Dulcimers

Blue Lion Dulcimers
Blue Lion Style II R, Hourglass Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/East Indian Rosewood Back and Sides!

SOLD !! Blue Lion Style II R, Hourglass Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/East Indian Rosewood Back and Sides!

Fine guitars are built with East Indian Rosewood, but it is rare to see and play a Mountain Dulcimer with this incredible tone wood! And, the Premium Cedar top seems the perfect companion to bring out the best in this dulcimer! The classic Traditional Scrolled Headstock adds mountain charm, and the simple circle tone holes underscore the subtle grace of our IIR model!

We love the hand-rubbed Satin Lacquer finish on the Blue Lion; and it is important to note the expensive Honduras Mahogany fingerboard with a Rosewood overlay! What an artful touch Janita provides, exhibited in the luxurious Rose fingerboard inlay, using Mother-of-Pearl, Abalone shell, and brass! The black Ebony nut and saddle are pre-cut to configure the strings equi-distant, for more intricate fingerstyle-arranged melodies; while the geared Planetary tuners most capably keep your strings in near-perfect tune! You will love the closeness of frets to each other--for ease of play, with the 26 1/4" scale length! Finally, Bob tastefully displays his craft and skill with an intricate inlaid wood marquetry backstrip!

Blue Lion Force d' Ossche' Model, Teardrop Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

SOLD !! Blue Lion Force d' Ossche' Model, Teardrop Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

In the early 70’s there was a revival of the Appalachian mountain dulcimer, and Robert Force and Albert d’Ossche, a dulcimer duo playing guitar style led the way of this renewal. Albert has passed on now, but click here to enjoy a performance by this dynamic duo, in their youth!

This instrument was designed in collaboration with Robert and Albert to represent the best features of their personal instruments. The six-string Force-d'Ossché is crafted with Walnut back and sides, with a Western Red Cedar top. The use of bridge pins for the string attachment will allow the use ball end strings without causing damage to the tail of the instrument. Note how the Rosewood pins with Mother-of-Pearl inlay complement the Rosewood fingerboard overlay on the Honduras Mahogany wood! With a comfortable scale length of 26 1/4", this is very comfortable to note on the fret board--even with 6 strings! And, the bone nut and saddle provide excellent sound transmission to the Rosewood and Cedar!

Blue Lion, Acoustic Jam Model, Hourglass Shape, Custom Sitka Spruce Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

SOLD! Blue Lion, Acoustic Jam Model, Hourglass Shape, CUSTOM Sitka Spruce Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

The Acoustic Jam dulcimer is designed for use in jam sessions, or any playing situation requiring a loud instrument and forceful picking or strumming. With an extra inch in lower bout width, and the overall body length at 37 3/4"--3/4" longer than the II models, these attributes result in an instrument that produces excellent volume and playability! The guitar bridge pin string attachments allow the use of ball end strings which are easily available in any gauge required. Blue Lion recommends stringing the standard AJ with .012/.012, .014 and .024w string gauges, for the easiest playabilty in DAD or DAA. This dulcimer has a 26 1/4" scale, so it retains ease of finding the notes on the fretboard! We chose to add a Sitka Spruce top to the beautiful Walnut back and sides, for additonal volume; and we paired this instrument with a case--since it is a bit longer than the regular Blue Lion models.

Price: $730! 

Blue Lion, II W, Hourglass Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

SOLD.....Blue Lion, II W, Hourglass Shape, Western Red Cedar Top/Walnut Back and Sides!

This lively Walnut/Cedar Blue Lion model was hand-rubbed with Satin Lacquer finish, so you know it was crafted with love and great care! When you see that it also was built using scarce Honduras Mahogany for the fingerboard base--with a Rosewood overlay, you are fulfilled in it possesses high quality woods throughout! And what an artistic and personal touch Janita provides, as she has shown in her lovely and tasteful Rose fingerboard inlay, using Mother-of-Pearl, Abalone shell, and brass! The black Ebony nut and saddle are pre-cut to configure the strings equi-distant, to showcase advanced fingerstyle skills for those who choose to push the dulcimer-playing envelope! (But the traditional 2-1-1 spacing is probably the only setup most of us will ultimately use!) Geared Planetary tuners most capably keep your strings in near-perfect tune, and you will love the closeness of frets to each other--for ease of play, with the 26 1/4" scale length! Finally, Bob inlaid a gorgeous wood marquetry backstrip in bookmatched Walnut back; no one but you will usually see it, but it will be a constant reminder of the extreme devotion that was driving these fine dulcimer makers--as they created this acoustic Appalachian jewel!!