Bowed Dulcimers
The bowed dulcimer – as a separate instrument rather than a lap dulcimer, bowed – is a relatively modern invention, pioneered by Ken Bloom in the U.S. It is chromatic, fully-fretted and nearest to a viola da gamba in design, size and string layout. It is played upright, resting on the player’s knee and shoulder. Like most violin family instruments, it has a sound post linking top to back and a bass bar under the soundboard.
3.113 Oct 2008 Ken Bloom Bowed Dulcimer 3 String £Sold
Printed label in cursive writing with handwritten elements, shown in []: “Kenneth Bloom/ Pilot Mountain, NC/ Faciebat Anno/ [October] 200[8]”.
Good quality fiddle-figure (quilted) maple sides and back (possibly carved). The back is made from three pieces and slightly domed. Top is a carved and contoured spruce top with distinctive half f-holes. The top protrudes beyond sides (fiddle-edged) in traditional style, but back is flush. Top and back have black/white/black purfling round the edges. Three square maple feet.
Beautiful custom maple bridge – not the original which was missing – based on a Stradivarius design and hand carved in Gloucesterhire. Fixed soundpost just aft of the bridge on the treble side. Tailpiece is elegant and made from ebony, held in place by black, plastic cord round endpin, as traditional. Fine tuners on tailpiece. Quilted maple fingerboard with thick ebony overlay (flat, not radiused) and chromatic frets, marked in MoP at 5, 7, 9, 12 (octave), 17, 19, 21. The fingerboard is profiled on the far side to aid hand movement and grip. Narrow maple pegbox and “scroll”, latter shaped like the prow of a boat with a flat rosewood plate on top. The original small violin pegs have just been replaced by sturdier viola pegs and custom fitted. Strung with cello and plain steel strings: tuned to D (D’Addario Helicore cello D), A (plain 0.018 middle) and D (plain 0.013 treble). In other words, this keeps the basic configuration of a lap dulcimer, but with the bass nearest, as with a normal violin family instrument. Overall length 37½”, lower bout 8″, depth 2⅛ [head end] to 4⅛” [tail end], FBW 1¼”, VSL 24⅞” (short scale), weight 2lb 9oz (1150g).
Tone is excellent, with a large, but light and responsive body. General finish is good though some of the edge contours are ‘individual’. A few stable hairline signs of movement on the back, otherwise excellent condition. Flat fingerboard may make it familiar for conventional dulcimer players, but a little less comfortable for those used to radiused fingerboards. Comes with working ½ or ¼ size bow but purchaser may well wish to choose their own (period bow or ¾ size cello bow?).
Click on images below to enlarge
3.75 Hambas 4 String Bowed Dulcimer £Sold inc. high quality, custom padded case from Thistledew Acres
Nic Hambas is a luthier, musician and artist based in Rochester, a town right at the top of New York State, on the shores of Lake Ontario. He makes a wide range of unusual instruments but is known mainly for his dulcimers, both standard and bowed.
Printed label: “Nicolas Hambas/ Stringed Instruments/ Rochester, NY/ [signature]/ [h/w] August 2016/ [website]”.
A pretty instrument with a straight-grained walnut body, bookmatched on the back, and a spruce top. Simple half-moon shaped soundholes, ebony tailpiece decorated with (laser-cut?) celtic sea horse design in lighter brown wood. Radiused ebony fingerboard which is cantilevered over the body. Ebony nut and standard violin/viola bridge. The pegbox and scroll are a sandwich of dark brown wenge facing and purpleheart core – the scroll is open (i.e. fully carved through). On the far-side of the fingerboard is a long walnut rest, supported on the body, which supports the hand in the first position. It is decorated with a mother of pearl “button”. Overall length 32″, lower bout 7¼”, depth 2½” to 3⅜”, FBW 1⅝” to 2”, VSL 18⅞” (short), weight 2lb 5oz (1059g). 6+ and 13+ frets. Original strings 12/12, 16, 24w.
