TK O'Brien 9/8 or Flat Creek

[KGargs]

Hello,
First, I have been lurking and reading here for a while and that took my knowledge of HD's from zero to "a little bit" in far less time than it would have taken without all of you. So let me begin with a "Thanks to all."

My question is very specific about the 9/8 models (this is a gift and the model has been firmly decided with it understood that a move up to a full-size sometime in the future is a possibility).

The question, for those with some experience either with the 9/8 or the makers, is, all things being equal price-wise, is there a preference among those who know for either the O'Brien or the Flat Creek?

I appreciate any input and comments and also look forward to learning more here and, perhaps adding something useful in the future.

Thanks again.

[halfpint]

I can't help you much with either, although I've seen a T.K. OBrien 12/11 I'm not really familiar with them, and the one I saw was way out of tune since it hadn't been tuned in a couple of years.

But I wanted to welcome you to Everything Dulcimer!

Dawn

[KGargs]

Thank you, Dawn!

[Heidi]

I'm not familiar with either. I've heard of TK O'Brien. Dizzy on youtube has made them "famous". I saw one 9/8 once, that I believed to be an O'Brien, but I can't swear to it. I can say that it struck me as very basic, and kind of toy like. The bridges looked thin and spindly to me. It wasn't in tune. But, it was an outdoor festival, and vendors can be lazy about tuning... I took a look at the descriptions on-line and they are almost identical in size and materials, so I'd guess they are pretty similar in tone and build quality. If you can't see and play in advance, I'd say go with your gut and keeping your purchase closer to home can be a good thing.

Good luck and welcome to ED.

[Dulcigeek]

The TK O'Brian is a nice little dulcimer. It does take time to break it in both in sound and tuning but after a few months of playing it opens up to a nice, mellow soft voice. Great for lunch break lick practice or road trips. Very sturdy and durable and not a toy. See http://www.google.com/search?q=youtube, ... ent=safari for sound samples, intruction and tunes by kenhardtofind.