dulcimer

[floater]

I'm thinking about saving some money to buy a walkabout dulcimer; probably the bass dulcimer. Anyone have dulcimer experience; the maker will also do chromatic necks (all the in-between notes) as opposed to the standard necks.  I really like the way they sound and the simplicity of it.

I asked about bouzoukis too. Those are really neat as well.

The website is included below.

http://www.walkaboutdulcimer.com/

[El Pr0n]

Er... Why would you want an instrument that can only play in one key, and can't play anything other than a major scale (with a minor 7th)? 

I don't mean to be rude or mean or anything, but Dulcimers seem fucking retarded...

[floater]

it's like a kind of musical meditation 

limitations can be a good thing. one doesn't have to have 12 guitars in 13 different tunings all the time.

[Pingu]

Er... Why would you want an instrument that can only play in one key, and can't play anything other than a major scale (with a minor 7th)? 

I don't mean to be rude or mean or anything, but Dulcimers seem fucking retarded...

Most guitarists only play in one or two keys.

[floater]

If you play a standard old regular electric guitar tuned to open G, you can play many different chords, you don't just play G chord the whole time.

Bert Jansch--he plays a standard guitar in an open tuning, but many different chords are used in his songs.  I think it is fun to be able to strum open drone notes and play complex melodies over the top of the drone.

[Pepe Silvia]

Get a real dulcimer

[Pingu]

That I agree with. I'm mostly tuned to Gsus2, and it's not limiting at all.

[floater]

I think the walkabout dulcimers are neat because they are designed more for us guitar-centric people; the sit in the lap traditional dulcimer is more of a leap for me than I would like--I'd much rather have a lap steel guitar than a lap dulcimer, but that's a different thread all together.

I'm interested in six string bass dulcimer that is available from the designer. It's longer scale and I would probably order it with the chromatic neck (more frets) as opposed to the standard neck. It's a bit different than the regular dulcimer I guess. I should have picked a better title to this thread. 

[El Pr0n]

But guitars are chomatic instruments, no matter what your tuning is, you can play every semitone. These dulcimers can only play in the key that they're tuned to.

And Pingu, maybe some guitarists only play in a few different keys, but I bet most of us on here aren't those kinds of guitarists. I'm not.

[Pingu]

But guitars are chomatic instruments, no matter what your tuning is, you can play every semitone. These dulcimers can only play in the key that they're tuned to.

And Pingu, maybe some guitarists only play in a few different keys, but I bet most of us on here aren't those kinds of guitarists. I'm not.

I was generalizing, of course.

[jakeisjake]

i'm awaiting a hammered dulcimer that should be here on tuesday! i'm pretty excited!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LbrKtyxF1Ak

[Larry Mal]

Sure, the dulcimer is limited and a folk instrument, but I mean, if your music depends on chromatic runs all the time then I guess the dulcimer isn't for you, Mr. Coltrane.

It's a good instrument. I can't play it for shit.

[burntumber]

with limitations you learn to get creative with what you do have.

these walkabout dulcimers looks pretty nice, and decently priced too.

would a capo work on one of these?

[markham]

I love hammered dulcimers. I've owned two over my lifetime, but I've never spent enough time with them to really master them as instruments. They're brilliant instruments, though.

[jakeisjake]

this is pretty cool:

Seagull Merlin. a mountain dulcimer in a guitar figuration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ibP1oPVpIdk