Purpleheart/Ebony Dulcimer..

[quiltyfox]

Ok, so after attending sunshine state music camp, and learning quite a thing or two from Bruce, Hubby and I have decided to make me a new dulcimer that will have every last thing that I want it to have. I have all but decided to make it almost entirely out of purpleheart, with Ebony accents. An ebony veneer head, and fretboard, with a possom board that has a strip of ebony through the middle. What little info I have found said that the purpleheart would give me great sound, but I just wanted to check here and see what the general opinion was. All of your ideas, help, and guidance is MUCH appreciated. And by the way if you EVER get a chance to take a lesson from Bruce Ford, dont DARE pass it up. He is a FANTASTIC teacher!!!!!

[cray]

lol, I see I am not the only one interested in purpleheart wood, and almost posted at the same time.

Charles

[mrchips]

Purpleheart will make an excelent fretboard. Its real tough but somewhat porus. I love the looks of a purpleheart fretboard on a nice rock maple neck. It also makes an excelent HD bridge too. And the looks of it against a light colored wood such as ash or birch is fantastic.

As to making a whole MD out of it, The result will be an exceptionally bright somewhat edgy sounding insterment. A better choice would be either the top or sides out of it and use a softer wood for the rest of the MD for a more mellow sound.

A purpleheart fretboard top on a softer wood for the rest of the fretboard will also work nicely. Using it for the peghead and the string attachment point is another idea that wont have much effect on the sound.

[quiltyfox]

so if im looking for a deeper sound purpleheart isn't what I want then....Do you think it would sound poor? I just really like the idea of the purple and black togeather...

[KenH]

Unfortunately, Poor, like Bright and Mellow have very vague unquantified descriptions in the world of instruments. Let's put it this way. An all urpleheart dulcimer is not going to sound as mellow as a bright-sounding McSpadden, even if you made it with a 3" deep body.

Then there's the problem of keeping Purpleheart purple not grayish-brown.

Ebony is even harder than Purpleheart. I know Ken Bloom has made all-ebony bowed dulcimers, but that's a different instrument - made like a cello or violin, not a dulcimer, per se. And hugely expensive.

I agree with Mr Chips. Use the Purpleheart and Ebony as highlights or accents rather than big swatches; they will show up more. Ebony Nut & Bridge. Maple fretboard with purpleheart or ebony fingerboard rather than solid P or E, on a spruce top. Purpleheart and light wood for contrast Tuning Head and Tailblock. Purpleheart "racing strip" down the middle of a book-matched back.

If you want the ED builder with lots of Purpleheart experience, contact member Dave Sewell. He's built some stellar instruments with purpleheart mixed with other wood.

[quiltyfox]

Well, since the mcspadden is the sound im looking towards, Purpleheart just isnt what I want. What about wood dyes? I'm really wanting the purple since that was my sister's favorite color (she passed from sarcoma just a year ago in dec) My Idea was all purple, with an ebony veneer fret, and head, and an ebony strip through the possum board. What would be the best wood for that sweet mcspadden sound? Would it be light enough for the purple dye to work properly? Im just concerned about having to test the dye on all kinds of wood, since getting my hands on small bits of it wont be that easy....

[mrchips]

There are wood dyes around that might possibly work but like stains the final color will be highly dependent on the wood you use.

Heres one possible source of some purple dye..
http://www.woodcraft.com/Product/200171 ... -Dyes.aspx

I havent used this so I cannot give amy hints or bad things to watch out for. Looks like it would give a purple close to the average purpleheart.

[quiltyfox]

Ha ha those are the exact dyes I was looking to use I called both folk craft and the company that sells that dye, and folk craft siad if I wanted a nice mellow tone to use white oak or black walnut. The dye people said that it would work fine with the white oak, i forgot to ask about the black walnut, but I think the oak would be a better choice since it is lighter. Any experience out there with dying or staining white oak? OR any other wood suggestions for a wood that would (no pun intended) give me a nice mellow warm tone?

[kwl]

A warm, mellow tone is a subjective category. I have never heard an oak dulcimer so I can't comment on its sound. I think a softer hardwood, something like poplar, might give the sound for which you are looking. If you get a nice light (color) piece of poplar it should stain to a very nice purple. Stewart MacDonald also sells wood dyes for instrument makers.

[mrchips]

Having a bit of info on how woods change or color a sound goes a long way in making an insterment with a desired sound. In the following the words soft and hard ar not ment to classify a wood type such as a hardwood or softwood. They are ment to mean more of a density or mass term.

A soft wood such cedar will tend to soak up the high notes without affecting the lows very much. A redwood is a bit harder so there will be less of that high removal. A hard wood such as say rock maple will tend to reflect the high notes while asorbing a bit of the low.

That being said when you yse a soft wood on the top and a had wood on the back of an insterment the overall effect is a reduction in hearing the high notes. Reverse them and you will get the oppsite effect. Using a really hard wood for the sides will have a different effect than using the same wood as either the top or bottom.

While there are many more things that affect the sound such as wood thickness, shapes, sound hole size and placements, etc to consider wood choices are something that have to be considered. Always use properly dried wood. In my oppion kiln dried is not a proper drying. If you can keep wood properly stored for a year or 2 before use the esults will be far better. Just buy a bunch of the kiln dried stuff and stash it up in the rafters for a year or so then you will have decient wood.

[KenH]

I agree with KenWL (it's a Ken thing). Oak would be Oakay, but Poplar would be better, both from the sound quality and the way it will take the dye. Poplar does not have the distinct vascular bundles that Oak does, and so dye on Poplar is a lot more consistent. I've dyed LOTs of Poplar; it stains very well. Other good light colored woods which are relatively common would be Birch for back and sides, and Aspen or Spruce for the top.

Walnut back with stained Poplar sides and Spruce or Poplar top would be very pretty and acoustically, "mellow". Then you can have your Ebony fretboard overlay and maybe a racing stripe down the middle of the Walnut back. You could have real Purpleheart as at least part of the tuning head and tailblock.

[clare dulcimers]

I like Ken's suggestion of a dark walnut back with a purpleheart stripe down the back. Since you're building it with a "possum board", I take it to mean spacers and a false back. this means the wood of the real back can be anything and since it is protected, can be the softer mellower soundwood. Maybe you can put the western red cedar as the inner back, then the walnut with purple stripe as the outer back, walnut spacers. Walnut sides and stained poplar top, fretboard of purpleheart with ebony overlay, and walnut scroll with purpleheart center insert.