Modify a Dulcimer

[Ken Bloom]

Warren is noted for how well his pegs work, but they still are wooden pegs. Probably the least disruptive type of tuner you could replace them with are called Pegheds or Kniliing Perfection tuners. These are made for violin and look and install just like violin pegs but they have a 4:1 gear setup inside. I have used these on quite a few instruments. They preserve the look of wooden pegs without the hassle. You get them from Elderly Instruments and any violin type luthier can install them. It takes about ten minutes.

Ken Bloom
http://www.boweddulcimer.com

[dtmd]

Ken thank you for the information. I really value your input. I am thinking of shipping the instrument to Warren May and let him make the modifications. This way the instrument will still only have been worked on by Warren May.


Dennis

[strumelia]

Wow, beautiful dulcimer! -and beautiful hand carved matching pegs!
Have you tried applying a little 'Peg Drops' brand liquid to the shafts to make them easier to tune? It works miracles for me on all the wooden pegs I've used it on- makes stuck pegs move smoother, and make slippery pegs hold. Far better than chalk, soap, or that brown peg paste/stick stuff. Just a thought.
If you still want to put geared tuners on, be sure to keep the original pegs with the dulcimer if you ever sell it (or if you ever die...hey, we all do!) so some future owner can put them back on in the future if they like.
DTMD- I think it's a great idea to let Warren himself do any new work on it- he will not screw it up!
It's a real beauty of a dulcimer.

[dtmd]

Thanks Strumelia. I just got this from ebay. I will receive it later this week so I will have a chance to play with it before I make any final decisions. I have wanted a Warren May Hourdrop dulcimer for years and thought I would never get to Kentucky to his shop. When this one came up I fell in love with the wood, the soundholes, the age and the fact it was in mint condition. I feel very lucky to add a Warren May to my tiny collection of mountain dulcimers.

Dennis

[Banjimer]

If you have a collection of dulcimers, I would personally leave a Warren May dulcimer as is. Warren May is well-known for making exceptional dulcimers, particularly with traditional wooden tuning pegs and diatonic fretting. Unless this dulcimer is going to be your primary playing instrument I'd leave it in its original condition.

In one of your other posts, you mention how you were excited to be able to find a Warren May dulcimer in mint condition. Tampering with it in any way would eliminate that same attraction for a future purchaser should you decide to sell it.

As an anecdote, I once owned a Clifford Glenn dulcimer with false wooden tuning pegs and mechanical geared tuners. Someone had cut the wooden tuners off and glued them into the original holes and installed mandolin style tuners. Since Clifford is well-known (like Warren) for his traditional-style dulcimers with wooden pegs I was able to purchase the dulcimer for about 1/2 of what a Clifford Glenn dulcimer would normally sell for on E-Bay. Unfortunately, when I sold it I found out there was very little interest in a "modified" Clifford Glenn dulcimer.

However, the bottom line is the dulcimer belongs to you, and you are free to do whatever you want with it. Just keep in mind. Changes to its original condition/design will have a negative impact on its resale value for many potential purchasers.

Greg

[folkfan]

Here is the instrument I was alluding too. It is a Warren May Dulcimer made in 1995. I have spoken to the store and they said there would be no problem to change out the tuners or to add the frets. They told me a lot of Warren May owners are doing that from that time period. They said it does not affect the value of the instrument.

Dennis

The idea of getting the instrument and playing it for awhile is good. It will give you a chance to decide if you want to keep it a strictly traditional diatonic scaled dulcimer. Or if it gets set to to the side and you play those instruments in your collection with a 6+ more and you find yourself thinking about taping on a paper clip at the 1+ and 8+, then go for the change. Since Warren May would be doing the changes the instrument would still be a Warren May original. As to resale value, get to know the sound of the instrument before the change. You might find that you want to sell it right off, since you bought it unheard. It does happen that an lovely instrument just doesn't have the sound you're looking for.
Now a days more and more buyers are going for the 1+/8+ frets right off the bat. And more and more builders are adding them automatically to some of the instruments they make because of this interest. Saw a number of them on the sellers tables at OVG.

Just a thought: The instrument does seem to have a marking dot at the 7th fret which might be a reason not to put in the 6+ fret. Ask Warren May about it.

I know a number of people have said not to change the instrument as you might ruin the resale value of it. But if not having the changes spoils your playing of the dulcimer then why have it??????? You didn't buy it for a wall decoration. And you have it from the Warren May sales people that it won't affect the value of the instrument. And BTW it's a gorgeous looking critter. Love the birds.

