I've read somewhere that teardrop dulcimers have a somewhat lower (bass) sound than hourglass dulcimers. The reasoning is that the long grains of the wood in the soundboard encourage lower pitched notes to sound louder, and there are more long grains in the teardrop shape than in the hourglass shape. If this is true, the difference is one of tone rather than one of volume. (Any experienced woodworkers/luthiers out there who can comment on this? I just found this when I built my one and only instrument--a teardrop-shaped dulcimer purchased as a kit from Here, Inc. through an old Prairie Home Companion catalogue. The hints in my assembly instructions also suggested that by having a small space between the soundboard and the bottom side of the dulcimer, the volume might be louder.)

--Charlie Baum