Choosing the Right Mountain Dulcimer

There is no one answer to "What is the best dulcimer." It depends on how you like music to sound, what you want the dulcimer to do for you, where you want to play it, and many other factors.

However, there is definitely a way for you to judge whether you are getting the dulcimer you want, and one that will keep on being right for you. We will get into the nitty- gritty of that here.

Remember, this is not an exercise to talk you into buying a particular instrument, or of buying one at all. All that will be left up to the ingenuity of you and the dulcimer makers you visit (including, I hope, me).

I. Judging the musical capability of the instrument.

• Overall musical quality.
  • Technical. Play some of your favorite tunes. Pick a few that explore:
    • The high end of the fretboard
    • Scales that move from string to string
    • Chords
  • Aesthetic judgment. Play your favorite tunes in a quiet place.
    • Does the instrument sound good to you?
    • Is it responsive to your touch? Do you feel like you have to push it to get music out of it?
    • Does it have enough volume?
    • Is it an appealing thing to hold and play?
    • Do you want it?
    • Or does it just make you wish you could find the perfect one for you?
• Performance potential.
  • Do you want a performance instrument or one for the parlor? Do you want it to be able to hold its own in a jam session?
  • Play loudly. Does the instrument get brash or dead at high volume?
  • Play quietly. Does the instrument project its sound across the room, or does it mumble at low volumes?
  • At the high end of the fretboard, does the voice sound the same as at the low end? Check for tininess, differences between the sounds of the strings in high notes.
  • Action. Does it fret easily everywhere on the fretboard? Are there any buzzes?

II. Artistry and Craft.

• Talk to the builder. If the builder can't answer your questions credibly and in detail, you might be in for unpleasant surprises sometime after your purchase.
  • Materials
    • What kind of wood?
    • Solid or plywood/laminate?
    • Quarter sawn or plank sawn?
    • Why were the woods and their characteristics chosen?
    • What do these choices contribute musically?
  • Finish
    • What finish is used?
    • Why was it chosen?
    • How is it applied?
    • What acoustic properties result?
    • What do you need to do to take care of the finish?
  • Construction. Ask the builder to talk about what particular methods he or she uses which contribute to the musical quality of the instrument.
  • Ask about guarantees
    • How long is the warranty? Is it from date of delivery, date of sale or date of manufacture?
    • What does the warranty cover? What does it not cover?
    • How is shipping and insurance handled?
    • What are the costs of repairs outside the warranty?
• Your own assessment
  • Construction.
    • Is the construction sound?
    • Any stray glue, gaping joints?
    • Any obviously ill-conceived construction techniques?
  • Finish.
    • Is the finish free of blemishes?
    • Any obvious sanding marks or ugly tool marks?
      • Do not expect mechanical perfection from hand-made instruments.
      • Glossy finishes often hide scratchy or incomplete sanding jobs.
    • Beware of the following finishes:
      • Oil finishes: if not used expertly, oil finishes will deaden the wood, acoustically.
      • Polyurethane finishes: These are very heavy and tend to encapsulate and deaden the sound also.
      • Unfinished wood: Aside from not protecting the wood from soiling and decay, incompletely finished wood will quickly absorb moisture and will also react readily to temperature changes. (Be sure to check inside especially!)
  • Fittings
    • Are the tuners easy to use and of good quality? Are they attractive?
    • Are strings arranged so they will not chafe against anything?
    • Are there places for accessories you want, such as attachment points for straps?
    • Is the case available, and of suitable quality?
    • Ask for the string gauges.

III. Technical assessment

• In general, check out the fret dressing.
  • Have the frets been dressed well, or do they show flats here and there?
    • At the frets' ends smooth, so they won't snag your finger tips or interfere with a quick motion?
    • Are the frets nicely proportioned to the size of the scale and the width of the fretboard?
  • Does the instrument have extra frets (if you require them)?
• Check out the material of the fretboard.
  • Is the material a hardwood that will stand up to punishment?
  • Check for flatness, straightness of grain, and absence of twisting or winding.
  • Check for fine-tuning mechanisms, if needed (especially with wooden pegs!).
  • Check for string end-pin arrangements. Is the wood protected where the strings come over the tailblock? Will the strings be easy to change with this arrangement?
• Nut and bridge
  • What is the material? Is it hard enough to both protect itself from wear and give adequate acoustic transfer?
  • Check for wear and unusual string lead into the nut, and out of the saddle. This may cause string breakage, buzzing, difficult tuning, and excessive wear on the nut/saddle
  • Is the saddle designed to bend the string about 15° behind it, to avoid acoustic energy "bleed" into the tailpiece?
  • Is a "Zero Fret" used instead of a nut? Beware of the shortcomings of the zero fret
  • If the saddle "floats" on top of the fretboard, is the instrument accurately intonated? Is there a scribe mark locating the proper placement of the saddle? Ask the builder to demonstrated that the instrument is accurately intonated.
• Fret accuracy. Test for these items:
  • Ability to play a scale in tune. Play a duet on the bass and treble string, a third apart, up the major or minor scale. Is the duet true and sweet all the way up the fretboard?
  • Compensation. Tune to DDad. Check that the tone is accurate within a few cents at the first and second harmonics on the first and fourth strings.

IV. Summary of principal points

• Buzzes and dead notes
• Sweetness in the high end
• String voicing changes from string to string
• Action height and playability
• Projection and volume
• Overall musicality and responsiveness