Photo: Hammered dulcimer with dampers along both side rails. Four cords come down from the dulcimer’s four corners, combine into a single cord and connect to a foot pedal.

D500, on TriStander, with dampers

Accessories and options

Stands
Dampers
Cases
Hammers
Tuning wrenches
Musician’s Stool
Strings
Instructional Materials

Stands

photo: hammered dulcimer stand made of two wooden "V" shapes, one inverted.

Folding stand (sitting height)

Folding hammered dulcimer stand

This meticulously crafted hardwood stand folds to the size of a two-by-four and sets up in seconds, locking open in a stable position. All points of contact with the instrument are cushioned by 3/8" nylon cord or rubber bumpers. Sit-down height (see photo) holds front of instrument approx. 25" above the ground and fits in all our dulcimer cases. Stand-up height holds instrument approx. 33" above the ground and fits in the C500 case. Both sizes hold any Dusty Strings dulcimer gently and securely. Price: sit-down—$95.00; stand-up—$99.00

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TriStander hammered dulcimer support system

TriStander

This professional quality system is fully adjustable, extremely portable, and securely holds your dulcimer in any playing situation. Telescoping black aluminum legs (adjustable in length from 15" to 47") thread into three black-finished cast-aluminum brackets which can be screwed to the back of any hammered dulcimer. Adjust the legs individually to change the tilt or level of the instrument and you are guaranteed a comfortable and secure stance, even on non-level surfaces. Brackets project 1.75" from the back of the instrument. Our soft cases accommodate a dulcimer with brackets attached, and the legs fit into the case’s interior leg slot. System weighs approx. 3 lbs. and comes with screws and easy mounting instructions. Price: $295.00

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Playing leg

The most portable and inexpensive playing support for your instrument, the playing leg screws into a fitting built into the back of all of our dulcimers. The 28" leg allows you to play while sitting with the front of the dulcimer resting across your knees. The 5" leg tilts the dulcimer for easy tabletop playing. Made of alder. Price: 28"—$19.00; 5"—$9.00

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Dampers

Close-up of dampers

Full view of dampers

Damper Pedal

This sustain control device creates a remarkable range of tonal effects, from the rich and complex natural voice of the undamped strings to a wonderful, wholly muted marimba-like tone with zero sustain. The harder you press the pedal, the greater the damping effect. Low-profile damper bars, made of hardwood with custom-fit felts, are mounted on the dulcimer using U-shaped return springs. Kevlar cords, running through the soundbox, connect to the pedal. An ingenious spooling device easily adjusts the pedal cord to fit any stand height. The whole setup fits inside our instrument cases.

We install these in our shop on new or previously purchased Dusty Strings chromatic series hammered dulcimer models (D300, D500, D550, D600 and D650). Please contact us to arrange for installation. Price: D300, D500, D550, D600, D650 —$ 495.00

We developed a damper system for the PD40 that’s a streamlined version of the popular system we make for our traditional line of chromatic dulcimers. Controlled by a foot pedal, these dampers use a finely balanced system of springs and felt to control sustain. They can deaden the sound completely, let it ring, or go anywhere in between. For images of these dampers installed, see the PD40 page. Price: $295.00 a la carte or $345.00 installed.

Damper Pedal: Available a la carte for use with our damper systems or as a second damper pedal. Price: $95.00

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Cases

C10 case

C10 and C35 cases. These are nicely tailored, close-fitting soft-shell cases made of a protective thickness of foam sandwiched between a smooth inner lining and a tough outer covering of waterproofed cordura. Zipper closing, inner compartment for playing leg, large accessory pocket, carrying handles, and shoulder strap of nylon webbing. The C10 fits the Prelude, Apprentice, and D10 models. The C35 fits the Overture, PD30, PD40, and D35 models. Price: C10—$105.00; C35—$115.00

C10A Case. Protective hardboard case. Custom-made to fit the Apprentice, Prelude, or D10, with a special compartment for legs, hammers and tuning wrench. Black vinyl coating outside, plush cushioned lining inside. Price: $ 69.00

