Ron Gibson Dulcimers
Ron Gibson has been handcrafting dulcimers from his base in Marion, Ohio for over 40 years, making light, attractive instruments which use solid tonewoods.
1.141 2005 (?) Ron Gibson ‘Kentucky’ Model, 4 String 3 Course Hourglass £Sold
Oval printed label: “Ron Gibson/ Marion, Ohio/ ‘Ron Gibson’ [h/w signature]/25805 [h/w]”. Presumably made 2005?
Bookmatched solid walnut back and sides, figured solid cherry top. Flower/petal and heart soundholes, cherry fingerboard with walnut overlay. MoP markers at frets 3, 5, 7, 10. 6+ and 13+ frets present. Odd shaped ‘scroll’ with a wide-ish pegbox, fitted with good quality nickel Grover open-geared tuners. Hardwood nut and bridge, mushroom-headed pins on tail for string anchors. Overall length 34″, upper bout 5¼”, lower bout 6⅞”, depth 2⅛”, FBW 1½”, VSL 26″ (short/medium), weight 1lb 12oz (800g). Strings now 0.011/[0.011], 0.014, 0.023w. Has 6+ and 13+ frets.
Quite a pretty hourglass shape with attractive sound hole designs. Light construction and deep body give it good responsiveness and decent volume/tone. Excellent condition generally, with just a few areas of duller lacquer.
Click on images below to enlarge.
2.107 2014 Ron Gibson Teardrop, 6 String £Sold
Ron Gibson has been handcrafting dulcimer from his base in Marion, Ohio for over 35 years, using solid tonewoods. This is his “Barbara Allen” teardrop model, but with 6 strings and several upgrade options.
Printed label: “Ron Gibson Mountain Dulcimers/ Marion, Ohio/ Ron Gibson [signature]/ 662 14/ [website]”. Warm, slightly pink, all-cherry instrument, with cherry sandwich scroll and pegbox, hollow cherry fingerboard, deep sides and a non-bookmatched but nicely figured back. Simple arrangement of holes for soundholes, with extra hole through to body cavity in strum hollow – as in older Virginian dulcimers. Bone (?) nut and bridge with large brass screws as string anchors on tail. 6+ and 13+ frets, with nice MoP markers on frets 3, 5, 7 and 9. Unison strings on melody and middle courses, but octave strung on bass course – to give that authentic 12-string sound! Upgrades include the attractive gold Grover tuners (with a two hole capstan) and gold strap buttons on head and tail. Overall length 36″, upper bout n/a, lower bout 7″, depth 2½”, FBW 1⅝”, VSL 26⅛” (short/medium), weight 1lb 15oz (877g). Original string size 0.012/0.012, 0.014/0.014, 0.010/0.025w. Has 6+ and 13+ frets.
This dulcimer is in excellent condition, with no scratches or nicks. It is light, nicely constructed, using solid woods and good quality hardware, with a decent action and good intonation (although the octave strung bass course has the usual 12 string guitar tuning problems high in the register). Neat body and soundholes, but perhaps a rather bland design. Not great volume, despite the deep body, but pretty well balanced tonally. An excellent quality plush-lined hard case is available at extra cost.
