I was wondering if there exact measurements that you need to follow when building a Dulcimer. Can you make the body what ever size you want? Is there a scale length you have to use?

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If you look at my page you will see my second build has dulcimer fretting but uses same scale length as a guitar. I find this very useful as you can use as both dulcimer and slide guitar. I use gdg tuning.

I find the fret calculator on the Stewmac site very useful. You can input inches or mm but I prefer mm as that's the system we use in Australia and also it is easier to estimate a fraction of a mm when measuring. For example 34.2 mm is just more than 34 mm but not as much as 1/2 a mm greater. I figure that on a cigar box guitar a placement of frets within .25 of a mm is OK. I mark the fretboard with a pencil measuring against a 1 metre steel rule and always measure from the nut to the fret - NOT the distance between frets (this gives greater accuracy)

You will see that the Stewmac fret calculator lets you make a selection for dulcimer fretting.

I first decide where I want to position the bridge on the box to take regard of both the pattern/picture/graphics on the lid and also to get a position approximately 1/3 of the distance from the end of the box. I believe this gives better resonance than positioning the bridge too close to the end of the box. I then decide what fret scale I want to use (generally the same as my Martin D-18 which is 25.340" or 643.636mm). This then determines the length of my neck - - measure from the position determined for the bridge to where the nut will be to establish neck length.

A Martin D-18 has 20 frets and you probably will not want any more than this.

Rgards  John Drake

Hey Randy,  I've built a couple There fairly simple to build. I don't think it matters much on the box size.

It don't really change the tone from what I've found. Pretty much how you got the fret board and fret spacing and

nut and bridge.

John's right on the Stu Mac stuff .  They got almost any thing you need in there to build.

The size of the box has more to do with volume than tone if you're building straight acoustic. Full size dulcimer VSL ranges from about 25 to 28 inches with a few shorter but higher toned dulcimers. IMHO dulcimer building is much like cbg, if you get the fret bouts right there aren't many other rules.

One thing you might do to is look on e-bay.  Look under cigar box guitar neck and fret boards.

 They have dulcimer fret boards on there real cheeeep!!!

Hi Randy Burks,

I have built a mountain dulcimer and documented it in detail her on CBN. Here's the link. I think you'll find a lot of useful information there, as well as links to some other sites that have information on building mountain dulcimers.

On my second mountain dulcimer, I used a 24" x 6" x 2" rectangluar box (home-made) and a shorter scale lenght of 50cm (20"). resulting in am instrument that fits more comfortably in my lap, and one I could use guitar strings (1, 2, & 3 from a set of six). The headstock and neck were adapted from the laminated necks I use on my stick dulcimers. I don't have a photo, but the headstock like the one in this photo...

 But on my second mountain dulcimer I laminated together three slats of cherry trim wood and glued that between the neck and the fretboard to raise the fretboard to the proper level as they are on most mountain dulcimers (e.g. about 3/4" above the sound board). I'll have to take some photos of this instrument and post them, Will try to that in the next day or two.

P.S. The Stew-Mac Fret Placement Calculator (mentioned above) has a instrument type selection box. If you select "Dulcimer" from the drop down selection box, the resulting table of fret measurements will be adapted for the mountain dulcimer (and stick-dulcimer). So, it simplifies the process of sorting out which frets you need and which you don't need from the chromatic fretboard layout (e.g. guitar fretboard). Those "dirty details" are also buried somewhere here in CBN.

-Rand.

I am looking at all of your information it very useful. I am learning alot from all of you. Getting ready to get  started I think.

You should also check out my CBN discussion group "Home Made Resonator Boxes 101, v.2.0" which contains a number of write-ups on other project builds I have done. And, my CBN personal page has some additional information and photos that you may find interesting.

-Rand.

Hi Again, Randy Burke.


I took some photos of my second mountain dulcimer and have uploaded them for you to look at.

They can be found at this link.

What is unusual about this mountain dulcimer (MD) is that its neck extends almost thru the sound box, terminating at the tail end (side) of the sound box without penetrating it. This is a cigar box guitar building technique. In addition, above the sound board I added a raised fretboard using three 3cm wide x 0.5 cm thick slats of trim wood to raise the fretboard a full 2cm (about 3/4") off the soundboard. So, on this instrument, the neck touches the soundboard on one side, and the elevated neck touches the soundboard on the other side for the full length of the sound box. The headstock is contiguous with the neck, so it's not glued on as a separate piece as was done on my first MD. I feel this is a cleaner design, though I like the scalloped elevated fretboard on my first MD. Feel free to copy any of my design or build techniques.

-Rand.

Thanks Rand very informative. I may have some questions for you all as I get started and progress with the build. I want to thank every one for your help.

What would be the best strings to use on a mountain dulcimer. Scale length is 28.5 inches nut to bridge. What strings and tuning should I use.

In China, I found the guitar strings made here are too short for my 28" VSL dulcimer, so when I was in the States I purchased some mountain dulcimer strings. You can find them at musical instrument stores that also sell mountain dulcimers, or better yet, order them via the Internet. I think there's a web site called Strings.com that should handle them. Or, you can try Google and search using key words like "mountain dulcimer strings".

On my second mountain dulcimer I reduced the scale length to 24" so I wouldn't have a problem finding strings. Banjo strings are another possibility, assuming your dulcimer handles "loop" string ends as opposed to "ball" string ends. Here's some info on string gauges I copied over from my write-up of my first mountain dulcimer project:

String Gauges for Mountain Dulcimers

Here is some information on string sizes to use for a Mountain Dulcimer. You can buy mountain dulcimer string sets, but I think I'll start with guitar strings of suitable gauge:

Four-String with Double-Melody (Tuning:  D-A-AA  or D-A-dd)

  1. Melody String #1:  0.010 to 0.012 plain steel
  2. Melody String #2: 0.010 to 0.012 plain steel
  3. Middle String: 0.012 to 0.014 plain steel
  4. Bass String: 0.022 bronze-wound (or similar wound)

On my second MD with the 24" scale, I use guitar strings #1, #2 and #3 from a set of 6 light guitar strings.

Hope this helps.

-Rand.

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