Laurel Mountain Instruments
These custom-made dulcimers were designed and built by Mary Matarainen, a former employee of Folkcraft, in Connecticut. David Marks, founder of Folkcraft, moved his workshop from Vermont to Winsted, Connecticut in 1980. Mary had been in the woodworking business since 1979 and joined Folkcraft in the mid-1990s. When the firm was sold in 2007, the new owners moved the centre of operations to Woodburn, Indiana, but some of the trained luthiers did not move with it. Mary decided to set up shop making dulcimers of her own design. The LM website disappeared in 2018 or so when Mary ‘retired’ from making at the age of 65, but a 2019 (pre-COVID) Facebook post suggests she was hoping to return to making dulcimers in a small way.
2.292 Laurel Mountain 4 String 3 Course Hourglass £330 + £20 shell case
Printed label: “Laurel Mountain Instruments/ Model: SH6 Cedar & Koa/ Serial # 105/ Date 11/20/2007/ Made by Mary Matarainen”.
Nicely built instrument with some Folkcraft-influenced features (undercut fingerboard, string anchors on end of fingerboard, composite interchangeable nuts/bridges). Wider body however, made from browny/pink koa, bookmatched on the back, with a straight-grained cedar top. Laser-cut coundholes with a celtic-influenced branch, leaf and cross design. Unusual maple arched/undercut fingerboard with a reddish (?koa) overlay. Hooked pegbox/scroll, reminiscent of a Folkcraft, probably also made from koa. Open-geared tuners; 6+ and 13+ frets; copper string anchors near tail end of fingerboard; dark red endcap is the same wood as the fingerboard overlay. Overall length 37½”, upper bout 6⅜”, lower bout 7⅛”, depth 2¼”, FBW 1½”, VSL 27″ (medium/long scale), weight 2lb 10oz (1188g), strings 11/[11], 15, 24w. Has a 6+ and 13+fret.
Sweet but powerful sound from the chunky body and plays very nicely. Just one slightly muted point in the second octave on the melody string (but not middle or bass).
Click on images below to enlarge.
