electric dulcimer

Here is one of my oldest instruments, a solid-body electric dulcimer, built back in 1999. I made it while still in Red Wing.

It has a thru-body neck made of mahogany. The headstock is also mahogany and the fingerboard is spalted maple. The body is made from flamed maple. 

All of the wood I used came from the scrap bin in the school's shop at Red Wing. I'm pretty sure all the white vinyl came from scrap material too.

I got the pickups from an old Fender Bullet Bass that I actually had before attending Red Wing. It was a complete junker and I had experimented on it by pulling the frets and making a fretless bass. I kept the pickups, specifically intending to use them on a three-string instrument, which ended up being this. 

All of the hardware is gold, including the frets. The gold fretwire was a later addition along with the "tailpiece" inlay. Originally the inlay was a version of the ugly logo I had been using. 

It has a 27-inch string scale and is tuned to C-g-g.

The headstock has a really extreme angle for some reason. Like I said, it's one of my first instruments. The tuners are reversed, probably because they were salvaged from somewhere. I can't honestly remember, but I know I didn't pay for them.

The volume and tone knobs complete the f-hole inlay design.

 It has an endpin jack for using a strap. I intended it to be played "Spanish style" instead of traditional Appalachian lap style. 

I found this case for a Japanese koto on a curb and refitted it to hold the dulcimer.

The bright red is the original lining. I added the weird paisley corduroy material on the cushions and compartments I added in. 

 Well, I just realized I have around 20 more instruments to post on my site here. Many of them I still need to take photos of. So STAY HOME and keep checking in; I'll try to keep posting every Sunday, at least until piano work gets more consistent.