WOOD SELECTION

Wood Selection…

One of the most frequent questions I am asked is “what woods make the best dulcimer?”. That is a tough question mainly because we are all different creatures and what one person “feels” is the best sound is not the same for someone else. For me, I am looking for a rich, full, balanced sound. I feel there can be too much bass emphasis and the voice gets thumpy or muddy with little sustain. I also feel it can be too bright and sound harsh. I feel a pleasant balance is the goal to search for. It is a highly opinionated subject so this is only my opinion of wood and how it affects my particular instrument.

In my opinion, the wood is not the most important factor in establishing the voice of my particular dulcimer. Many factors go into the voice such as air volume of the instrument, the bracing, the mass of the body, the VSL,… For instance, on my dulcimers, the bodies are all the same size. As I shorten the VSL, the bridge moves further away from the tail block and out onto the top. This is a more flexible area and causes the deeper tones to be emphasized. A longer VSL will emphasize the brighter tones. For me, the wood characteristics for a dulcimer are less important than something like a guitar. A guitar has a large unsupported vibrating surface that must “ring” whereas a dulcimer has a stiff fretboard running right down the center of a much smaller vibrating surface. They are different animals.

As many folks know, I love beautiful wood. I am constantly searching for the most beautiful specimens I can find that I believe will make a beautiful sounding instrument. Price is rarely a consideration when I am looking for wood. If the instrument can sound AND look beautiful, why not. That being said, here are some of my thoughts on wood selection…..

The main characteristics of the wood that affects the voice is stiffness and mass. There is also a “ring” characteristic normally denoted as Q. Every object has a natural frequency that it wants to vibrate called its natural resonance. The stiffer the object, the higher the natural resonance frequency. The higher the mass, the lower the natural resonance. Unfortunately as the mass goes up it takes more energy to get it to vibrate so for a given amount of string energy, it gets quieter. Also, stiffer materials will ring longer or have more sustain. A straight grain wood will be stiffer than figured wood of the same species. A figured wood has the grain fibers running in all directions and this will make the wood more flexible and emphasize the warmer tones but have less sustain. I tend to recommend a figured wood for the body to add warmth and beauty and a straight grained tone wood for the top to create balance and sustain.

As of this writing, I am mainly building bodies out of figured claro walnut, curly cherry, and African ribbon mahogany. The claro walnut is from trees planted in the 1600’s and is stunning in appearance as in the photo. It is more flexible and therefore emphasizes the deeper tones. The voice of the cherry and mahogany are very similar, both producing beautiful and balanced voiced instruments. The density and stiffness of the mahogany can vary quite a bit so by proper selection, it can emphasize warmer or more sustained voice. As indicated, for tops I prefer a straight grained tone wood. The tone woods have a lower mass so they give a bit bigger sound. They have a stiffness that gives some balance and sustain to the voice. I have a supply of 1000 year old sinker redwood that is beautifully quarter sawn. It aged in the bottom of The Big River for over 100 years and makes a wonderful dulcimer visually and from a voice point of view. Western red cedar is a bit lower mass and will typically make a bit warmer voice. Ambrosia maple is not a tone wood but makes a beautiful top. It is a bit higher mass and stiffer than the tone woods. However, by thinning it down a bit, the mass and stiffness are reduced and the result is a very nice voice.

I think often customers over worry the wood selection. By design and construction, I can influence the final voice. These are often very subtle differences that some people can’t distinguish. I suggest looking through the “sold instruments” page and see what visually appeals to you. Then, let’s talk about the voice and other design factors. After all, you will see it every time you get it out. Why not have it beautiful?