McCafferty Dulcimers
Terry McCafferty’s father was a carpenter and he himself worked as a cabinet maker in his early years. He later qualified as an engineer and spent four decades involved in product development – his great delight being to find effective solutions to difficult problems. He holds several patents related to large machinery he developed.
Terry heard his first dulcimer music on a record, purchased from a gift shop in Eureka Springs, AR in the early 90’s. He was mesmerized by the soothing and haunting sounds and wanted to know more. He discovered a friendly bunch of players near him in Houston – the North Harris County Dulcimer Society – and through this link, met a local builder, Larry Barringer. Larry, in turn, had learnt much from the late, great Bob Mize of Tennessee. Around this time, Terry and his wife Barbara attended their first dulcimer festival in Covington, LA and were blown away by the music of David Schnaufer and Stephen Seifert, among others.
Terry made a few dulcimers at the time, just to learn how they worked, but it was 1996 before he began building mountain dulcimers and pick’n sticks commercially. Terry’s hourglass and pick’n stick designs were derived from those of his mentor, Larry Barringer, but continued to evolve as he learnt the craft.
Terry’s building methods are from two worlds – traditional craft and engineering. The former allows for personal touches, adapting to the material at hand and majoring on high quality design and fine aesthetics. The latter harnesses the precision of CNC machines and repeatable production processes to make for predictable results. Terry learns from every dulcimer he makes – “Is there a better way” is his motto. As a result, his dulcimers continue to develop and improve, helped by the facilities of a superbly equipped modern workshop, and a long-standing partnership with the world-class dulcimer player Stephen Seifert. The latter has lent his name to one range of McCafferty models, equipped with an angular flat head and different levels of electronic pickup.
Terry only uses the finest materials in the construction of the instruments. He is always in search of beautiful woods suitable for instrument building. Terry believes dulcimers should be a balance of beauty: beautiful to listen to, but also beautiful to look at, to play, and to touch.
4.51 2025 McCafferty Traditional Model Hourglass #926 £Sold inc. high quality soft case
Printed oblong label: McCafferty Dulcimers/ Model SH4S258F150 SN 926/ Body: curly cherry Top: old growth sinker redwood/ VSL 28.85 Flat Inlay: #28/ Date: September 2025/ By Terry L McCafferty/ String Sizes [ticked chart] 12, 15, 24”.
Elegant traditional dulcimer hourglass body shape with a clever tapering scroll and pegbox reminiscent of a Mize dulcimer – but with modern, geared guitar-type tuners (black Grovers). ‘TM’ engraved each side of the heel. Bookmatched, attractive curly cherry body with old growth ‘sinker’ redwood top, exhibiting a straight, wide grain and striking copper colouring. Top and back overlap the sides in traditional ‘fiddle-style’ edging. F-hole soundholes. A hollow, light cherry fingerboard (flat not radiused) with ebony overlay and a #28 inlay pattern with abalone accents. 1+ and 8+ frets added. White composite nut and compensated bridge. Routed tail and simple inset copper pins for string anchors – probably suitable for both ball- and loop-end strings. Black strap button on heel with chrome button/¼” jack outlet on tail. K & K pickup fitted. Overall length 36½”, upper bout 6½”, lower bout 8½”, depth 2⅜”, FBW 1½”, VSL 25.8″ (short/medium), weight 2lb 6oz (1069g). 1+, 6+, 8+ and 13+ frets. Original strings 12/[12], 15, 24w.
Has a strong sound with a distinctive and attractive voice. Plays clearly and very accurately all the way up the fingerboard. The cherry body makes it incisive, while the redwood top tends to soften and round out the sound. A great instrument for a confident player who likes a really pretty and effective dulcimer.
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