Builders

There are a number of Hammered Dulcimer Builders, and many have web sites.  I have provided here links in alphabetical order to some of the pages of builders I know personally, or have personally played their dulcimers at one time or the other.  (Builders - please do not ask me to add your site to this list.  There are plenty of sites that have pages specifically for that purpose.  This is not one of them.  Thanks.)

James Jones Instruments

Selecting an instrument

Most HD builders are individuals that build instruments in a workshop setting rather than a manufacturing setting. To my way of thinking, the instruments that are made this way are the best for tone and worksmanship.  I, personally, would probably not buy an instrument made in a manufacturing setting, since the very concept of a manufacturing setting goes contrary to the whole essence of the Hammered Dulcimer and its music.

When I was looking for an instrument to buy in August of 1999 (back in the old days of the 1900s), I visited the local Hammered Dulcimer Session that meets once a month.  I got to hear and see instruments by three different builders (and "played" two of them) at that one session.  That was quite a valuable time for me in my search.  There are web sites that offer advice on selecting an instrument to buy, and opinions on some builder's instruments which I consulted in the process of my search.  One of them was the Griffin Music Hammered Dulcimer Purchase Guide.

Within a week or so of going to that session and seeing those instruments, I was able to visit Jerry Read Smith's shop, Song of the Wood, in Black Mountain, NC.  Then, they did not have a web site, but now they have a web site.  I was able to email them at   Everyone there is very helpful.  I got store hours, etc. from him by email before I went.  I also got some info on the instruments they had available in the shop.

When I went to the shop, I saw and "played" a Masterworks instrument (which they stock as well as Jerry Read Smith's instruments) and a James Jones instrument that was in on consignment.  My criteria for selection were basically

1. Did it sound good to me?
   This is personal taste.  Some people like instruments that sound different than I like.  When buying for oneself, however, one doesn't have to be fair about what others like.  I am buying this for myself, and not for others, so I have to like the sound of it.  I tend to like a warm sound that is not tinny.  One of the ones I played at the session was much more tinny than I could stand to hear on a regular basis.  Another had a more warm sound.  Both the Masterworks and the James Jones had the sound I liked.

2. Does it have the features on it I want?
   I had played a very small one-bridge, 10-course (maybe 2-octave) instrument about 10 years ago.  It was strictly diatonic, and was so limited in range and availability of keys, I got frustrated very quickly.  It has been sitting on top of the piano for years.  So, I was looking for an instrument on which I could play in a number of different keys, and which had a good range.  Several I saw met this requirement.  Both the instruments I saw in the shop were at least 4 octave instruments, and were chromatic.  This didn't mean they had all the "black key" notes like on a piano, but they did have some extra notes that were not in the area of the dulcimer where the full notes for the different keys were found.  This made it possible to play in keys through out the range of the instrument that weren't available otherwise in a strictly diatonic instrument.

   However, that wasn't the only thing I was looking for.  My wife had heard an instrument that had dampers on it played at Swannanoa last summer, and played a CD she got with the sound on it of the instrument being played with the dampers on.  It sounds roughly like a cross between a pizzicato (plucked) violin and a marimba, and I really liked it.  So, when it came down to choosing between those that had the range and sounded good, the deciding factor for me turned out to be which instrument had the dampers.

3. Is it made well?
   One should be able to look on the internet for comments, but the best way is to find a local (at least in-state) Hammered Dulcimer group to talk with about this.  Find out what experience others have had with their instruments.  Another way is to go to a festival at which you can rent an instrument (if you are reading this far in this page, I assume you are seriously considering buying and playing a Hammered Dulcimer - or you are really bored).  One Festival at which I know this is possible is the Upper Potomac Dulcimer Fest.  One can go as a completely inexperienced beginner and rent an instrument for the weekend.  For more info, see their web site .

The best advice I can give is to search the internet, talk to people that own Hammered Dulcimers, go to a local session, and go to a Festival or Workshop.  Ask questions.  In my experience, Hammered Dulcimer players are more than happy to tell you about, and even let you play thier instruments.