The DulciVox Turns Two - Happy Birthday, Dude!
Good Morning, Everyone!
Today we're going to recycle an "In The Shop" post from two years ago. Why? To give Richard time to focus on the final stages of moving the shop Up North. It's an 8-hour trip - each way - folks, so he's going to be away from his computer and "On the road again" A LOT over the next couple of weeks. So, for this week we are celebrating the birth of the DulciVox guitar/dulcimer hybrid - almost exactly two years ago today. Exciting dulcimer beginnings - then & now!
All the best,
Toya-Folkcraft-newsletter-editor-who-loves-to-play-her-Folkcraft-dulcimers-on-days-ending-in-Y
(February 16, 2024)
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
We have two new videos for the prototype dulcimer/guitar instrument we're working on to share with you. This first video is of me showing you around the instrument, then playing a couple of tunes towards the end:
DulciVox Demo - Flatpicking & Strumming
This second video is of my friend Susan showing you what it sounds like as a finger-style dulcimer:
DulciVox Demo - Fingerstyle Playing
We're Hard At Work On Prototype Number Three
Hopefully, it will be done by the time you read this shop blog, because I'm hoping to take it to tomorrow's festival: the Dayton (Ohio) Dulcimer Doin's. Worst case, No. 3 will be done in time for next week's festival: the Florida Gulf Coast Dulcimer Retreat in Homosassa, FL.
I'll try to get Bing Futch (one of the world's premier dulcimer players, for sure) to let me record a few demo videos - so you can hear this new instrument in the hands of a true master.
Why Are We Making This Dulcimer?
Short answer is: "We had the idea and all of us at the shop were excited about it." Kind of like our LAP-JO was for us back in 2016. In 2016, Steve (my brother) and I took all of January that year and made prototypes of the Folkcraft LAP-JO®. By that February, we were largely happy with the new instrument and had made a few of them to take to festivals. Steve took some to the Ohio Valley Gathering in Lexington, KY, and that same weekend, I took the rest to the Florida Gulf Coast Dulcimer Retreat in Homosassa, FL. And the LAP-JO took off from there. You can find them all over the country now.
The new dulcimer/guitar hybrid is going to be (I'm 99% sure) a "big" hit with dulcimer players. Every player who's had one of the prototypes "on-the-lap" has walked away with a huge grin. And we're not done, yet! So you just wait - I suspect that a lot of you will want one of these.
We have had requests for a variety of other instruments - stick dulcimers, travel dulcimers, solid-body dulcimers, nylon string dulcimers, student dulcimers, and more. But we're a small company by nearly every measure, and taking production time away from building customer-suggested instruments is hard for us. You don't want to wait on special orders, and we don't want to make you wait.
It has taken us six years to get going on our latest new instrument. (LAP-JO in 2016 to now, in 2024) At this rate, our next new instrument will be in eight years, or approximately 2032. Or maybe we'll still get that lower-priced student model out some time this summer? Our shop is at its best staffing in a decade. Dad and I have been supplemented with two amazing (AMAZING!!!) luthiers - Cheyenne and Casey. And Pam has totally taken over running the company on the "back end" - purchasing, receiving, and of course making all of our cases. I'm a lucky guy to have such talented people surrounding me, and the quality of our instruments, here in 2024, is the highest I've ever seen.
Go ahead and watch the videos. The first video is for general background on the instrument - and me playing both flat-picked and strumming tunes. Then watch the second video for a finger-style demonstration.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - Have a great weekend!
Richard Ash, luthier-who-is-planning-on-performing-with-the-new-hybrid-dulcimer-in-Florida-in-just-eight-days
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: NANCY DOWNIE
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Nancy: I started playing hammered dulcimer in Michigan in 1998 and soon was going to festivals, such as Evart and Buckeye, where I was introduced to mountain dulcimers. I bought one and played around with it a little, but didn’t get serious about it until a few years after we moved to Oregon in 2005. I always considered myself a HD player, but as I gained MD skills I gravitated to it more. It was easier to carry around, had a lovely sound all its own, and didn’t require that everything be memorized! I especially enjoyed attending the Menucha Dulcimer Festival and Dulcimers in the Wallowas.
Folkcraft: When did you get your first Folkcraft dulcimer?
Nancy: A year ago we downsized and moved to a retirement community. Downsizing included “thinning the herd” of instruments a bit, and I never thought I’d buy another dulcimer. However, when I heard about the Folkcraft DulciVox, I knew I had to have one, even though I am rarely an “early adopter” of anything. My DulciVox is everything that I hoped it would be.
Folkcraft: Where do you enjoy playing your dulcimer?
Nancy: Although I enjoy almost all kinds of music, I particularly like meditative, fingerpicked chord-melody playing (Nina Zanetti wanna-be!). I am a Certified Music Practitioner and have played in many health care settings. I also enjoy playing for...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF NANCY'S INTERVIEW AND READ ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE NANCY AND YOU!
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!!!
No new player to add to our world-wide, online dulcimer community today. But we're happy to re-feature dual-dulcimer player, CMP, and enthusiastic DulciVox owner, Nancy Downie. There's still plenty of room in the family, maybe it could be you next week?
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!
WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
For Part Two of our lesson, we will work on the B-part of our song. This will add difficulty to our EOM by using two-finger chords. You can do it! Click on the image below to listen & learn.
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.
STANDARD AND BARITONE DULCIMER DUETS
by Larry Conger
Whether you celebrate Galentine's Day, Valentine's Day, or both, we've got a book that's perfect for the pair of you - or more - making music together. This book contains nearly two dozen tunes arranged to be played simultaneously by a standard dulcimer (tuned DAD) and a baritone dulcimer (tuned GDG). It includes such sweet love songs as "Aura Lee" (a.k.a. "Love Me Tender") and "Red is the Rose." Download it today and start playing with a partner right away. (47 pages. Some capo required and some tunes use the 1 1/2 fret.)
P.S. Your newsletter editor took a class from Larry Conger when this book first came out and absolutely loved it. The sound of standard and baritone dulcimers playing together is rich, full, and absolutely beautiful!
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
SONG LISTING:
All Through The Night
Auld Lang Syne
Aura Lee
The Ash Grove
Southwind
The Riddle Song
Amazing Grace
Flow Gently, Sweet Afton
Brahms' Lullaby
Beautiful Dreamer
The Water Is Wide
Wayfaring Stranger
Erie Canal
Skye Boat Song
Red Is The Rose
Shenandoah
I'll Be All Smiles Tonight
America The Beautiful
September On The Mississippi
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Midnight On The Water
Grandfather's Clock
Up On The Housetop