Heatherwood Craft Dulcimers
Dulcimers very much in the mould of the Cripple Creek, and built by two ex-employees of that company, James Crier and Esther Cockerill in Colorado Springs.
1.130 1994 (?) Heatherwood 4 String, 3 Course Hourglass £290 + £20 original shell case in good condition
Neat label: “Heatherwood Instruments/ Handcrafted Musical Instruments/ 824 Prairie Road/Colorado Springs CO80909/ [#]94089”. Bookmatched walnut body with less common spruce top. Seagulls (?) and vine leaves soundhole decorations (only on the far side in the upper bout). Hollow, non-continuous fingerboard with a strum gap, in which there is an oval walnut “plaque” with a seagull (?) and sun design. Unusual shaped pegbox; open-geared tuners with pearl buttons. White hardwood nut and bridge; 6+ and 13+ frets; mushroom-headed pins for string anchors.
Overall length 34½”, upper bout 6¾”, lower bout 8″, depth 2⅛”, FBW 1⅝”, VSL 26½” (short/medium scale), weight 2lb 5oz (1041g). 6+ and 13+ frets. Strings now 0.011/[0.011], 0.014, 0.023w.
For an intermediate level dulcimer, this has a surprisingly open and powerful sound with real charm. Good action and intonation OK up to the 12th fret. Excellent condition.
Click on images below to enlarge.
1.121 1993 (?) Heatherwood 4 String, 3 Course Hourglass £Sold
Small red oval label: “Heatherwood/ Craft/ Serial # 93 005 [h/w]/ Colorado Springs, Co.”
Solid walnut body, bookmatched on the back, with some nice knot-like figuring. Dark mahogany top with vine leaf and hummingbird pattern soundholes. Closed pegbox with open-geared tuners and a distinctive two-prong scroll, convex on the end and flat beneath. Non-continuous fingerboard, with a gap between bridge/tail and fretted sections. Each section cantilevers slightly over the strum hollow. In the gap is a medallion-like, round walnut (?) fine inlay decoration. The top is reinforced internally with two parallel braces which run the length of the top, roughly each side of the fingerboard – presumably to restore the rigidity lost by the gapped fingerboard. Frets 6+ and 13+ present; mother of pearl markers at frets 3, 7, and 12. Nut and bridge appear to be bone. String anchors are mushroom-headed pins. Overall length 34½”, upper bout 6¾”, lower bout 8″, depth 2”, FBW 1¾”, VSL 26⅜” (short/medium scale), weight 2lb 8oz (1137g). 6+ and 13+ frets. Strings now 0.012/[0.012], 0.014, 0.023w.
Neatly and solidly made, good intonation and playability on quite a short scale. Sound decent but without great depth.
Click on images below to enlarge.
1.48 – 1991 (?) Heatherwood 4 String, 3 Course Hourglass – £Sold
Printed label: “Heatherwood/ Craft/ Handcrafted Musical Instruments/ 3043 N. Hancock/ Colorado Springs, CO 80907 [Tel, No.]/ #91340 [h/w]”.
Big, solid walnut body (bookmatched back) with western red cedar (?) top; bluebird and vines soundhole design; and single piece walnut fingerboard with 6+ and 13+ frets. Composite nut and bridge. Long sloping scroll and closed pegbox, fitted with decent open-geared tuners (plastic MoP buttons). Four brass mushroom-headed pins for string anchors. Strutted inside top and back.
Overall length 35½”, upper bout 6⅞”, lower bout 8⅛”, depth 2⅛”, FBW 1⅝”, VSL 27¾” (medium scale), weight 2lb 5oz (1038g). 6+ and 13+ frets. Strings now 0.011, 0.015, 0.023w.
Tight sound for a big body, some subtlety and plenty of volume. Despite the obvious similarities, a slightly better sound than the Cedar Creeks/Red Kites. Low action – could be made even easier with lighter strings if required.
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