f you are looking for Hammered Dulcimers, Hammered Mbiras, Hammers or Stands and Accessories, all handmade in the UK, you have come to the right place.
I live in the Vale of Pewsey in Wiltshire and have been playing and building dulcimers since the early 1980s. Tired of lugging around 10kg of dulcimer and stand — and having to arrive at sessions at least 30 minutes early just to avoid being set up in the car park — I set about finding a better way. After some research, a few prototypes, and no small amount of sweat and tears, I now make a range of dulcimers and stands that sound great yet are light and easy to transport.
Here is Mary Lynn Michal and Ken Kolodner both playing my 16/15’s during a recent visit to the UK.
Size really isn’t everything — small and light is good! Ask your physiotherapist!
I use carbon fibre on the internal components to reduce weight while maintaining the required strength. The carbon fibre isn’t visible from the outside, so the instrument retains its lovely handmade wooden appearance.
I am also making Hammered Mbiras. These are a fusion of the Mbira (or thumb piano) and the Hammered Dulcimer, originally designed by Don Maclane of Portland, USA. They share the same layout as a hammered dulcimer, making the crossover very easy — and they sound really cool!
13/12 Crossover Hammered Mbira
They are great for travelling with, they do not require tuning and the small 12 Rod ones I make can fit in a laptop bag and therefore can be taken as hand luggage when flying. You will set all the metal detectors off and probably have to play a tune to prove its not something dreadful!
Here is Ken Kolodner playing my16/15 with Dampers and Mary Lynn Michal playing my 13/12 Hammered Mbira.
I played the 12 Rod Maple Mbira for the soundtrack of the audio play my wife directed recently.