Mountain Dulcimer
"Lady with the Checkered Past"

An original design based on traditional instruments. The top is flamed (tiger) maple. The back and sides are hundreds of small maple and black walnut scraps glued in a checkerboard pattern. The head and tailpiece are hand-carved black walnut, and the tuning pegs are maple with black walnut inserts. The fingerboard is redwood with black walnut fretboard lamination.

This is an example of a Pennsylvania and Ohio style of dulcimer that came into existence in the late 1800s to early 1900s. The straight sides are typical of dulcimers in this region up to today, and harkens back to the early German board zithers like the scheitholt. It has the standard four-string dulcimer layout (doubled melody strings), and has a beautiful, deep sound.