Folkcraft Crew To Get Time Off For Good (Productive) Behavior
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
We've been busy in the shop this week, and had plenty of visitors in our showroom, too. And we received (Thank you, UPS!) enough repair work to keep us busy doing just repairs for a week or more. Good grief!
But thank you for keeping us busy. The repairs can be a fun challenge, and we ALL like making dulcimers out of planks of raw wood...
Ten-foot long planks of black walnut, two inches thick, with random widths
DulciVoxes Are Shipping Out
We just shipped a 4-string equidistant DulciVox - DADA (with the DAD being the standard dulcimer) and the "A" being 4 notes lower than the low D - basically a MaxDAD with the lowest D removed. I liked it quite a bit - there's a lot of utility for a standard (DAD) and baritone (ADA) combination.
We shipped a bass DulciVox this week, too. Still tuned DAD, but an octave lower than a standard dulcimer. It sounded amazing - clearly the best bass dulcimer we've ever made! I'm going to make a couple more in the coming months, to confirm, but I suspect that the DulciVox is a great size/shape/wood combination for an acoustic bass dulcimer. We did a baritone DulciVox last month - also awesome. But since our standard-size dulcimer handles the baritone range well, that one wasn't at all surprising.
One of this week's repair instruments (pictured above) had some beautiful chip carving on the side of the head.
Dad's been a fretboard-making machine this week. He's moving faster than Casey and Cheyenne (they take Dad's heads and fretboards, and do most of the instrument assembly and sanding these days), so maybe I'll let him have a day off for Christmas this year.
Upcoming Folkcraft Holiday Closures
Seriously, though, I'm giving the whole crew some vacation days in the next couple of months. Our shop will be closed Thanksgiving Day, and the Friday after. Then, they're getting a week away from the shop from December 25, 2024 through January 1, 2025. We'll be taking turns that week coming in to pack/ship orders, but plan on having nobody answer the phone, or the door!
Here are a few instruments that we're close to lacquering:
A FolkRoots H Series - walnut body, butternut top, ebony fretboard veneer
A DulciVox Pro - mahogany body, spruce top, and ebony fretboard veneer
And a LAP-JO Pro - mahogany body, with an ebony fretboard veneer.
LAP-JOs And Easter Eggs
LAP-JOs all get a hidden "Easter egg" engraved on the inside of the instrument. We've been doing this since LAP-JOs were introduced back in February of 2016. Here's a closer look at the quote (there's quite a variety, and we randomly select for each instrument we make):
And an even closer look:
The text is backwards here (photo above), but if you look inside the back of the instrument, using a small mirror (like a dentist uses) the text will read normally. Most of Y'all don't know about this hidden Easter egg, but now you do. (our Druid Moon ukuleles had a similar "extra," too!).
But, enough about sawdust!
This Week's Featured John & Karen Keane Book
Here's the latest "sale" book - we have TOO MANY of this book on the shelf, and I would much rather have them in your music libraries! Just click on the cover to order.
The sunglasses make me want to go watch that Belushi/Aykroyd movie again. You KNOW which one I'm talking about!
But not until we have all of the "promised for Christmas" dulcimers out the door.
Thanks for reading, Y'all. Have a great weekend!
Richard Ash, luthier-who'll-be-playing-the-blues-on-his-dulcimer-tonight
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: LAURA BELL
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Laura: I first learned to play mountain dulcimer at the Black Mountain Music Festival in the fall of 2018, on a borrowed dulcimer. I then proceeded to build my first dulcimer in a wood-working class at my local community college, but never forgot the beauty and tone of the dulcimers in the Folkcraft booth at BMMF.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Laura: I saved up and ordered a Custom H Series chromatic dulcimer in black walnut and butternut in 2020. I have never regretted it. It plays as smooth as butter!
Laura: My playing activities include some small local jams, a local nursing home, and playing for my church group. As I approach retirement, I hope to expand to playing for other facilities and hospice, and to teach others how to play so that they can experience the joy and release of making music with a dulcimer on their lap.
Folkcraft: What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing the dulcimer?
Laura: My other instruments include autoharp, guitar, and a hammered dulcimer (I actually won it in a raffle at the 2021 BMMF! - and am working at learning it so I can teach it to others also) but I am most passionate about the mountain dulcimer.
HEY FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE KNOW THERE ARE A LOT MORE OF YOU OUT THERE! HOPE TO HEAR FROM YOU SOON!
No new Folkcraft Player today, but we are glad to be able to re-feature Laura and her trio of gorgeous, custom Folkcraft dulcimers.
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep This Thing Going?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Reply to this newsletter email
2) With answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to hearing from you and featuring you in our newsletter real soon!
1. How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
2. When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
3. Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
4. What other hobbies, or interests, do you have besides playing dulcimer?
FOR JUST A LITTLE WHILE LONGER WE'RE OFFERING A $25 FOLKCRAFT GIFT CARD TO ANYONE WHO ANSWERS THE FOUR EASY QUESTIONS LISTED ABOVE, AND SENDS IN A PHOTO (OF YOU WITH YOUR FOLKCRAFT DULCIMER)
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
Here's a full walk-thru of "Oh, Susanna" for Intermediate LAP-JO! Have fun! Just click on the image below to watch.
We have a slew (that's a fancy luthier word for "bunch") of videos for you to watch on our YouTube channel. Click here to see the full list. Be sure to comment on a video, and subscribe to the channel - either action helps us a LOT with YouTube's suggestion algorithms.
PATRIOTIC SONGS OF THE U.S.
by Judy House
Patriotic songs for mountain dulcimer? Check! Great arranger? Check! Clear, legible tablature? Check check!
With Veterans Day coming up on Monday, and Election Day earlier this week, we give you a book of patriotic tunes by the amazing Judy House. This is a collection of superb mountain dulcimer arrangements (in tablature). This fantastic collection includes many of the very best (and historically important) songs from the American patriotic repertoire. (33 pages)
SONG LISTING:
America The Beautiful • The Star-Spangled Banner • Battle Hymn Of The Republic • God Bless America • You're A Grand Old Flag • America (My Country, 'Tis Of Thee) • Anchors Aweigh • The Caisson Song • Garry Owen • Marine Hymn • Dixie • Yankee Doodle (Melody & Harmony) • When Johnny Comes Marching Home Again
This Land Is Your Land (Melody & Harmony + Countermelody On Bass)