How to get a McCafferty dulcimer….

I often get asked “when are you going to have available dulcimers?” or “are you still building?” Here’s the scoop…

If you regularly watch my “Available Instruments” you know that it is usually sold out. There are multiple reasons:

• Simply, demand is up. I am a one person shop. I can pretty much keep the order time reasonable, but can’t seem to get ahead of it. When I build a batch of orders, I try to add one or two for inventory. However, sometimes those end up sold before they are finished.

• They take longer to build. I have never wanted to build the most dulcimers. I have always wanted to build the very best dulcimer I possibly could. I continue to learn, develop new processes and experiment. My instruments have become more sophisticated and tedious to build with more options available. Much of the last year was devoted to developing the new acoustic-electric model.

• There isn’t as much of me as there might have once been. Although it is still very much a passion, I can no longer do the 20 hour days. If I am home, I am normally building. However, I do now shut down for most of the summer. My primary build season is October thru May. During this time, I am very actively building. Unfortunately if you order in June, a few months are automatically added.

Although I understand wanting to see and especially play an instrument before purchasing it, I just often can’t have them available. However, there is some good news in this. My instruments have many options now and it is difficult sometimes to just decide what to build and put out there. By ordering an instrument, you “get it your way”. I feel my purchase process/policy provides minimal risk. Basically, we decide and agree on what to build and you go on the list. I take no deposit unless your order is so custom it would impact its salability and I refrain from taking many highly custom orders as they take too much time. When your dulcimer is ready, I send you a link where you can view the photos and process payment. If you receive the dulcimer and are disappointed for any reason, you may send it back. You immediately receive a full refund minus shipping costs.

I have the tab of “sold instruments” so you can look at various woods and configurations to help you decide what you want. Also under Products, there is now a detailed description of models and options to help.

The actual build time is about 2-3 weeks. Depending on time of year and how many are ahead of you determines your completion date. If I happen to be starting a batch that your dulcimer fits into nicely, it will be less than a month. During my build months, I like to keep the delivery within a few months. Of course if I am on vacation or just returning, then there is that impact. For instance, I am writing this in late April’23. When I shut down the end of May, all current orders and a few inventory instruments will be complete. New orders later in May will wait until October.

I hope this helps explain my new instrument availability. The satisfaction from building these instruments and my relationship with the dulcimer community are very important to me and difficult to describe. It has been the most satisfying portion of my journey. I am humbled and grateful for the feedback I get from this relationship. I can’t imagine not doing this.