Ron Gibson Mountain Dulcimers

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To order a custom dulcimer please email ron@gibsondulcimers.com

or leave a message at 740-262-2660

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Ron Gibson Mountain Dulcimer Strings

There is nothing more frustrating than breaking a string - and not having a replacement! Always keep a couple of spare sets....

Most pre-packaged Mountain Dulcimer strings contain a nickel wound bass string. But as experienced musicians know, nickel wound strings are for electric guitars - not acoustic instruments. My dulcimer strings use only phosphor bronze wound strings for a crisp, clean, true acoustic sound.
Each package contains two full sets of dulcimer strings.

Price: $9.50

     4-string dulcimers
      (each pack contains two full sets)
      (12, 12, 14, 22W or 24W bronze)

Price: $12.50

     6-string dulcimers
      (each pack contains two full sets)
      (12, 12, 14, 14, 10, 24W bronze)

Mountain Dulcimer Cases

Case HS-1 This padded, hardshell case offers the best protection for your dulcimer. Laminated, 3 ply, wood shell with Durahyde exterior, steel reinforced joints, heavy duty brass hardware, comfort grip handle, brass skids on bottom. Plush inner liner covers 1" thick padding. This case will hold a dulcimer up to 7 3/4" wide and 39" long..

                                        Price: $125
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Case MD-3 The interior dimensions of this case are 39" length and 9" width. It can accommodate a dulcimer with a total depth 3". This case has sidewalls and a more plush interior than the MD-2 cases.

Price: $54

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Case MD-2 These padded cases are made of heavy-duty, canvas type nylon with a soft inner lining, a sturdy nylon handle, shoulder strap, and a large-sized zippered pocket to keep tuners, picks, books, etc. The interior dimensions of the case are 40" length and 10½" width. It can accommodate a dulcimer with a total depth 3".

Price: $42

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Chromatic Electronic Tuner

For most people, the hardest thing about learning to play a dulcimer is learning how to tune it! But an electronic tuner takes all the guesswork out of tuning. Just place the tuner near the dulcimer and pluck a string. The screen displays the note ( for instance "A") and the needle moves left or right to show if the string's pitch is too low or high. Then turn the dulcimer tuning key until the needle points straight up and the green "in tune" indicator light illuminates.

I believe Korg tuners are the best on the market. The Korg CA-1 is a great dulcimer tuner for this price range. It operates for years on a 9-volt battery and can be used to tune any instrument. It also has a calibration feature that lets you tune an instrument slightly above or below standard pitch. If playing with other instruments, an electronic tuner is the perfect tool to insure a great sound.

Price: $23

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Guide To Playing the Mountain Dulcimer

Over the years I have seen several beginner books. This is one of the better ones currently available. It features step-by-step instructions on playing the Appalachian Mountain Dulcimer with 23 common songs (such as Amazing Grace, Wildwood Flower, I'll Fly Away, etc) written in musical tablature and music notation so you do not need to read music to use this book.

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There are two versions to cover the two most popular mountain dulcimer tunings, DAA and DAD.

Guide To Playing the Mountain Dulcimer
DAD Version

Price: $8.50

Guide To Playing the Mountain Dulcimer
DAA Version

Price: $8.50

Dulcimer Capos

Capos allow a Mountain Dulcimer to change modes or keys by "clamping" the strings at a particular fret and thereby raising the pitch of the dulcimer (without retuning the strings). To return to the original key, simply remove the capo. This is a fast, easy way to play in other keys and experiment with modal melodies. A capo also comes in handy for playing with other musicians regardless of the instrument.

Economy Dulcimer Capo

This is the mountain dulcimer capo that almost every dulcimer player carries in their case. It is made of solid wood with brass thumb screw.

Price: $18.50

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Dulcimer Picks

Pick # F-1: These Fender picks have three picking edges and are the picks I normally use for a dulcimer.

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Price: $1 ea.

Pick # H-1: These Herdim picks have three picking edges and a textured center section to make the pick easier to hold.

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Price: $1 ea.

Pick # D-1: These Dunlop picks have three picking edges and are a synthetic copy of natural tortoise shell. From my experience, they simply do not wear out or break and are good all around picks.

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Price: $1 ea.

Clip-On Dulcimer Pickup

This is an economical and easy way to amplify your dulcimer with no modifications. It is a piezo pickup encased in a clip-on attachment. This pickup can accurately reproduce the sound of your dulcimer without the metallic sound of the electric guitar pickups used on some dulcimers. Another area where this pickup comes in handy is to plug into an electronic tuner to replace the microphone. This greatly helps tuning when in a loud environment where the tuner microphone gets overwhelmed by the ambient noise. The cord on this pickup is a little over three feet long.

Use this pickup with the Daneelectro Mini Amp below and you are instantly amplified!

Price: $18.

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Danelectro Honeytone Mini Amp
Model N10

This little amp is great for amplifying instruments in small environments, for practice or just adding a little extra volume when playing with a group. It is powered by a 9 volt battery (included) or common power adapter which can be purchased at any department store. It has a real leather handle, a belt clip and headphone jack. Controls include: Volume, Tone and Gain.

Price: $34.95

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Note: The color available in stock varies between Burgundy, Turquoise and Black.