Folkcraft Instruments History & Future Happenings
Good Morning, Y'all & Happy Friday!
We've been doing a ton of repairs the past few weeks. In last week's newsletter, I mentioned having to fix yet another incorrectly placed fret. Here's a photo of a fret removal/repair/move-to-correct location I did a few years ago:
The dulcimer pictured above has a wenge (wood) fretboard, so the open grain of the wood made the area where the fret was first installed very noticeable. In the photo, you can see frets 1, 1.5, and 2. Look just to the right of the 1.5 fret - see the dark line? That's a mix of CA glue and wenge dust, which I used to fill the slot where the 1.5 fret was originally (incorrectly) installed. The repair is visible, but from a distance, not objectionable.
Here's the same area of the dulcimer, but from a bit farther away:
The owner of the instrument pictured above brought this dulcimer in for a quick going-over. It didn't really need any other work, but I had the opportunity to give it a quick play test.
I also got to visit with an older (1970's) CapriTaurus mountain dulcimer. For some reason, I didn't end up with a photo of the instrument (!), but I did get a picture of the business card that was still in the original case:
Dulcimer History Lesson
CapriTaurus is the name that Howard Rugg (founder of FolkRoots dulcimers, one of our current lines of instruments - the D Series and H Series mountain dulcimers) came up with, along with his brother Michael Rugg. For quite a while, Howard manufactured both CapriTaurus and FolkRoots instruments, before Folkcraft Instruments acquired the FolkRoots name and designs from Howard back in 1989. (For more history about Folkcraft, FolkRoots, CapriTaurus, and more - CLICK HERE!)
It's kind of fun to see dulcimer history coming through our showroom every once in a while.
We're making good progress with building the Folkcraft workshop. The new building is coming along very rapidly. Foundation, exterior walls, trusses, roof, soffits, doors, windows, and interior walls? Almost all completed. Another couple weeks for the electricity, and HVAC goes in late next month. I expect to be fully moved before the end of this year, if everything goes as planned. (ha!) Here's what the new shop looks like, now that we're to the house wrap stage:
We're making the trip north pretty much every weekend now, and loving every minute of the beautiful fall colors, especially once we get past Central Michigan. Aly and I enjoy stopping at one of the many rest stops along U.S. Route 2 in the Eastern part of the Upper Peninsula, and admiring the beauty of Lake Michigan in the fall.
Our showroom in Woodburn, Indiana is still open, but we'll be dismantling it very soon. By the middle of November, we'll be packing up in preparation for the move up north. Call ahead if you want to visit our showroom before the move!
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend!
Sincerely,
Richard Ash - luthier-who-doesn't-celebrate-holidays-that-involve-costumes-but-if-he-did-he-would-dress-up-as-a-giant-mountain-dulcimer
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: DIANNE BUTLER
Hello everyone from the great state of Mississippi - my name is Dianne Butler.
I began with my dulcimer when our daughter was in Girl Scouts and a local person brought her dulcimer to our troop. We fell in love.
Started a dulcimer group at church, then purchased my first dulcimer at Cedar Creek Dulcimer at Silver Dollar City. We purchased our daughter's from a local dulcimer builder. Then I purchased a kit for my husband, which he assembled for himself.
Then life got super busy, and I put the dulcimer down for a couple of years. One of our church members said, we need to get our dulcimer group together again, so...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF DIANNE'S STORY & ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE DIANNE & YOU!
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE'D LOVE TO HEAR FROM MORE OF YOU!
No new Folkcraft Player to feature again this week (Alas!), but we are still delighted to re-feature Dianne Butler. How's life been in Mississippi, Dianne?
Who's Going To Write In Next? Keep The Family Growing?
It really is super-easy to join our online dulcimer community. Just three easy steps:
1) Send an email to: newsletter@folkcraft.com
2) With the answers to the four questions below
3) Attach a photo of yourself with your Folkcraft dulcimer(s)
We look forward to receiving your submission & 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?
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). IT'S REALLY SO EASY TO DO!
LETTER TO THE LUTHIER
"I have been playing mountain dulcimer for eight months. I guess the term "playing" is subjective. Trying again, I have been learning the dulcimer for eight months. I am in my 70s, majored in instrumental music in college, but entered the armed forces after graduation. So I did not pick up my instruments (saxophones) for 30 years. Then I started learning guitar in 2020. I read three comics from the newspaper (on-line now) almost every day. I believe a little bit of humor each day helps combat the craziness we all face.
After reading the short article about not taking your dulcimer to the "violin guy" I laughed harder than I ever have with my daily three comics." (Sam - 10/24/25)
Send in your own Letter To The Luthier simply by replying to this email.
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
In this week's lesson (for intermediate players), Mandy will teach you a fun finger exercise! Bound to get you moving and grooving! This technique is meant to show you how to make your own little fun exercises. Have fun! Click on the image below to listen & learn. TAB is included with this lesson. Just click here & scroll down the video instruction page to download it.
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.
DULCIMER JAM TRAINING WHEELS
by Melanie & Mack Johnston
This is a book of sheet music from Melanie and Mack Johnston. With many (most!) of the popular jam tunes included, this is a really great book. But what makes it special? All of the tunes are simplified into quarter notes (or larger values, half and whole!) so that a fresh beginner can join the jam and play more than chords!
Perfect for the newer player, this is an amazing book! All tunes are in DAD Tuning, some capo required. (117 pages)
Check out the great reviews for this book
✮✮✮✮ What A Beginning! I quite enjoyed starting to play the book. A fair number of the songs are unfamiliar to me--that is a good thing. The type is large enough to read, and there is plenty of space so I'm not squinting at the Tab. Good Job! I probably should give it a 5, but haven't had long enough to get familiar with the book to make a final judgement. (Jo Ann - 9/4/25)
✮✮✮✮✮ Outstanding! Great tunes nicely rendered. Once you get through with this book, you’ll be able to play dozens and dozens of fiddle tunes. They’re set up so that a beginner can jump right in. (James - 8/7/25)
SONGS INCLUDED IN THIS BOOK:
Amazing Grace • Angelina Baker • Boatman • Bonaparte Crossing The Rhine • Cherokee Shuffle • Cold Frosty Morning • Dixie • Dubuque • Eighth Of January • Fisher's Hornpipe • Fly Around My Pretty Little Miss • Grey Cat On A Tennessee Farm • Ground Hog • Hangman's Reel • Johnson Boys • June Apple • Kitchen Girl • Liberty • Liza Jane • May The Circle Be Unbroken • Mississippi Sawyer • Nail That Catfish To A Tree • Nonesuch • Oh, Susannah • Old Joe Clark • Ragtime Annie • Red Haired Boy • Rosin The Beau • Sail Away Ladies • Soldier's Joy • The Girl I Left Behind Me • Turkey In The Straw • Whiskey Before Breakfast • Wildwood Flower • Yellow Rose Of Texas