Hi,
I am in the middle of my second build which is for my 7 year old daughter. I was going to do a dulcimer fretting based on some recommendations in a 22.25" scale. I am not sure what strings would be best for this and also what to tune them to. Any advice would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Mike
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Thanks everybody. I appreciate the advice and different options presented.
Kid, for the fishing line, does it stretch easily and need to be retuned very often? I was planning this summer making CBGs with my nieces and nephews when we all go to vacation together and that would make it a more economical option for me.
You can do it with fishing line, I've used 20lb, 30lb & 40lb works great. That got me to key of g at around 520mm scale length
Plastic strings are gentler on youngsters hands and require less strength to fret cleanly, in my opinion they're much better for children than steel strings. Also sometimes less volume is a blessing ;)
Ps it's the same tuning/intervals as regular 3 string cbg tuning that everyone does here, so any strings that work for that.....
Joe Caruso > The Phrygian KidMarch 1, 2015 at 9:54am
Look at tenor banjo strings, or octave mandola. Traditioabnl mountain tuning is usually DAd.. so use D A and e from a pack of Irish tenor banjo strings, if you use Jazz tenor set, they are a fifth below .ie CGDA, so that would give you GDg, but they might not be bright enough. Look on my page here for a picture of a dulcimer I built from plywood. The scale length was copied form an octave mandola. I''d go for longer rather than shorter scale as the stings become less string like and more like rods on short scale instruments, and the dulcimer needs half the length of the neck to get good sounding scales out of it. Sean Laffey
Sean Laffey > Sean LaffeyFebruary 27, 2015 at 6:06pm
I would recommend standard nylon guitar strings for this Mike. I don't think the slightly shorter scale length would be a problem. In terms of what to tune it to, just use whatever sounds right. GDG should be fine though. Good luck! I actually made a small dulcimer style instrument for my daughter too, but I used a 13" scale and uke strings.
Replies
Kid, for the fishing line, does it stretch easily and need to be retuned very often? I was planning this summer making CBGs with my nieces and nephews when we all go to vacation together and that would make it a more economical option for me.
Thx!
Mike
Plastic strings are gentler on youngsters hands and require less strength to fret cleanly, in my opinion they're much better for children than steel strings. Also sometimes less volume is a blessing ;)
Ps it's the same tuning/intervals as regular 3 string cbg tuning that everyone does here, so any strings that work for that.....
I like to use Banjo strings there lite and they sound good.
Hi Mike
Look at tenor banjo strings, or octave mandola. Traditioabnl mountain tuning is usually DAd.. so use D A and e from a pack of Irish tenor banjo strings, if you use Jazz tenor set, they are a fifth below .ie CGDA, so that would give you GDg, but they might not be bright enough. Look on my page here for a picture of a dulcimer I built from plywood. The scale length was copied form an octave mandola. I''d go for longer rather than shorter scale as the stings become less string like and more like rods on short scale instruments, and the dulcimer needs half the length of the neck to get good sounding scales out of it. Sean Laffey
http://www.cigarboxnation.com/photo/dulcimer-8-1?xg_source=activity
Thanks again!
Mike
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