[dtmd]

When I talked to the person at Warren Mays store we talked about the dot actually being right in the middle where the 6+ fret would go. They told me they have added that fret many times in that position with that dot there and it did not affect the use or resale of the instrument. So thanks Folkfan I was looking at that too.

Dennis

[strumelia]

Frankly, it's not surprising that the store said that. After all, they are trying to please lots of people every week and they are selling a service.
Personally, it would bug me to have a fret pass right through a large fret marker dot. I would find it visually disturbing, and I probably would not buy an instrument with that. But that's just me. Still, surely there must be others who would find it unattractive as well, so how can that store say with such certainty that it wouldn't effect any future resale..?

[Dusty Turtle]

Dennis,

Warren May is a well known luthier and his instruments are of high quality. And the dulcimer in the photo looks especially pretty. I would hesitate to modify it.

I say "hesitate" because if you were an experienced player who knew exactly what kind of dulcimer you wanted to play, and you knew you wanted a Warren May with geared tuners and a 6+ fret, then surely go for it and make the dulcimer yours.

But from your questions I gather that you are a relative beginner. You will need to play for a while before you know exactly what you want in a dulcimer. Because or that and because of the reputation of Warren May dulcimers, I would advise not modifying the dulcimer for the time being. You can always do so later, should you decide that is really what you want. But you may discover that you don't need a 6+ fret. You may discover that you prefer a dulcimer with a slightly narrower or wider fretboard or a slighly longer or shorter VSL.

So my advice is not to modify the dulcimer just yet. Play it as is. Perhaps you might also find another affordable dulcimer with the 6+ fret and geared tuners. Play that one as well. A year or more from now you can reassess whether you want to keep the Warren May in its original condition or whether you like the instrument but also want extra frets and geared tuners.

[JohnH]

I agree entirely with Strumelia ! Maybe because I do not use 'dots'?, but it does seem to me that something as distinctive as a dot emphasised with a fret running thr' it might well act as a magnet for searching beginner fingers ???
JohnH

[fortytwo]

Dennis,

I have one almost identical to yours except the natural wood sound hole is on the other side. It sits in my living room on a stand tuned Cgg. I won't modify it. Easy for me to say as I have 3 other Warren May's with geared tuners - one of which I had him replace the pegs and add a 6 1/2 fret. Have regretted that as soon as I bought the next one with geared tuners.

I think you, at this time, play Dad. If you plan to tune this one that way, you probably won't be happy with the pegs, especially if you play it anywhere where you need to change tunings. I was in a Steve Seifert workshop, had to change from Daa to Dad, in the middle of the next song zzzzing!!! The melody string unwound really, really fast. Had Warren change out the pegs the next time I passed through Berea.

I recommend trying Cgg, maybe with a noter (I just heard KenH cheer from across the river). Warren now produces very few peg tuner dulcimers. He's following the market. As for commercial value of yours, I don't think you'll live long enough to profit much as most of Warren's first 10,000 dulcimers had wooden pegs, so they won't be rare for a while.

Wes

[Robin the Busker]

Hi Dennis,

Here is another way to look at this issue - I'm not offering advice just a suggestion:

Warren May is a fine craftsman. He builds beautiful furniture as well as dulcimers with care an skill. Warren is also a dulcimer player, and there are a few clips on YouTube of him playing out of D,A,A using thum and finger strumming style and fingerdancing with some DAA chording too. Warren also sings tunes and plays accompanyment. Now, if you have a maker who is also a player, and the instrument is a standard design of theirs (not a custom model where the customer has set the parameters), then it is worth studying the maker's playing style as it is likely to work really well on the instrument! Have a look at this video. You can skip the opening advert after 5 seconds, then go to 1.20 and there is a short section on Warren May's shop and you can see him playing and singing. Although the dulcimer he plays in the video has geared tuners and a 6+ - he is playing it in a style and tuning that would suit wood pegs and diatonic layout. And I expect he now adds a 6+ and geared tuners to many dulcimers because that's what most players want, but he still has wooden peg versions hanging on the wall behind him in the video.




If you look at the relaxed style of his playing you can see that he is really comfortable in front of the camera - he must have been playing like that for years to be so profficient. So you can bet that he built his dulcimers for many years around that style of playing - if not consciously then just by default.

Ok - I'm sure you can play a Warren May dulcimer in any style you want, and that's the beauty of the instrument. But wouldn't it be cool just to leave the dulcimer as it was made with wooden pegs and no 6+ and study the playing style of the maker on it?

Robin