Members seagullplayer77 Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 I'm on vacation in the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge (Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee) area with my family this week. My dad and sister went tubing down the river and had a lot of fun, but with my leg still in a brace, I didn't think shooting the rapids would be a smart thing to do . Me and my mom stopped at a little railroad/logging company museum and checked out some of the local shops. One of the ones we stopped at was a dulcimer shop called Wood and Strings in Townsend, TN. They had a good selection of locally made dulcimers, both hammered dulcimers and mountain dulcimers. I tinkered around with a hammered dulcimer for a minute or two, but I stopped because I was really just making noise. It was a very beautiful instrument to play, though. I've seen YouTube videos and I've always fantasized about learning to play one, but I've got more instruments than I need already. This definitely renewed my interest in hammered dulcimers, though . They had a motley of other instruments too. Maybe a half dozen guitars, a dozen mandolins, some banjos. They had a pair of Rainsong guitars on display, and I was absolutely floored. I'd never played one before and I've always wanted to, so I picked one up and put it through it's courses. It was a jumbo with a cutaway and it had electronics installed. Priced for $2200 . It was a fun guitar to play. Very responsive and very easy in terms of action and feel. The strings were new, I think, because it had that characteristic new string sound. I really enjoyed it and the tone was unique, but pleasant. I could see myself owning one some day, but for $2200, there's no way. That's a lot of money to spend on a big piece of pencil lead. I tried one of their more expensive F-style mandolins to see how it compared to my Mid-Mo. I think it was a Rover priced at $700. It wasn't a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, thought it seemed like the string spacing was slightly different than my Mid-Mo. The tone wasn't bad, but I thought my Mid-Mo had it beat by a long shot. They had a few Mid-Mo mandos hanging on the wall and in retrospect, I probably should've A/B'd them with some of the other mandolins, but I didn't want to bore my mom. They had what I thought was a bouzouki on the floor as well. I've always wanted to try one, so I picked it up and realized it was an octave mandolin. Never played one of those before either, but it was love at first sight. I think it was a $600 Johnson---nothing special---but I absolutely loved it. Instead of being high and chimey, it had a much deeper, much more resonant tone. It wouldn't cut through as much as a regular mando, but I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. I didn't make any big ticket purchases, but they had some biodegradable guitar picks at the checkout counter and I picked some up. Only $0.35 a piece, and I thought they were kind of cool. Here's the website, if anyone's interested in being an environmentally responsible plectrum user : http://www.wheatware.com/shop/ So . . . in a nutshell, I've come to a few conclusions: 1) Rainsongs are nice, but they're not $2200 nice. 2) Mid-Mo mandolins are pretty doggone good. 3) I absolutely, positively must have an octave mandolin.* *But I've got to learn to play my regular one better first . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knockwood Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 I'm on vacation in the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge (Great Smoky Mountains, Tennessee) area with my family this week. My dad and sister went tubing down the river and had a lot of fun, but with my leg still in a brace, I didn't think shooting the rapids would be a smart thing to do . Me and my mom stopped at a little railroad/logging company museum and checked out some of the local shops. One of the ones we stopped at was a dulcimer shop called Wood and Strings in Townsend, TN. They had a good selection of locally made dulcimers, both hammered dulcimers and mountain dulcimers. I tinkered around with a hammered dulcimer for a minute or two, but I stopped because I was really just making noise. It was a very beautiful instrument to play, though. I've seen YouTube videos and I've always fantasized about learning to play one, but I've got more instruments than I need already. This definitely renewed my interest in hammered dulcimers, though . They had a motley of other instruments too. Maybe a half dozen guitars, a dozen mandolins, some banjos. They had a pair of Rainsong guitars on display, and I was absolutely floored. I'd never played one before and I've always wanted to, so I picked one up and put it through it's courses. It was a jumbo with a cutaway and it had electronics installed. Priced for $2200 . It was a fun guitar to play. Very responsive and very easy in terms of action and feel. The strings were new, I think, because it had that characteristic new string sound. I really enjoyed it and the tone was unique, but pleasant. I could see myself owning one some day, but for $2200, there's no way. That's a lot of money to spend on a big piece of pencil lead. I tried one of their more expensive F-style mandolins to see how it compared to my Mid-Mo. I think it was a Rover priced at $700. It wasn't a bad player by any stretch of the imagination, thought it seemed like the string spacing was slightly different than my Mid-Mo. The tone wasn't bad, but I thought my Mid-Mo had it beat by a long shot. They had a few Mid-Mo mandos hanging on the wall and in retrospect, I probably should've A/B'd them with some of the other mandolins, but I didn't want to bore my mom. They had what I thought was a bouzouki on the floor as well. I've always wanted to try one, so I picked it up and realized it was an octave mandolin. Never played one of those before either, but it was love at first sight. I think it was a $600 Johnson---nothing special---but I absolutely loved it. Instead of being high and chimey, it had a much deeper, much more resonant tone. It wouldn't cut through as much as a regular mando, but I'll be damned if it wasn't one of the sweetest things I've ever heard. I didn't make any big ticket purchases, but they had some biodegradable guitar picks at the checkout counter and I picked some up. Only $0.35 a piece, and I thought they were kind of cool. Here's the website, if anyone's interested in being an environmentally responsible plectrum user : http://www.wheatware.com/shop/ So . . . in a nutshell, I've come to a few conclusions: 1) Rainsongs are nice, but they're not $2200 nice. 2) Mid-Mo mandolins are pretty doggone good. 3) I absolutely, positively must have an octave mandolin.