Fellenbaum
Stringed Instruments
105-F Montreat Road
Black Mountain, NC 28711
828-669-5162
Below you will find information relating to the care of your Mountain Dulcimer. Please keep this sheet handy for easy reference, as you may need it from time to time.
Strings:
The strings on your mountain
dulcimer are standard guitar strings that have ball ends. These strings are used because they are the
easiest to manipulate when having to change or replace strings. Note how the ball-end of the string seats
itself in the groove cut into the tailstock.
You will also notice there are four chrome pins set into the tailstock,
these are for attaching loop-end strings.
The loop-end strings are the ones that are commonly found in
"sets" of Dulcimer strings.
When using loop-end strings, attach the loops to the chrome pins. Caution: Do not attach ball-end strings to
the chrome pins, they are meant for loop-end strings only! I prefer guitar strings (ball-end) for their
ease of replacement and because the wound string (Dulcimer 4th
string) is readily available in either Bronze Wound or Phosphor Bronze
Wound. I prefer these Bronze wound
strings to the Nickel wound strings that are commonly found in the Dulcimer
String sets.
The strings supplied with
your dulcimer are the following sizes: 1st and 2nd
strings-.012 plain steel; 3rd string-.016 plain steel; 4th
string-.026 Phosphor Bronze Wound. You
may vary these string gauges by .001 in either direction without drastically
affecting the sound or playability of the instrument.
You will notice that there
are two extra grooves cut into both the nut and the bridge. This is so you may arrange the strings in
either the common "double-melody" fashion (which is how your strings
were probably arranged when you received your dulcimer) or they can be arranged
in the less commonly used "four equal-distant" fashion, where all
four strings are equally spaced.
Taking Care
of the Finish:
Your dulcimer has been carefully finished with an oil
finish. This is a very traditional finish for the Mountain Dulcimer and is one
of the more forgiving finishes. It is
not prone to chipping, is easy to repair scratches and leaves the color and
texture of the wood to age to a beautiful patina. The best way to keep the finish looking nice is to handle the
instrument carefully, being aware that fingernails, buttons, beltbuckles and
any other hard or sharp object can scratch the finish and exposure to water can
damage the finish. I would recommend
using lemon oil to renew the finish once a year, or whenever you need to cover
up minor dings. Lemon oil, such as
Formby's Lemon Oil Treatment is good for this purpose and is available in many
hardware stores and Home Centers. The fretboard is finished with oil and can be
cleaned and reoiled once a year by removing all the strings, rubbing the
fretboard with a non-abrasive pad (such as those used to clean non-stick
cookware) and re-oiling the fretboard with fingerboard oil or lemon oil. Do
not allow the dulcimer to come in contact with the carpet padding that is so
often used by dulcimer players to keep the dulcimer from sliding around on the
lap. This material contains solvents
that can damage the finish on your instrument!
Any other questions concerning the maintenance of your dulcimer can be directed to me at the above address or telephone number as well as email: ac_tom@bellsouth.net
I hope you enjoy your dulcimer, Your Dulcimer Was Strung With The Following String Gauges:
Tom Fellenbaum ______, ______, ______, ________________