Ron Gibson Mountain Dulcimers

To order a dulcimer please email ron@gibsondulcimers.com

or leave a message at 740-262-2660

The quality of wood is one of the most important factors in determining the dulcimer's sound. I build dulcimers from 100% hand selected solid American tonewoods. Some builders use veneers and plywood laminates because they are easier to work with and cheaper than quality hardwoods. Plywood may look fine on the outside - but inside it is just two paper thin layers of veneer filled with glue, wood pulp and sawdust... Glue and sawdust simply do not have the sound quality of solid wood. With solid wood, an instrument's tone grows increasingly warm, clear and rich in overtones as it ages. This rich tone is one reason why solid wood instruments increase in value as they age (for an example, look at the cost of old Martin or Gibson guitars). A plywood dulcimer will never sound any better than the day it came off the assembly line and it certainly will never become a family heirloom!!!

Due to differing densities, hardness and grain patterns, each variety of wood emphasizes different tonal characteristics. However, great sounding dulcimers have been made from all types of wood and the primary prerequisite of great sound is quality craftsmanship. Identical dulcimers made with the same woods may have a noticeably different sound. Therefore, the comments below are somewhat general in scope. If you are not sure of the sound qualities you want in a dulcimer - just choose the wood that looks best to you. I guarantee you will love the sound of your new Gibson dulcimer regardless of the type of wood !!!

Birdseye Maple – Bright, clear, crisp sound. Very resonant with excellent sound sustaining qualities. Birdseye Maple is white, tan or blond in color. The wood grain features small, swirling figures, which resemble miniature birds' eyes.

Curly Maple / Quilted Maple / Fiddleback Maple - Bright, rich tone with an emphasis on high frequency response. Curly maple is blond colored with a swirling grain pattern

Walnut – Darker sounding, (usually described as mellow). Emphasizes more lower midrange tones with less high frequency brightness. Walnut is dark brown in color.

Cherry – Emphasizes upper midrange tone with clear bass. Fuller sounding than maple but with less crispness in the high frequencies. Cherry is light brown in color, but turns a rich reddish-brown as it ages.

Poplar – Balanced sound that is neither bright nor dark. Seems to emphasize all frequencies equally. Poplar ranges in color from white to yellow and can occasionally be brown, green or even black.

Aromatic Red Cedar – Bright crisp sound but with a warm tone . It is red to purple with streaks of white. Cedar often has a lot of knot holes, which many people think add to the beauty of the wood.