* *But I've got to learn to play my regular one better first . Mid-Mo mandos are excellent, IMHO. I have a battered but still very functional M-3W (walnut b/s). I just don't think it's possible to beat these things, for the money, especially used. The company was sued out of existence and has reemerged as Big Muddy mandolins, with what looks like a smaller line (just hog and maple b/s offerings now, I think). I also keep wanting to try new things, get better at mandolin, etc., and then I remember that I still suck at guitar and should really focus... But screw focus. I like to play around with stuff. On dulcimers, I was poking around a bit a week or two ago and found this guy on YouTube who makes really interesting/nice sounding dulcimer/strum stick-type instruments (dulcitar?). I want one. Can't afford {censored} right now, though. There are some really inexpensive strum-stick kinda things available even through MF that look like fun. Here's the dulcitar gizmo. I LOVE the violin-like headstock on this thing. Tone is pretty nice, too: http://folk-instruments.musiciansfriend.com/product/Washburn-RO5-Minstrel-Dulcimer?sku=502038 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members knockwood Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 Six Pack on a Stick! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 If you are even slightly handy with tools there are lots of simple kits out for building your own hammered dulcimer. I built my own that way. Once you have the layout of an HD in your mind they are not to hard to play. Pretty easy to find your triads to accompany other instruments. I am with you on octave mandos! I want one real bad!Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members seagullplayer77 Posted August 4, 2010 Author Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 If you are even slightly handy with tools there are lots of simple kits out for building your own hammered dulcimer. I built my own that way. Once you have the layout of an HD in your mind they are not to hard to play. Pretty easy to find your triads to accompany other instruments. I am with you on octave mandos! I want one real bad! Bob Building your own HD, eh? That sounds intriguing. And it sounds cheap too. I like cheap . Since you built yours from a kit, do you have any recommendations on which kit to use? Is there a link(s) you could send me? Thanks! I always thought GAS was bad. But I think OMAS is going to be a lot worse. The sounds of that octave mando are going to haunt me until I break down and buy one, I'm afraid. I don't think it'll happen this year, but you never know. Maybe I'll stumble across one on CL or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Freeman Keller Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 An hour glass dulcimer was my very first kit. I noodle around with it from time to time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members brahmz118 Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 For some of us the RainSongs are worth every penny. It's like buying that car from Knight Rider for the price of a custom trans-am. You may not need bulletproof tires and windows, but it's comforting to know you'll never encounter the expense of a 'typical' flat tire or broken window unless you encounter a madman with a nuclear rocket launcher. Plus all RainSongs have 'opened-up' tone from day one with its ultrathin unbraced top. (By the way, some more affordable RainSongs are coming out, and the early reports are good.) I got into hammer dulcimer playing last year when we acquired one at my workplace. As much as I love the unique sound and enjoy the playing technique of bouncing those hammers, I can't get over the intonation difficulties. We've even tried tuning it and leaving it in a temperature and humidity controlled room, repeatedly, for weeks. And it always seems to slip out quickly, almost as if the vibrations of playing loosen the pegs. And there's no way to tighten them. So the more we tune, the looser they get in their holes. I have a Big Muddy / neo-Mid Missouri mandolin and have yet to find something I like better. The 1-1/4 neck width is probably a big part of it. I've heard f-style mandolins with a great powerful throaty sound for chords, but as soon as I pick them up and try to pick some lines, I produce weak and muffled tone on the thinner necks. I'd love to try an octave mandolin someday. Or just about any of the larger instruments in the mandolin family. I'm particularly drawn to mandocellos, and cello banjos too. The lower registers are usually underrepresented when I go to jams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 Glad you're having a good time, Seagull. I've been to the Gatlinburg area a couple of times and it's hard to beat. Lots to see and do. I'd love to own an octave mandolin, but when I start looking at what a good one costs, I have a little trouble justifying the price of 'em. I, too, am keeping my eyes peeled for a bargain on Craig's List. I have a niece and one sister who both play the lap dulcimer. The niece is pretty good at it. The sister, not so much. She's only been at for about a year and she's not all that dedicated to learning it anyway.....so there ya go. I think she thought it was just gonna be a "piece o' cake"! Wishing you a full recovery with that leg......and real soon too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tartanlad Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 Not gonnae get into chat about mandolins as dont know about them apart fae a i like their sound Enjoy yer Holiday ..and yer leg shall get better it takes time Enjoy yersel Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Kouki_Monstah Posted August 4, 2010 Members Share Posted August 4, 2010 welcome to the area! I'm about an 1 hour and a half north of Pigeon Forge! I usually head that way once a month or so... if you like beer, stop in the Smokey Mountain Brewery. My all time favorite beer is their Black Bear Ale. Try it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Starrshine Posted August 5, 2010 Members Share Posted August 5, 2010 Building your own HD, eh? That sounds intriguing. And it sounds cheap too. I like cheap . Since you built yours from a kit, do you have any recommendations on which kit to use? Is there a link(s) you could send me? Thanks! I always thought GAS was bad. But I think OMAS is going to be a lot worse. The sounds of that octave mando are going to haunt me until I break down and buy one, I'm afraid. I don't think it'll happen this year, but you never know. Maybe I'll stumble across one on CL or something. Building my own was fairly easy. I got my kit from these people. http://www.grassrootsdulcimers.com/dulcimer_and_stand_kits/index.html I built the 15/14, over six years ago and has served me well. brahmz118 The reason your pegs are slipping is because the holes are worn. Take a small strip of very thin hardwood or even a sliver of a toothpick and put it in the peg hole. Then, take a light weight hammer and tap the peg back in. Twisting it in will just mess up the hole again Speaking of OMAS, this will give you it in a heart beat! This showed up on the Mandolin Cafe board. The ONLY Gibson OM ever, 1904!!! Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members BLUtunes Posted August 5, 2010 Members Share Posted August 5, 2010 Sounds like a lot of fun! Glad you had a good time playing with all the cool toys! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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