Official Luthiers Forum!

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So me went and dropped an amp on me dulcimer...weeping, crying and gnashing of teeths...
Figuring it be faster to build a new one than rebuild the old one, which is now wall decoration, so me build dis...

A Kootenay Mtn. Dulcimer.



- Hemlock arch top Cedar wishbone construction...dudes that means the neck and ribs (sides to you neophytes) are all one piece.
- 25.20 inch sting length
- 2 octaves of frets, cantilevered from the 14th...thats a 5.5 inch cantilever dudes. She be light as a feather and just a delicate. The recurves are about .085 ~ thin eh...not sumpthin to be lettin the grand kids pluck on eh!
- 5 string, 3 courses. aA e AA
- Diatonic fretting. ( Means the ones you don't need aren't there) simple eh!
- Cedar arched back and Hemlock top (that means they was hand carved from 1.5 inch book matched bolts me logged a few years way back long time ago.
- Trevor G. gonna love dis part... squiggly "parallel" braces to navigate around the trumpet bells oval sound hole. Ya you read that right.
- Insencio fretboard and head stock...yup she smells real pretty dudes...just like me sweetie!
- Some sort of cheap recycled hog banding me ripped from them tackie louvered folding closet doors they useta made back in the 60's
- African Black Wood trim details, nut, heal, tailpiece.
- Lilac (syringa vulgaris) bridge topped with ebony. Don't know whats more bitter tasting hops or lilac.
- Assorted sizes of round ballony inlays on the neck, head, back, ribs and cutaway (Really great way to hide booboos)



Yup the oval sound hole bells out like a trumpet and the cutaway corner got aballonied.




Lilac gots a lotta twist in her...that bridge is the natural twist in the wood. Nice bit of sap wood in that African eh.



Little bit of lotus petal carving...sort of a signature carving of me name sake ~ "Padma" or "lotus flower" in Hindi.




Pretty blue sky eh.





These Ping tuners are most highly recommended by Padma...cheap like borscht...like about $10 a set and believe me dudes they really hold up well. Better than some of them high end "stay tites" on the market.. Even Fender used or may even still be using Pings.


Like me said...dis one is mine...so me slapped on some oil, wiped her down, strung her up, twisted up a few bottles and let her rip.
She be an A1 superlative first class act me got here this time...sonically she be one of me very bestes builds...very light and bubbly just like the abalone bubbles all over her.....ya me happy and one day me gonna get around to posting a sound clip...but not today.


Any questions?


blessings
?adma


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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Done you well there Pad!

Hello Gorgeous, how ya doing?.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

Yo, Padma,
Outstanding! Very, very pretty instrument. I'm looking carefully at all the little details and I can see you lavished some extra attention on this beauty. Man...I don't see a trace of bondo anywhere. Okay...don't get your whiskers in your ears over that remark. You know it was meant in good fun!

I like all of it. Nice fair curves and visual balances between this detail and that detail all over it. I especially like the artistic shape of the bridge and the wood choice in the tail piece. Ditto for all the subtle details elsewhere. This is not a standard sort of instrument. This is a Padma instrument built with extra attention everywhere.

Seriously, Dude, a very nice execution of a tricky (but not for you) wishbone-constructed instrument. I dig it! I'll warrant that many others do, too. I think it's quite beautiful. Any chance of a sound clip?

Patrick

Oi Padma ... she purdy!

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If trees could scream, would we be so cavalier about cutting them down? We might, if they screamed all the time, for no good reason. - Jack Handey

Very lovely looking instrument Padma and great background for the images too. Thankfully it's not that cold where I am yet

It's amazing how you make it float in midair!
It must be really light!!
Beautiful instrument!!!!!!!


Sent throughout space

Love it! Amazing instrument!

Quite nice Padma, way to go!

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Padma, that is a thing of beauty! So tell me, why this tuning? Iv'e never seen one strung up this way before, the 5 string single in the middle was a surprise. Sure would like to hear a sound clip.

So, do you play this in your lap? This design, almost looks like you could hold it like a guitar...

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Phil

http://www.oleninstruments.com

"Those who tilt at windmills are only considered insane by those who can't see the dragon."

Another fine one!!! Looks like it will practically play itself.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Yo, duders,

thank you for all your kind comments.

Yup, she floats around like a feather in the wind, hanging from a coat wire.

Yo Spider, normally me do 1, 2 and 2 for a fiver...but this time me did 2, 1 and 2 but also cut a nut and an extra bridge for 1, 2 and 2. Yup me use a strap and wear it just like a guitar ~ but thats probably cuz me don't know any better.

As for the tuning...me likes it...but will confess to using all of the various 3 course tunings every now and then...usually when me to inebriated to tune it. You should try it...really helps ya bend, yank and stretch them strings to make things sound gooder.


blessings

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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nice !

Really Pretty Padma. A thing of beauty!

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EddieLee

Very organic, Padma. Love the black tuner bushings, too.

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"Act your age, not your shoe size" - Prince

Beautiful stick dulcimer (a.k.a. strumstick) I've built a few of those, but none as nice as yours. It shows that unique design sense that screams- PADMA STyle!

Thanks Chris...

Padma has used about 50 to 60 sets (ya sets) of them Ping tuner~upppers in the last 10 - 12 years. Never had a failure or a return. All still going strong.

That black bushing is not a bushing unfortunately is only a black domed plastic washer. but hey not bad for $10 a set.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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She's a beauty! You are welcome to come to my place an drop an amp on one of my guitars anytime!

Super Natural, Padama! I hope to visit you some day, and shake your talented hands!

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Ya dat be nice to meet and greet you.
But please be gentle on shaking Padmas hands...see, the last dude was so excited him hand shaking rattled me brain so hard me ain't been right in me head since then.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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really nice work, Padma! Love it.

Me really truly appreciate all you duders shout, praise and butter on me bread, cuz ya me over inflated ego likes it but
honestly dudes...
me would much rather hear questions and concerns and critiques.
Ya that way there be room for all of us to grow don't you think?

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Concern/Criticism? - you said yourself....

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

But but Colin...you should know ?adma by now...me hear tell him be a real B.S.ers and will lead you down the garden path every time.

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Audiences and dispensations on Thursdays ~ by appointment only.


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Okay, Padma, my friend,
You've built lots of instruments (and appointments around your shop) with lots of really superior, time-consuming attention to detail. Carved embellishments, nifty inlays, and on and on. But you kept this instrument really simple in most respects. Sure, we see a little inlay here or there which might be hiding a boo boo, but those little details look so PLANNED. You really didn't leave yourself much room for anything but perfection on this one. It seems to me that you approached this one from a whole different mind set than normal. So, here are a few questions that I hope are not too provocative: Am I right? Different mindset? If so, why? I have a hunch you were operating out of a slightly different channel of your very creative mind when you launched this one. Regardless, I like it and I don't think you're going to hear much criticism. You might show us some progress pics to hip us into the internal details. And I think you ought to get busy on that sound clip, too. That ought to provoke some response--most of it good, I imagine.

Patrick