C300, C500, and C600 cases. Beautifully made soft-shell case with a core of thick foam, a soft interior, and a waterproofed cordura exterior. Zipper closing, inner compartment for playing stand, large accessory pocket, elegantly stitched leather handles, and leather-trimmed shoulder strap. The C300 fits the D300, the C500 fits the D500 and D550, and the C600 fits the D600 and D650 models. Price: C300—$ 295.00; C500—$325.00; C600—$380.00

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Hammers

Dulcimer hammers

A small but vital link between player and instrument, the hardwood hammers we make in our shop are nicely balanced, accurately shaped, and meticulously finished in book-matched pairs. The striking surfaces are either hardwood (for a louder, bell-like tone) or covered with leather (for a softer, warmer tone) or felt (for a very soft, muted tone). All our hammers are 9" long.

Our regular single-sided hammers suit a narrow string spacing, while the Rizzetta-style hammers have a longer striking surface.

Double-sided hammers come with hardwood and leather striking surfaces and a Dusty Strings logo design or with felt and leather striking surfaces and a heart design. Both styles come in two head sizes: small for a lighter sound and large for a more forceful impact.

Single-sided hammers

Regular single-sided hammers with wood striking surface—Price: $24.00
Regular single-sided hammers with leather-covered striking surface—Price: $30.00
Rizzetta-style hammers with wood striking surface—Price: $24.00
Rizzetta-style hammers with leather striking surface—Price: $30.00

Double-sided hammers

Double sided, wood and leather, oval head—Price: $45.00
Double sided, wood and leather, small head—Price: $45.00
Double sided, wood and leather, large head—Price: $45.00
Double sided, felt and leather, small head—Price: $49.00
Double sided, felt and leather, large head—Price: $49.00

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Tuning wrenches

Top right: T-style tuning wrench. Bottom left: gooseneck wrench.

Our hammered dulcimers come with high quality star-tip tuning wrenches for excellent, non-wearing fit on the tuning pins. The gooseneck wrench is included with our Chromatic Series dulcimers (D300, D500, D550, D600, and D650); other models come with a T-handle wrench.

T-style wrench: The T-style tuning wrench is portable and affordable. Price: $16.95

Gooseneck wrench: The longer handle of the gooseneck wrench makes fine tuning adjustments a breeze.Price: $24.95

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Dusty Strings Musician’s Stool

photo: padded seat on adjustable pillar rising from asterisk-style base

photo: padded seat on adjustable pillar rising from asterisk-style base with optional padded seat back

Call it a harp bench, a hammered dulcimer stool, a guitar chair, a drum throne, or anything else you like, it’s the Dusty Strings Musician’s Stool. Harpers, dulcimer players, guitarists, percussionists—in fact, anyone who plays an instrument sitting down—will love these. The thick contoured seat has a black velour covering with a “DS” embroidered in black thread. The seat spins freely and adjusts in height from 16 to 21 inches with the pull of a lever. A shock absorber adds comfort, and the cushion’s cutaway front relieves pressure on your lower thighs, promoting good circulation and excellent freedom of movement. Practice longer and perform in comfort. Do it for your derrière! Price: $215.00; optional padded seat back: $59.95; shipping to continental United States: $30.00.

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Strings

We sell strings to fit our hammered dulcimers in three quantities, described below. Current string prices are listed on our hammered dulcimer price list page. To order strings from us by mail, please download our hammered dulcimer string order form, hd_string_order_form.pdf (43 K) (*).

Full sets — these contain one of each string used on the hammered dulcimer, allowing you to replace all of your strings at once.

Spare string kits — these partial sets contain 1-3 strings of each gauge used on the dulcimer. These kits will provide a replacement if you break a string, but do not contain enough strings to restring the whole instrument.

Individual strings — sold by gauge. To find out which gauges your instrument uses, visit the web page for your instrument model or download the appropriate string/tuning chart.

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