It has four strings with a conventional viola layout – i.e. the heaviest string is nearest (the opposite of a mountain dulcimer). Unlike a viola, however, it is fretted but fully chromatic, allowing a range of possible tunings. There are mother of pearl markers at frets 5, 7, 12 (double at octave). The tuners are geared banjo pegs with pearl buttons, set on a relief panel on the side of the pegbox. There is an ebony nut. Has shoulder strap mounted on buttons at each end, a quality bow and a beautiful custom Thistledew Acres bowed dulcimer bag, with front pocket, bow holder etc.
The instrument has been thoroughly overhauled by an experienced violin luthier. He re-profiled the bridge and re-located the soundpost underneath. It now plays clearly with a sound to match its looks.
Click on images below to enlarge.
3.60 2014 – 3 String: SOLD
Hand written label: “Kenneth Bloom/ Pilot Mountain, NC/ Faciebat Anno/ January 2014”. Fiddle-figure (quilted) maple sides and back (apparently carved) with carved and contoured spruce top; odd, half f-holes. Top protrudes beyond sides (fiddle-edged) in traditional style, but back is flush. Top and back have black/white/black purfling round the edges. Standard viola (?) bridge and rosewood tailpiece held in place by black, plastic cord round endpin, as traditional. Fine tuners on tailpiece, chrome Klusons (or lookalike) enclosed guitar tuners on pegbox. Pale mahogany fingerboard, with radiused ebony overlay and chromatic frets, marked in MoP at 5, 7, 9, 12 (octave), 17, 19, 21. Narrow maple pegbox and “scroll”, latter shaped like the prow of a boat with a flat rosewood plate on top. Strung with viola strings (?) tuned in D (wound 0.033 bass), A (plain 0.018 middle) and E (plain 0.013 treble). In other words, this keeps the basic configuration of a lap dulcimer, with its bass string furthest away, rather than nearest, as a normal violin family instrument. The mahogany endblock is fitted with a gold strap button, as is the underside of the pegbox. Thick cord “strap” attached to these buttons to help support the weight and improve the stability of the instrument when playing.
Overall length 37½”, lower bout 7¾”, depth 2¼ [head end] to 4⅛” [tail end], FBW 1½”, VSL 25″ (short scale), weight 2lb 13oz (1268g).
Tone is excellent, with a large, but light and responsive body. There are a few tool marks in less accessible places, such as the underside of the pegbox. Hairline, stable crack on top toward tail; repaired break to “scroll” stalk. Comes with decent bow and custom Blue Heron (blue) soft case, with bow compartment and pocket for rosin etc.
3.61 2015 – 4 String: SOLD
Handwritten label, “Kenneth Bloom/Pilot Mountain, NC/ Faciebat Anno/ March 2015”. Body made from attractive spalted maple with quilted/fiddle figure and hand-carved (contoured) spruce top with F-holes. Top and back have black purfling line round the edges. 4 cello strings (tuned CGDA) in conventional cello configuration – i.e. with bass nearest and treble furthest away. Heavily radiused ebony fingerboard on mahogany “neck”, with MoP markers at 5, 7, 9, 12 (octave), 17, 19, 21. Back is flush with sides but top overlaps. Narrow maple headstock with simple gold, open-geared ukulele-type tuners, inset. “Scroll” is more like the prow of a gondola, with a large ebony “cap”. “Scroll” stalk shows repaired non-structural crack at narrowest point, similar to the 3 string above. Maple bridge, fine tuners, ebony tail tied to ebony pin. Strap buttons each end with black guitar-type strap.
Overall length 37″, lower bout 7¾”, depth 2¼ [head end] to 4” [tail end], FBW 1¼ -> 2⅛”, VSL 25″ (short scale), weight 2lb 14oz (1298g).
Tone as above, finish a little better. Also comes with quality bow and custom Blue Heron (black) soft case as above. Spare cello strings to provide more recognisably dulcimer tuning pattern if required.
