5 string cherry dulcimer with hand-carved Indian head, amplifying box and case

Description

This beautiful instrument was built by a part-time dulcimer and folk banjo luthier who makes most of his money as a history teacher and lives in the tiny town in central West Virginia where he grew up. Unfortunately, I’ve lost his name. Here is what he wrote about this instrument. “This one I call ‘The Cherry Lover’s’ because it’s all cherry, and the top and bottom are from a 100+ year old perfect piece of cherry that was 26” wide! I think the reason it’s so dark is its age. The fretboard is higher than normal dulcimers, but it’s hollow, so it creates a whole new sound cavity. Being five string, it naturally has a higher volume, but this one has a great acoustic guitar-type sound and amazing resonance. The head I carved from a solid piece of cherry, and the Indian head I carved exactly from an image in my mind from a recurring dream I had growing up. I’ve always been fascinated by Native American culture and felt a deep connection to it. The tuning pegs are Grover friction pegs, and for a dulcimer, you can’t get anything better than that. The scale is 26”. Everything notes and plays correctly without any buzzing or cranky metallic sounds, it took me a few days of varnishing with shellac to get the look. It’s a very well made instrument that might end up in a folk art museum at some point, but for now it’s meant to give a few lifetimes of entertainment. This is probably the last full-size dulcimer I will build out of wood this fine. It is 37” long in total with two inch sides. I designed the pattern for this and drew and carved the S holes and stars so everything here is one of a kind, custom, and my tools are the same type the historical builders used in Appalachia. I like the Grover tuners, though, and I am sure they would have used them back then if they had had them. I have only made three exceptionally great dulcimers that went far beyond what is needed, and this is one of them.”
I bought this on eBay to play in a mountain and hammered dulcimer ensemble of about eighteen advanced players, most of whom play instruments by well-known builders. Frankly, it sounded better than any of the others, and was also louder. It has a beautiful, warm tone, smooth and rounded. If you want a dulcimer with a biting, nasal tone, don’t buy this one. It won’t sound that way. Wrong wood and wrong size.
So, what do you do with a five string dulcimer? Well, I always play it with finger picks and a thumb pick, fingerstyle, as I’ve played fingerstyle guitar for fifty years. But it also works with a flat pick. At present I have it tuned aa a D D. I fret the doubled A strings and the first D string and the other A string and the bottom D (same gauge as the other D) I use as drones. However, in the ensemble, everyone else tuned their dulcimers d a D and played three-fingered chords by fretting all three strings. So I tuned it dd a D D. The bottom D, again, I used as a drone when it was appropriate. No one else had one, and it was a wonderful addition to the sound. (It would also be possible to make the bottom string a D an octave lower, like a bass Dulcimer.
This dulcimer did not come with a case, and it’s too big to fit into any case I found available on line. So I built a wood box open at one end (and closed with a Velcro strap) that could serve as both a case and an amplifier. I cut holes in the box, including one to match the hole in the back of the dulcimer, and put little silicone blocks on top to center the dulcimer. Put the box on your lap, put the dulcimer on the box, and the volume and tone will be enhanced MUCH more than any Galax back can do. The box increases the bass and the warmth and the volume. A LOT! Of course, a padded case wouldn’t do that, so I installed slippery strips inside that lets you slide the instrument in and out of the box without scratching it. I also found on line a padded shotgun or rifle case that makes quite a nice case for the dulcimer, with two Velcro straps to hold it in place. but the box won’t fit in there. If you use that case, you can leave the box at home or carry it along by the convenient handle. It’s light.