Reviews and news!

I love getting feedback and reviews about my dulcimores!
That being said, if you have a review, good or bad, please feel free to send it to me and I'll post it here.
Good reviews encourage me, and not so good reviews help me concentrate on things I need to do to make my dulcimores better!

The reviews will be near the top of this post. News will be toward the bottom.

Thank you to all the great folks that have bought my dulcimores over the years!
Bobby.

Review from GG:
Bobby,
The hogfiddle arrived safely this morning. It is beautiful in both appearance and sound. The craftsmanship is top-notch, and it has that silvery sound associated with traditional dulcimers. I am glad I went with curly maple and butternut. They look beautiful together, and the dark contrast of the walnut tuning pegs contributes to the over-all appearance. Thanks again for making me such a wonderful instrument. It will bring me many hours of enjoyment. All the best!

Review from KR:
My Honaker style dulcimore arrived today safe and sound. I was working so my lovely wife sent me a picture of it in it's packing box so I could see that it arrived. Also, I think to also rub it in that I was working and couldn't see it or touch it yet. Then I had to anxiously await the time I could get home to check it out. I gotta say...even the wooden shipping box is really nice. Unless they drove over it I can't imaging the contents getting too messed up during shipping. Anyway...2 hours later after removing about 450 screws from the top I finally got it out. I'm kidding. It only took about 10 minutes and maybe 15 screws. The pictures of it that are posted are really nice, but in person this dulcimore is exceptional. Bobby's choice of wood and quality of construction are amazing. So after looking it over a few minutes I figured I better try it and see how it sounds. Surprisingly even after shipping it was still pretty much in tune. It is unison tuned and all the strings were tuned just a touch flat of dddd. I have never played a dulcimore with a double melody string or unison tuned. This dulcimore sounds great too. Plays so easily and smoothly. I will try to record and post something soon. After playing a few tunes I wanted to check to see if it fit in a nice case that I had purchased awhile ago for a dulcimer I sold so I could get this one. An almost perfect fit! I am ecstatic. What a great job, Bobby!

So far I have gotten 3 dulcimers from Bobby, a Shoat, a Boss Torc, and now the Honaker. I can't say enough good things about them. They are all wonderfully made and sound great. They also are all different tunings (different keys) so I like that too. Anyone looking to own a quality instrument that not only looks great, but sounds great too certainly would not go wrong with one of Bobby's dulcimores. We went back and forth with how to fret (just intonation, equal, or mean tone), and also what to tune to and Bobby is always ready to talk thru pluses and minuses of different ideas, as well as offer suggestions on what to do. Again, just a great guy to deal with and one I highly recommend.



Review from RP:
I thought I would comment on the Virginian Dulcimore I ordered and received. First off, the shipping was fast and the wood crate duly padded with styro-foam insulation was a surprise. The Dulcimore arrived safe and sound and in top notch condition. Plus, the crate acts as a case......a little glue, some fabric a few hinges and a latch and handle and you have got a dandy case to take wherever you go.

The finish is impeccable, evenly stained and as Dan observed, fiddle quality.......impressive. So far as the build is concerned well done........no kidding, really well done........ and the zither pins work well no complaints there for sure. The staple frets are seated well and even dressed resulting in noter play that is smooth and silky. Finger dancing works even better on this one than many of the others I own due no doubt to the fact that the frets are accurate and exceedingly well made. Did I mention light weight? Perfect here too.

I ordered a moveable bridge and was pleased that it was bone/antler and left high enough so that a custom adjustments could be made. Kuddo's for that Bobby... a few minutes worth of sanding and it is perfect. That said, after a few adjustments the tuning and sustain is spot on and grants plenty of volume too. By the way, a 24" VSL is more than enough so forget about thinking that 26 or 27 is better........24" works out really well.

I guess the only criticism I have would be this......once you start playing the rascally thing it sucks you in and after an hour or two you have to take a break, slam some coffee, barricade yourself in a back room and just plain give up trying to get any sleep since this contraption really makes for short nights and groggy mornings. Buy one, you won't regret it.

In my opinion I would say that it rivals and exceeds most if not all I own that were far more pricier....good job, Ratliff my hat's off to you and your work.


NEWS:

The Virginia Hogfiddle Kit.
I'm currently working on a kit dulcimore. It is loosely based on the Sow Hogfiddle but with the bout moved forward slightly to make bending the sides easier for a beginner.
Specs are:
27-1/2 inch long body.
6 inch wide
2 inch tall sides but on occasion they may be shorter.
1 inch wide fretboard.
Available in 3 string or 4 string unison.
Equal temperament.
Staple holes pre drilled.
Staple frets pre bent.
Button scroll peghead with my old style upright zither pins.
Semi D style tailpiece.
No choice of woods.
Your choice of vsl from 23 to 26 inches.
Fixed nut. Floating bridge.

Customer will have to:
Assemble complete dulcimore including gluing kerfing, soundhole patches, center back strip fretboard, peghead, tailpiece, soundboard, back and sides.
Also make their own soundholes.
Install frets.
Set intonation.

Also, custom order kits can be done but at a higher cost.
I will include links to a video series of me building the first one. Also provide help by email or Skype.
Current pricing Oct. 31 2019 will be $135 shipped for a standard kit.