Looking for our Seattle music store and school?
(0)
shopping cart
Facebook
Join our email list
Search

PLEASE READ - our COVID-19 status

To our Dusty Strings community,

After ten weeks of working as best we could from home, we are relieved to be back in our workshop and office now! We have really appreciated everyone's patience so far, and we hope you'll continue to be patient with us as we resume our "normal" operations with a very limited capacity and an irregular schedule. Our first priority has to be the health of our employees and our community, and we are carefully following all of the safety practices recommended and required by the state of Washington. Within those limitations, we are doing the best we can to answer the phones and to respond to orders and emails, and we're grateful for your understanding if it takes us longer than usual to get back to you!

String & Accessory Orders

We should be able to fill most orders for strings and accessories within a few days. At this point, we don't expect any significant delays, but we will let you know if we think it will be more than a week before your order ships.

Mail Service Disruptions

If you are trying to place an order through our website for shipping outside of the US and you receive a "no shipping options available" message, that means that the United States Postal Service is not currently accepting mail for delivery to your country. We are sorry that we do not have any way to get around this, and we hope you can wait until the situation improves!

Instrument Orders

We have resumed building and shipping instruments and would love to answer questions or talk with you about placing an order! If your dream instrument is not in stock, we can make an educated guess about how long it will take us to build it, but please allow some extra time for surprises. We are still adjusting to our limited capacity and safety restrictions.

We sincerely appreciate your support during these uncertain times. It is hard to be a small business in the best of times, and this is a challenge on a scale we haven't faced in our 40 years, so we want you to know that both your continuing interest and your words of encouragement mean a lot to us!

Overture

Overture

Dulcimer Video Page

Overview

  • 3 octaves
  • natural or black lacquer
  • laminated Finland birch soundboard and back
  • traditional 5th-interval tuning
  • 16/15 configuration
  • also available as a package with a case and stand

The larger version of our popular and affordable Prelude model is also built with a laminated Finland birch soundboard and back, and has the same stability and sweet, balanced sound. Extending the standard 2½ octave range downward, this instrument opens up a wider choice of playing keys and affords greater versatility in arranging melodies and harmonies.

The Overture is available as an instrument only (including hammers and a tuning wrench) or as a package with a C45 case and folding sit-down stand, providing a complete ready-to-go option. There is also the option to choose black finish instead of the standard clear lacquer. (For an idea of what this looks like, see the Apprentice.)

Overture, natural or black: $695 (includes T-handle tuning wrench, regular single-sided wood hammers, note guide strips, owner's guidebook)

Overture Package, natural or black: $995 (includes above accessories, plus C45 case and folding sit-down stand)

Compare Dulcimer Models

Complete Price List

How to Order

Options

Burgundy padded soft case for hammered dulcimer

Protective carrying case

Price: $215
Hammered dulcimer support options include this folding wooden stand Variety of stand and leg choices

Tuning & Specifications

Range

The Overture has a three-octave range, and the lowest note is the D below middle C. There are 16 courses of strings on the treble bridge and 15 courses on the bass bridge - a configuration that is often referred to as 16/15. Easily available keys are G, D, C, F and A, along with their relative minors, and there are a variety of chromatic notes available in each key.

Tuning and Strings

String chart for Overture hammered dulcimerSuperscript numbers indicate octaves (C4 is middle C). Dots indicate marked courses. PB = phosphor bronze wire. PBW = phosphor bronze wound. All unmarked strings are plain steel. Wire gauges are shown in inches.

Click here for downloadable string charts and string ordering information.

Dimensions

  • Dulcimer diagram with top and bottom rails labeledBottom rail: 42 inches
  • Top rail: 19½ inches
  • Height: 17¾ inches
  • Thickness: 4 inches
  • Weight: approx. 14 pounds

Woods

  • Soundboard and back: laminated Finland birch
  • Pinblocks and rails: Eastern hard maple
  • Main bridges: maple
  • Side bridges and soundhole inserts: sapele or walnut

Compare specifications

Reviews

Reviews & Testimonials

There are no reviews yet.

Read Other Testimonials

Post a Review

We value your opinion and hope that you will share a review! Your first name will be shown, but last name and email address will be kept private and used only if we need to contact you directly. We believe in the importance of both positive and negative feedback, but before displaying reviews, we do screen them for spam, inappropriate language, and comments that are disrespectful of our fellow instrument builders.