Range

The first step in the process is to select what range instrument suits you. This will depend on a number of things; what kind of music you want to play, whether you want to start small and move up, the weight and size of the instrument, and of course how much money you're willing to spend. Most people starting out these days purchase 15/14s or 16/1/5s with 1" string spacing. These two instruments represent the core playing area of most of my models.

12/11s used to be that core and although the price is right you will probably grow out of this size within a couple of years.

Soundboard

Honduran or Brazilian Mahogany, Redwood, Western Red Cedar, Engelmann or Sitka Spruce are the woods I use for soundboards. Your choice will affect the tone of the instrument. The majority of my hammered dulcimers have soundboards of Redwood. The other twenty percent have either Spruce, Mahogany or Cedar. The Redwood provides a mellow tone with an immediate presence. The Spruce is very resonant, full, brighter with slightly more sustain. All Mahogany soundboards are going to give you a brighter tone with slightly less sustain but a tone that is not as full as either spruce or redwood. I have just begun to use Cedar. Its tonal characteristics are quite close to Redwood. Cedar would be a touch darker (more bass overtones). I have been very please with the sound of the cedar instruments so far. Its drawbacks are it really can't be left natural and must be colored black as the wood is often multicolored and would be distracting if left natural. Any of the above woods have an excellent but different tone.

The instrument below has a Cherry frame and Birdseye Maple pin panels. The soundboard is redwood but made black. Paduak is used for the top and bottom binding and the rim around the soundhole design. . Paduak was also used for the bridges. The Custom sound hole design is of Curly Maple. Each design is unique to the instrument.

After deciding on the size and range of your instrument, you will need to decide on the soundboard, its color, the frame, binding, pin panels, bridges and sound hole design. These woods need to work together to give you an instrument that both looks and sounds good.

Photo Gallery - A wide range of photos of many of the different dulcimers I've built.

Wood selection page - Visual samples of many of the woods I use.

A list of combinations of woods - A written list of a few of the many successful combinations of woods.

Sound hole page - A place to see samples of sound hole designs. There is a video/slide show there as well

Size/Weight/String Spacing

String spacing is the distance between the individual courses. Most beginners start out with dulcimers with the 1" string spacing. The wider spacing is a little more forgiving and comfortable as you learn to strike the instrument. The tighter string spacing (7/8") makes the reaches and patterns smaller, increases your speed, but makes accuracy imperative. With a tighter string spacing you get a lot of instrument in a smaller package. Instruments with 1" string spacing are of course larger and heavier.

Weight and size are important considerations. Larger heavier instruments sound great but they are a handful to carry around especially as we age. If you travel alot, you may want to consider my smaller lighter instruments. The overall weight of an instrument will vary slightly according to which wood you select for the frame and bridges and whether you have dampers. Dampers add about 3 lbs to the weight of the instrument. Tri-Stander brackets will add another 1 lb. Cases add about 2 lbs

For all the statistics on my various models visit my comparative page.

Stringing

I use a wide variety of strings to bring out the optimum tone in the instrument. What is used depends on the size. I use steel, phospher - bronze wire and wound strings on the bottom end.

Sound Quality

The quality of sound and the amount of sustain you desire in a hammered dulcimer is influence by the range, size and material choices. The smaller instruments will have less bass response and sound brighter, while the larger instruments support more bass end and are louder. Sustain is influenced more by material choices. Read over my ideas in the bridges and soundboard sections.The soundclips below are of a 3/16/18/9 size instrument although my instruments all have a similar sound..

Pin Panels

Pin panels are 2" wide veneers that face up and are located under the pin area on both sides of the instrument. They are just decorative. The pins go through the pin panels into hard maple pin blocks so there is tuning stability. The pin panels can match the frame or can be an entirely different wood. These panels can be just about any wood but needs to contrast with the binding. Your choices will be affected by whether your soundboard is natural, stained or black

Frame

The frame coupled with the back provide most of the strength of my dulcimers. The frame is also what you see from the front and side of the instrument. This decision has little affect on the tone but affects the weight and visual 'look' of the instrument. The front and back rails and pin block facing can be of almost any wood. Options include Walnut, Maple, Ash, Red Birch,Plain - Sawn mahogany, and Cherry at the base price. For an additional $75 you can have Ribbon Striped Mahogany, Curly or Bird's-eye Maple, Paduak, Bubinga, Curly Birch, or other woods of your choice. If I can find it I'll use it.

Soundboard Color

Soundboards may be left natural in color or stained or sprayed black, maroon or any other color you might fancy (adds $75). A natural background pleases people who prefer all natural wood in their instrument. Spruce, Redwood or Mahogany can be left natural.

All of the instruments that have colored soundboards are either sprayed or stained masking off the areas I want to be natural wood such as trim, pin panels and soundhole rim. Once it is sprayed or stained with the color of choice, it is than finished with sprayed clear coats. It really doesn't make much difference tonally as to whether it is a stain or sprayed paint. They both are just a vehicle for adding color to the soundboard. Stain is rubbed on while paint is sprayed on. The other difference is that sprayed paint is a little more uniform in color and covers small imperfections in the wood. Stained woods get you a darker background yet you still will see some grain. The difficulty with both is getting the right color; a color that works with your other wood choices. Color choice also depends on what background you'd like for your strings. Darker colors mean that shadows are reduced and the strings are more visible (as long as they are shiny). Most better players though are paying much more attention to the acetal markers on the top of the bridges than to the strings so background becomes less important. Redwood and Mahogany can be stained with a wide range of colors with less predictable results in terms of color. I most often use a light color stain like Honey Amber or a darker stain like Jet Mahogany. I don't recommend staining either Cedar or Spruce. These woods just look unnatural when stained. Black, maroon or other sprayed colors of course eliminate all grain; you only get color. Your choice of soundboard color has no effect on the sound of the instrument. Check out some of the photos of instruments with the various options and of course look at my wood sample page.

Bridges

The choice of bridge material also affects the tone and sustain of the instrument. Walnut provides the least sustain while Cherry, Paduak, and Maple will give you a bit more sustain and brightness in a gradient from cherry to maple. It has to do with the hardness of the wood. Other woods such as Ebony, Rosewood, Kingwood etc can be used for bridges but will add $75-$150 to the cost of the instrument. These woods are generally harder and approximate the tonal response of maple. If you'd like the look but not the expense of Ebony, I suggest you have me stain and finish Maple black. The bridges will look just like Gaboon Ebony.

Soundhole Designs

A Curly Maple Soundhole motif is individually designed for each instrument at no extra charge. I cut a great deal of abstract designs in paper using but a fraction. As a result each instrument I've built has a unique signature. A design of your choosing may be used at extra cost ($75 minimum). Submit your ideas, drawings or clippings for a quote. Sending them as photos, jpgs or gifs works fine for me. If you are looking for ideas, do an image search through Google or the other image search engines.

If you'd like to see samples of what I'm capable of doing go to my soundhole page. I also have a link to a video/slide show that showcases many of the designs I've done over the years.

If you choose an exotic wood such as Mahogany, Koa, Rosewoods for the frame a donation to the Foreign Programs of the Nature Conservancy or a similar organization is suggested.