There is no sound sweeter than that of the mountain dulcimer.  Also known as an Appalacian dulcimer, this wonderful instrument has a tone that has been compared to "angels voices".  Chances are you have heard this wonderful instrument on some recording but you did not know that the sound you heard was that of the mt. dulcimer. 

When buying a mountain dulcimer,  you will have to decide if you want 3 strings, 4 string (a double melody set up) or even a 5 string.  You only NEED 3 strings, but the addition of the 2nd melody string (as in a 4 string dulcimer) will get you a little bit better projection of sound.  Next you have to decide if you want a "tear drop" or "hourglass" design.  This is mostly a personal choice and makes little difference in sound volume or quality.  Finally you will decide if you want the 6 1/2 fret or not.  You can buy an instrument that DOES NOT have one and always have it installed later if you so choose.  The advantage of the 1/2 fret is that it allows you a little more diversity in the range the instrument can play.  Most folk music does NOT use the 6 1/2 fret but some newer sheet music has it already noted out.

New or used?  If you are buying new, you will get a warranty and usually a set up done by the manufactor of the dulcimer.  If used, you get no warranty, but the wood has been musically seasoned.  What I mean is that the instrument has been played and the wood has a richer tone to it than when an instrument is new.  Some people say this does not matter, I believe it does.  Yes a new instrument can be seasoned by simply playing it or placing it in front of a stereo speaker and letting music be absorbed into the wood for several weeks.

Things to look for in a used instrument-has it been taken care of-things like cleaned and kept in good working order.  Is the wood warped, cracked or split?  Is the fingerboard nice and straight (some call this the fretboard-but technically most dulcimers do not have fretboards like other instruments do, guitars, banjos etc, which is a seperate piece of wood attached to the neck of the instrument).  A dulcimer's fingerboard consists of a piece of lumber with frets set directly into it.  If the dulcimer looks good and is not split or showing signs of warping or excessive nicks and dings then it is probably a good instrument, and worthy of consideration.  Figure ALL used instruments need new strings.  For some reason folks who do not play instruments figure that it is more valuable with the old, rusty, cruddy, dead sounding strings that were originally on the instrument from the factory.  UNTRUE!!!   Lucky for us that mt. dulcimers take "banjo" strings (although when on the dulcimer they are considered dulcimer strings) in standard guages.  The only thing to check is if your instrument takes ball end or loop end-most are loop end that I have ever seen.  Get yourself a book to learn from preferably with a cd to play along with or a video format.  Several are availabe and I can speak from experience that the Melbay series "You can teach yourself ------ "(fill in the blank for the instrument you want to learn) are very good.  I recommend you buy shipping insurance as these are very light weight instruments and easily damaged during transit.

So now you have your dulcimer and  your instruction book to learn by.  Now get yourself a case of some sort to protect your dulcimer.   A hard case is best for ultimate protection but many of us also use a soft case for general transport of the instrument.  A case is paramount to protection of your dulcimer as these are very light weight easily damaged instruments. 

A good quality dulcimer will provide you with years of playing pleasure.  They are easy to learn to play and produce the most beautiful of sounds.  I suggest anyone interested in dulcimers check out this website everythingdulcimer.com as it is an amazing place to get free music down loads and listen to actual dulcimer music.  Happy playing