FolkRoots® H Series Dulcimer, Walnut Body, Spruce Top

I am in love with my new chromatic dulcimer! Folkcraft quality never disappoints. Customer service is always above and beyond expectations. I recently purchase another well known dulcimer and have discovered it was a costly mistake, because the action is too high and "cannot adjusted lower without buzzing". I immediately bought my new chromatic from Folkcraft upon learning that my "other new one" cannot be returned, thus, I have lost money and "they" have lost a customer.
FOLKCRAFT RULES!

Working with Richard Ash and the Crew was a pleasure; from the start of the process of placing the order for my new Design Your Own, D Series Mountain Dulcimer to arrival at my doorstep. I chose the MaxDAD Standard/Bass Hybrid option with black walnut body, sides and head, and a Sitka Spruce top. I also chose the 25 inch VSL with standard fretting (1 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2, And 13 1/2) to make fingering a tad easier on my old hands. For a custom touch, I chose to have four Irish Harp sound holes in the top. The instrument arrived in six weeks from the time the order was placed. The Picking Points that I earned with the purchase went toward some accessories (set of strings, two humidifiers and a strap) to get me going. The sound is sweet with a rich bass.

I never played a Mountain Dulcimer until my new, custom dulcimer arrived a few weeks ago. Richard spent a lot of time helping me design the best instrument for my needs. Now I am plucking and strumming on a gorgeous instrument that sounds heavenly… even with a beginner playing!

I’m so pleased with my F series dulcimer- beautifully made- it was an “aha moment” when I lifted it out of the shipping box, and even more when I played it. From ordering it to playing it, everything was
excellent.

The dulcimer looks wonderful, but the main point for me is that it sounds great and plays well. I designed this to let me play more complex music, hence the wider fretboard. It's also a bigger body than my 30-year-old 4-string Folkcraft dulcimer, which delivers a 12-string-guitar-like sound when you carry a melody in the bass. It's a differnt animal.

My new dulcimer lets me play in the style of the late Bert Jansch without actually using my guitar!

Of course I agonised over the addition of a 11/2 fret and considered reducing it to a mini-fret under the middle string (I really wanted the C natural) but I was happy when I discoverd that the added f naturals let me play blues riffs in DAD. I think I will always think of the 11/2 fret as 'the extra fret for specific purposes' so I've filled the space behind it with a large, ornate position marker (a pentangle in memort of Jansch) so I'm always aware of it. Problem solved. Looks cool, too.

Murray Laing
Scotland