The year 2024 marks the 45th anniversary of Dusty Strings, which is something we're pretty proud of! When we reached 40 years, we happened to be building our 20,000th harp, so we made that into a special limited edition with some extra-figured wood and abalone decorations. In a twist of fate, our 45th anniversary happens to coincide with building our 20,000th hammered dulcimer, so we decided to mark the occasion in a similar way. We couldn't have timed it better if we'd planned it!
One of the standout features of this 45th anniversary limited edition dulcimer is the rare, highly-figured bubinga, which some call "waterfall bubinga." Wood this stunning doesn't drop into your lap very often, and we're all drooling over the tight curls and the way they catch the light. We used it for the rails and pinblock facings, as well as some of the bridges and the hand-carved maple leaf in the soundhole. It's a very dense hardwood, and not at all easy to carve, but it was too gorgeous to resist. Against the black soundboard and the curly maple binding, the figured bubinga almost glows.
We dressed it up even further with iridescent multicolored abalone shell inlaid all around the edge of the soundboard, around the soundhole, and around the borders of the damper bars. This is the first time we've done abalone-inlaid damper bars, and it turned out to be a real labor of love to hand-miter all of the many corners, but we think it adds touch of sparkle that raises the bar - so to speak!
Pictured here is hammered dulcimer #20000, which is available for sale. Who will become the proud owner of this unique milestone instrument in the history of the hammered dulcimer?
While the figured bubinga lasts, we can put this suite of features on any of our Chromatic Series instruments, so let us know if you're interested in a D300 or D670!
