We're Getting Amped Up
Good Morning, Y'all - Happy Friday!
We took last Friday off from sending a newsletter. Our shop was closed both Thursday and Friday, so that we could all (me, Dad, Pam, Toya, and Cheyenne) spend time with our families. Let me tell you what a great community we have, as mountain dulcimer players... Two of you contacted me last Friday afternoon, asking "Are you okay? I didn't get my newsletter this morning." One was a phone call, the other was an email. Thank you for caring!
And yes, I'm just fine.
What Inquiring Minds Might Also Want To Know
Another question I've gotten a lot over the past couple of weeks: "What about your employees? Are they moving to Michigan, too?"
No, they're not moving. Toya manages the newsletter from her home already. I'm lucky if I get to see her once a year as it is.
Dad? Yes, he's moving to Michigan, too. Dad and I are both native Michiganders. Dad's cabin is 18 feet from Aly's/mine, and we have a covered walkway connecting the two cabins. Dad will be close enough to come for dinner, out of the weather, but we'll all have our own spaces.
Pam? Pam's been with me for over nine years now, and we're moving a selection of our sewing and cutting equipment to her home. She'll still make our cases in Indiana, like she has since 2016. But she won't have to drive to work in blizzard conditions, as she has several times over this past week.
Cheyenne is coming up on his fourth Folkcraft anniversary. He has the best hands/eyes/touch of anyone I've ever worked with! He's going to keep working for Folkcraft, too, but from his Indiana home. For the past couple of years, Dad and I have made most of the "parts" that go into a dulcimer, and we've handed them over to Cheyenne for fitting and assembly. Making the "parts" takes the big tools, and those tools will be in the new Michigan shop, so Dad and I will continue to make the parts.
We'll use UPS to ship parts to Cheyenne: heads, fretboards, tops, backs, and sides. Then Cheyenne will work his magic and assemble and sand the finished dulcimers. He'll pass these assembled instruments to UPS, and a few days later, I'll be spraying lacquer, and installing machine heads, nuts/bridges, and strings. Pam will be using UPS to ship finished cases to our new shop up north, too.
We'll be keeping the same people on the same jobs, but we'll involve UPS to move parts and finished instruments around the country. I'll spend a bit more on shipping, but that's entirely worthwhile, since I'll be able to keep Pam and Cheyenne as part of the Folkcraft crew.
So, when's the big move date? I really can't say. We're hopefully optimistic for "before Christmas," but it's going to be close. Definitely before Christmas of 2026. Probably. Maybe.
In the shop this week? I'm slowly finishing off dulcimer orders. I shipped one this morning that was ordered at the end of August. My workbench now has a mid-September instrument as the oldest/top priority to finish off.
And repairs are still pouring in, some via UPS, some in person. I worked on a 2008 Folkcraft Custom Series dulcimer this morning. It was built without a pickup installed, and the newest owner of this dulcimer definitely wanted a pickup. So we added one.
Sitka spruce top, maple fretboard with a wenge fretboard veneer. I added the 1.5 fret this morning, too.
Here's a close-up of the preamp (pictured above.) We had to cut a hole in the dulcimer's side, add a reinforcing piece to give some strength to the hole, and then drill a few screw holes to attach the mounting bezel of the preamp. If you look very, very closely, you'll see a glint of silver beneath the bridge. That's the actual pickup - a wire connects the pickup to the preamp, and another wire goes from the preamp to the output jack at the tail end of the dulcimer.
The photo above has nothing to do with the pickup and preamp we just added. It just shows the utterly gorgeous result of padauk aging. Padauk has a tone similar to walnut, but a color that starts out almost "bright orange," which then fades over time to this spectacular red/brown color. This instrument was built in 2008, so the wood has been aging for about 17 years. In another decade or two, the wood will be the most amazing brown color, with subtle hints of red and orange.
Adding a pickup is definitely doable for almost any instrument. We have options (like this one) with a preamp built into the side of the dulcimer, and also an option where there's a pickup underneath the bridge that goes straight to the output jack on the tail of the instrument. CLICK HERE to learn more about the two different kinds of pickups we have to offer.
If you would like a repair (or fret added, or pickup added), you can still ship to our Indiana address for another couple of weeks, probably, but by the middle of December, you should start using the Michigan address.
Thanks for reading, Y'all - have a great weekend. Go make some music!
Richard Ash - luthier-who-wishes-he-had-a-padauk-wood-dulcimer-in-his-personal-collection-but-doesn't... yet
FOLKCRAFT® DULCIMER PLAYER OF THE WEEK: SCOTT CONNER
Folkcraft: How long have you been playing the dulcimer?
Scott: Since around the year 2000, when my wife surprised me with a Folkcraft kit which she bought at a festival in Stone Mountain, GA. After assembly, I learned a few basic jam tunes - mostly one-finger stuff.
Then, in 2002, my dulcimer journey really took off. I accepted an IT contract position as a sub contractor to IBM in the Nissan plant near Nashville, TN. I thought, what the heck, I'm in a motel all week, might as well bring my dulcimer. I joined the Grand Old Dulcimer Club and lo and behold, the teachers were: the late great David Schnaufer, Sandy Conatser, Lee Rowe and Stephen Seifert! Oh boy, did I learn and...
CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF SCOTT'S STORY & ABOUT OTHER FOLKCRAFT PLAYERS LIKE SCOTT & YOU!
FOLKCRAFT® PLAYERS - WE LOVE HEARING FROM YOU!!!
We don't have a new Folkcraft Player to welcome to our wonderful online dulcimer community today. We got a little spoiled there, with two newbies in a row! But we're happy to re-feature Scott Conner today. How've you been, Scott?
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!
YOU COULD ALSO JUST WRITE A LETTER TO THE LUTHIER (by replying to this email.) NO QUESTIONS TO ANSWER, NO PHOTO REQUIRED. WE JUST LOVE HEARING FROM Y'ALL!
This Week's Featured YouTube Video:
Let’s learn a song on the LAP-JO! This lesson is a full walkthrough of "Oh, Susanna" - geared toward intermediate players. Have fun! 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.
THE BANJAMMER BOOK
by Aaron O'Rourke
Want to learn even more banjo-style technique like Mandy demonstrated in the video above? With this book, you'll develop skills that will help you with all of the banjo-dulcimer hybrid instruments. The Clemmer Banjammer specifically, but also the "banjo dulcimer," the Folkcraft LAP-JO®, and the BanjMo. A "regular" dulcimer technique works fine for these instruments, but because of their increased volume (especially the LAP-JO), a more "picking" and less "strumming" technique is generally more appropriate. Only Aaron O'Rourke can take his renowned flatpicking technique, and simplify it for "regular" players. We're happy to carry his book that does just that!
This book, when first published, came with an audio CD. Nowadays, the audio tracks are included as part of your download. (67 pages)
This book is published by Fingers Of Steel, and is made available here as an authorized, licensed download.
WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS BOOK:
Chapter 1 - Picking Patterns
Chapter 2 - Adding Hammer-Ons and Pull-Offs in a Picking Pattern
Chapter 3 - When to Stop Using a Pattern & Play More Melody
Chapter 4 - One Final Picking Pattern
Chapter 5 - Introduction to Pawhammer
Chapter 6 - Introduction to Clawhammer
NO LONGER AVAILABLE IN BOOK FORM