of a fold up music stand on it. Cheep and effective. Latter on that evening at the session she had set up a clip on book lamp to that stand so she could see here strings (it was pretty dark in the hotel lobby). I did not ask her what model it was (it was bigger than the 16/15c I used to have), but it was not made of the "ultra light" woods because it was darker sounding than my old Masterworks.

[Dick Glasgow]

my dulcimer, Greek bouzouki, frame drum and Arabic tabla (oh, and lunch box)

What! No Kitchen Sink Cooper?

But seriously, that screw in light sounds like a great idea.

I was playing in a hotel lobby last week & the low ceiling had loads of little spot lights, so many that no matter where I sat I always ended up with at least two, above me. So I had at least two shadows cast below my strings which appeared to treble the number of strings I was looking at ... & I'm only just starting to get used to looking at 68, but 204 just knocked me out!

My plan is to attach a dark cloth background below the strings, as I have already done on my Oakwood, so that the strings show up against it, but there is no danger of any shadows.

I wonder how other folks get round this problem?

I reckon having your soundboard painted black would certainly help.

They had a hammer for a mountain dulcimer. I wonder how that is used (I have never heard of such a thing).

Yes, & how about those Hand Bows I saw recently, I forget where, for Hammered Dulcimers!
Has anyone here got a pair of these, or ever tried them?
They looked a bit like Knuckle Dusters
Perhaps they could double as those, just in case you get into bother, while Busking! ;D

Cheers
Dick

[cooper]

admin said:

What! No Kitchen Sink Cooper?

I do not know how this got past me (sorry this is late again). I am still trying to get used to checking this forum.

I have recently come to the conclusion that playing a lot of instruments is hurting my skill. I play a celtic harp too, and it is all I can do to play that once a week. The sad thing is a friend of mine is going to get me an Iranian Santoor when he goes to visit his family soon, so I defiantly have a musical instrument problem. BUT, the dulcimer is my main instrument (drums are next).

[dulcimike]

cooper said:

I have recently come to the conclusion that playing a lot of instruments is hurting my skill. I play a celtic harp too, and it is all I can do to play that once a week. The sad thing is a friend of mine is going to get me an Iranian Santoor when he goes to visit his family soon, so I defiantly have a musical instrument problem. BUT, the dulcimer is my main instrument (drums are next).

Ah! Yes! Another person with A.M.I.S. - Acquired Musical Instrument Syndrome. Welcome!

But seriously (Yes, Ptarm, I can be serious - cereally! ), I have had to limit my instruments to the duclimer for that very reason. If I start working on others, my dulcimer playing suffers. Otherwise, I'd own many more instruments than I do already. I did break down and buy a penny whistle, which wasn't nearly as low as a penny in cost. I also have a guitar, a bodhran (which I'm playing more at the local session), bongos, djembes and keyboard. The drums don't take any time for me to work with since I played percussion for many years before taking up the dulcimer, but keyboard is a different story, as is the whistle.

I find my challenge now to be in exploring the dulcimer, my dulcimer, and finding how to make it sing that beautiful sound, and express different moods, to know it well, and to, as it is said, "become one with it". That is a challenge, and is somethign that just takes spending time with it.

[cooper]

It is funny but two of my hammered dulcimer friends here in Oklahoma (which are two of my favorite local players) also play lots of other instruments. Is this a common occurrence?

One of my biggest problems right now is that I am playing more middle-eastern (or near east) music for belly dancers and I am feeling like I need to have an "official" middle-eastern instrument to do that, despite the fact that the hammered dulcimer works really well for that.

The truth being told, the santoor is not versatile as the American hammered dulcimer (or the hackbret or santori). So, if I did play the Irianian santoor, it would not only be more quite, but I would also have to play in the same key (or maqamat) since it is tuned to just one key. It is unusually to play the santoor for dancers too, but oh well.

I do not know why I feel this way, but I should try to get over it. The hammered dulcimer sounds really good playing all kinds of music. Anyway, just my thoughts on this (completely off topic).

[Dick Glasgow]

Cooper,

how on earth do you concentrate with Belly Dancers jiggling around you?



Cheers
Dick

[cooper]

Even when I am drumming, I have to watch the feet because it is very easy to get distracted.

[Dick Glasgow]

I imagine it might not be quite so distracting ..... if the Belly Dancers were men!

[gypsy]

admin said:

Cooper,

how on earth do you concentrate with Belly Dancers jiggling around you?



Cheers
Dick

we had a guitarist who was trying to beat a jig rhythm into our heads. He would say, look at the girls jig/gling. meself, i would think of the BOYS jiggling ;D

[cooper]

Well, my new Dusty Strings D35 finally arrived on my doorstep yesterday!!! It traveled all the way from Houston (folkharp.com), and was still in tune! Needless to say, I did not get much sleep last night and I am having a hard time concentrating at work (well, we got all of our work done for the week, so I do not know why I am here). I thought there was a place in the forum to put up a pic of our dulcimers, but I could not find it. So, I hope no one minds me showing it off here.

I am not only happy with the sound and feel of this instrument, but I really like the redish color of it too!



What is even more cool is that my wife and I are going to an event at Lake Texhoma (on the boarder of Texas and Oklahoma for those outside of the U.S.) this weekend called "Old Country Weekend." It is a 2 day event that focuses on dances from one or more countries (this year is Bulgarian dances). They will have live musicians and some of the music could not be played on a 12/11.....but, it sure can be played on a 16/15! So, this instrument got here just in time.