The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #61911 Message #997979
Posted By: JohnInKansas
06-Aug-03 - 11:53 AM
Thread Name: Big hammered dulcimer
Subject: RE: Big hammered dulcimer
John P beat me to the Dusty Strings link. I'd found the D600, but got interrupted before I could get organized to post.
The question that nags at me is "what do you really mean by big?" It's obvious that the "big" instrument seen at the Michigan festival was impressive, but it's not clear what "features" of its "bigness" would be important to you (harper). You described "such volume," and the quick take would be that you meant "loudness;" but perhaps you meant "tonal richness(?)." - All somewhat vague.
The large dulcimer at David's Dulcimers uses 3-course strings, apparently in a "conventional" tuning layout. It might be reasonable to assume that the 3-string coursing might give a "richer" tone - if you can manage the tuning. Adding another course doesn't, alone, make an instrument much "louder;" but might permit some difference in note sustain. (Since you could feed the energy of 3 strings to the soundboard instead of just 2, you could get the same volume for a little longer, if that's the way you've built it.)
The D600 at Dusty strings stays with 2-course strings, but uses a chromatic tuning layout. The larger layout appears to be mainly to get the extra chromatic strings and a few(?) more low notes.
Others I've seen (or think I remember seeing) used a larger layout essentially to get more strings - and more octaves - on the board, with conventional tuning.
The odd ones I've seen have been mostly at sales booths set up at festivals, so I've only heard them in rather poor acoustic surroundings; but I don't recall observing that "bigger," by itself, necessarily came with better, or even louder, sound. A larger soundboard, needed to get the long strings on, should possibly "project" a little better; but it's not a given that the difference would be "notable." (not really a pun)
The simple answer to the original question is that it shouldn't be difficult to find larger hammered dulcimers. A little more color to the description of what was impressive would, perhaps, help elicit comment on which larger dulcimers would satisfy the particular NIAS lust at hand.
John