Worth the Wait

There's a new love in my life this morning but I'm sure Angie will understand.

We returned home late last night after a hurried but at the same time refreshing road trip to Black Mountain, NC. It all started early Sunday morning when upon checking my email, I noticed that someone was selling a nearly new
Concertmaster hammer dulcimer built by Jerry Read Smith.

I contacted the seller, and several emails later ended up on Jerry's web site to do some research.

And there it was.

Jerry, had finally completed his damper system. I'm about to reveal what a dulcimer geek I am when saying that I was breathless. I knew this was going to be good.

Jerry and I have a long and interesting player/builder relationship which goes all the way back to 1989 when I began searching for my first hammer dulcimer. Based on a strong recommendation by my friend Malcolm Childers, I called Song of the Wood and talked to Jerry's sister JoAnn. I quickly learned that there was a waiting list for Jerry's instruments. A couple of days later and itching to get started I settled for the most inexpensive instrument I could find at Pigeon River Stringed Instruments in Pigeon Forge, TN. It was a tiny plywood backed 12/4 which they no longer build. It only whetted my appetite for more and I quickly destroyed it while trying to add more string courses.

As the years progressed I've gone through dozens of instruments and crossed paths with, but never owned one of Jerry's instruments. I'm very happy with my large Dusty Strings D600 and it fits my energetic playing style. But every time I've gotten to play one of Jerry's instruments I've been once again surprised by a consistent unique voice that I can only describe as bell-like yet breathy in the upper registers and with a subtle but pure sustain all the way to the lowest notes. My D600 has a strong, but entirely different voice and I've wanted to add other voices to the choir.


So why didn't I just get on the waiting list and purchase one?

I've made several trips to Jerry's shop to talk about just that but the lack of dampers has stopped me each time. I've become convinced that it is just crazy to have a large hammer dulcimer without dampers.

Installing dampers on hammer dulcimers is not a new idea. Many of the instrument's relatives from around the world like Persian Santurs, Chinese Yang Chens, Hungarian Cymboloms - especially when they are treated as serious instruments - have dampers.

I don't think all hammer dulcimers should have dampers. Smaller instruments don't produce enough low tones for it to really matter. The dampers in pianos don't even go all the way to the highest notes. But I'm convinced after playing dozens, if not hundreds of instruments, that if you want to have a rich sustain at the bottom of a larger hammer dulcimer, you need to be able to control that sustain so it doesn't become overpowering. The problem isn't too much sustain. The problem is a lack of dampers.

Many builders compensate for the lack of dampers by throttling down the sustain on the bottom end. This is like planting a mighty oak tree in a flower pot. While the diminutive tree that develops may be beautiful and interesting, it isn't nearly as grand as it could be when given enough space.

I'll step off my soap box now and get back to describing the newest member of my family.

After seeing Jerry's new Grande Concertmaster with dampers on his web site Sunday morning I called and told him I would be there Monday. Angie, bless her heart, came along for the four hour ride.

Initial Impression

For years I've believed that no one builds a more aesthetically pleasing hammer dulcimer. Just knowing how much time and thought Jerry puts into every instrument he builds makes them all heirloom quality. These are pieces of art your children will fight over when you're gone. Being beautiful doesn't make a great instrument though. It is however icing on the cake and this cake is tasty.

Jerry has continued to refine his building practices over the years and is always excited about something new he's learned from his last build. The new Grande Concertmaster is built with his proven double-arched top with the addition of a pre-arched bass section that allows the lowest notes to fully excite the soundboard with fewer braces than any instrument I've ever seen. Generally the more supports you have to place under a soundboard, the lower the volume that soundboard can produce. The new instrument has a rich baritone voice that I could actually hear swelling after the initial hammer strike as the entire top comes into play.

As you can see from the pictures, the dampers add to the clean design. They are smooth, quiet and easily adjustable to suit varying degrees of sustain. There is an azimuth adjustment (Dusty Strings dampers also have this) which can be adjusted to taste. I prefer to let the upper registers sing out a bit even when fully damping the low end.

The action is smooth and quiet. And since the damper bars are pulled from a single cable in the center, they lower exactly straight down toward the instrument with the smallest possible amount of travel. It is hard to describe but the action is elegant in its simplicity and draws no attention to itself. A system this smooth requires incredible precision in the building process and I've come to expect that from Jerry.

Another at first not-so-obvious advantage to this design is that because they are worked via a cable system that pulls the dampers and the instrument toward each other, rather than pulling the entire instrument and dampers toward the ground, there is no discernible movement of the instrument when pressing the pedal. I'm a vigorous player and even with my sturdy tristander leg support system my D600 sometimes begins to rock. When I first stepped up to play this new instrument I was worried because it was on a wooden stand. I asked Jerry if he had anything sturdier and he told me to just give it a shot. There was no movement at all.

Since I'm used to playing a D600 with a larger string spacing it took a few minutes to get used to Jerry's slightly closer spacing. About the only negative predisposition I brought to this audition was the fact that I'd long ago discovered instruments with smaller string spacings usually didn't hold up well to my admittedly heavy handed playing style. My head started to spin again as I realized that this instrument could take it. It did sound better when I backed off and played with lighter dynamics but I needed to know that when I get excited that this instrument could handle the pressure. That settled it.

I was hooked and even though Jerry wouldn't let me bring the instrument home yet, I bought it. I'm using a prototype of the new instrument to determine where I need to place microphones and pickups and should be able to bring my new baby home in a couple of weeks. In the mean time, if you're serious about having a top notch instrument and are within a reasonable driving distance of Black Mountain North Carolina, you owe it to yourself to call Jerry and check this new instrument out. Be gentle with my baby.

It took way too many years for Jerry to come up with this design. It takes him way too long to build every instrument, but it is well worth the wait. I'm proud to finally own a Jerry Read Smith hammer dulcimer and it will make a wonderful addition to my career. I don't collect instruments. If I don't play it, I don't want it. This will be played for years to come and will be featured in my upcoming DVD. ¶ 8:37 AM 4 comments

Surgery, Life, Survival and New Projects

December through New Year's day was a whirlwind of gigs and rehearsals, followed by one day's rest and a trip to the hospital for some necessary surgery.

I debated about whether or not I should write about my worsening medical condition but wasn't quite sure how to go about it. I mean, just how much do you really want to know about my colon? On January 3, I reluctantly went under the knife for the removal of a 'complex fistula'. You can Google it if you'd like to learn more but I don't recommend it.

I'm quite frightened by hospitals but I'm also quite sure that worry can harm you just as severely as any knife or bacterial growth so I chose to prepare for the ordeal by staying as busy as possible. It worked. Here I am on the other side of this traumatic event. Except for the fact that I can't sit for very long, I'm doing just fine. I've been weaned from the pain medication and have ventured out with friends a couple of times in the past few days. Life goes on and I have some really exciting projects coming up.

We will of course be organizing the Chattanooga Dulcimer Festival again for 2006. The dates will be June 23 to 25 at the Mountain Arts Community Center on Signal Mountain. Watch for more details in coming days.

I'm also very excited about my current recording project which is a music video style DVD shot with HD (high definition) camera's at various locations around Chattanooga. Our tentative release date for this project is mid-April. It will contain some new material as well as a few songs from my past projects. I'm also working on a music book to go along with the DVD to help other hammer dulcimer players learn the tunes.

I want to say a big thank you to those of you who ordered my Winter Mix CD. Your tremendous response was encouraging and allows me to keep on making music. THANKS!!!! ¶ 12:27 PM 5 comments