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I didn’t know anything about luthiering so I got a kit for a dulcimer, a pretty simple 3-4 string box popular in Appalachia and tuned in the diatonic scale. I had no idea what a diatonic scale was, I didn’t even know that what I learned in grade school band was a chromatic scale. The dulcimer is made of maple back and sides with a cedar top and mahogany fret box and head. I whittled the head in the shape of an eagle head, carved the fret nut & saddle from deer antler, and gave it s-shaped sound holes midway along the sides of the fret box, which extends the length of the instrument. Slots adjacent to the fret box saddle are supposed to enhance the sound. I wouldn’t know, I never learned to tune the thing, much less play it. It was a stepping stone to bigger things.

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I didn’t know anything about luthiering so I got a kit for a dulcimer, a pretty simple 3-4 string box popular in Appalachia and tuned in the diatonic scale. I had no idea what a diatonic scale was, I didn’t even know that what I learned in grade school band was a chromatic scale. The dulcimer is made of maple back and sides with a cedar top and mahogany fret box and head. I whittled the head in the shape of an eagle head, carved the fret nut & saddle from deer antler, and gave it s-shaped sound holes midway along the sides of the fret box, which extends the length of the instrument. Slots adjacent to the fret box saddle are supposed to enhance the sound. I wouldn’t know, I never learned to tune the thing, much less play it. It was a stepping stone to bigger things.
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Steve Moore :toad: (arrowbearmoore@toad.social)'s status on Thursday, 10-Oct-2024 13:04:38 JST Steve Moore :toad:
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5/ More #homemade things -
I grew up in the Beatles/Stones era, when fellas thought a #guitar could win a girls heart. I couldn’t make my fingers dance over the strings any better than my feet on the floor, but always thought a better guitar would help, as if shoes would help my feet. The ones that cost as much as a good used car were easier to play, my money went for the car, so if I were to have what I wanted I’d have to make it myself. But before I could do that I had to learn a few things.

In conversation about 9 months ago from toad.social permalink