It's a teardrop or Old Virginia style dulcimer, not particularly well finished - somewhat of a "rustic" look. I was a little disappointed with it when I opened the packaging but in truth it has an excellent "voice" and considerable volume. It has three courses of strings with the melody course doubled. The headstock is a scroll but not particularly well done. Because of its looks, I was initially convinced that it was a homemade one-off instrument but then I found the label. It simply says "Crestline" and has a four digit handwritten serial number. The tuners were of the metal friction type (which I've since replaced with geared tuners). I'm not sure of the wood but the headstock might be mahogany. Other than that, it's a pretty good bargain for 80 bucks.