@RyansSeagullMerlinM4Lessons How would you compare the Roosebeck Wildwood walking dulcimer to these two? It has an even thicker fretboard (the same width of fretboard that a regular mountain dulcimer would have) and the full mountain-dulcimer 2-octave scale length.
As a lover of all musical instruments, and having both of them, the only adequate comparison I myself can make that really makes a difference, is the sound and tone quality. The Strumstick has a kind of bluegrassy sound (at least the way I play it), and the Merlin has a nice warm tone that can be relaxing to the ear. Both of them are 3 stringed instruments, play almost the same way, but they are not the same at all. My advice would be; buy both of them!
They are 2 Completely different instruments, with different lineages. ‘Dulcitars’ like the Merlin is a modernization of the ‘walking dulcimer’, which is in turn descended from the mountain dulcimer, which Is in turn descended from the Pennsylvania Dutch schieholt. Music sticks on the other hand, like the McNally Strumstick and cedar creek dulcimer Chord Stick, are descended from a one string old mountain instrument called a ‘pickin stick’. Pickin sticks were sometimes made with cigar boxes, and Thus were also the ancestors of the cigar box guitar lineage. the pickin stick was descended from an old Irish one string instrument that kept the beat in ensembles. They are both played differently. Walking dulcimers, just like mountain dulcimers, are played with the two paired strings fretted whilst the other two strings are not fretted and used as drone strings. Whilst the chord stick, like the name implies, is played chorded, like a 3 string guitar if you will. Walking dulcimers traditionally have 4 strings in 3 courses with a wide fretboard, whilst music sticks traditionally have 3 strings in 3 courses with a skinny fretboard. Often times they are confused for each other, this is because they both have diatonic fretboards. However, that is the only thing similar about them, the similarities end there. They both can be referred to as ‘stick’ dulcimers, but only because of the diatonic fretting.
@@tilltanky5367 that's all absolutely false. The Strumstick invented by McNally was adapted from an older creation of his, the 'backpacker guitar' (looks like a truncated chromatic strumstick), and directly took inspiration and design notes from the mountain dulcimer, and in particular the dulcitar which was invented by Homer Ledford just a few years prior (luthier well known for combining dulcimers with other instruments). "I made a small three-stringed instrument on the principles of the appalachian dulcimer called “The Stringed Pennywhistle.” This name was meant to suggest a stringed equivalent to the Irish tinwhistle (not a wind instrument with strings on it!) Like the dulcimer, it combined diatonic fretting with strings tuned to a drone, but it was held like a guitar for ease of playing." "The success of the little Stringed Pennywhistle (about1,000 made) inspired the making of an even simpler instrument, with one string, which was the original Strumstick" This is your "pickin stick" Later on he of course added two more strings, leaning more heavily on the dulcimer influence. The backpacker guitar has nothing to do with cigar box guitars, it was simply an invention born out of the demand for small portable instruments during the 80's. In particular, small portable _easy_ instruments, that beginners could pick up. That's why McNally took inspiration from the dulcimer in the first place, the fretting pattern was directly lifted off of then current mountain dulcimers, in an effort to make the instrument easier. Diatonic fretting, in a mixolydian pattern, with a 6 and half fret to enable ionian play without retuning. 3 strings, tuned in a 158 pattern. All this is current now as it was then on mountain dulcimers, the origin of this particular system. "walking dulcimers" aren't even a thing, that's just a synonym for stick dulcimers all of which stem from the 70's onward, nothing before then. The Seagull Merlin isn't a modernization of anything, it's a continuation of the trajectory towards simpler instruments that the strumstick started. The Merlin's even more removed from the dulcimer than the Strumstick is, chronologically as well as design (Merlin invented in the 2000's, Strumstick since the 80's). Only has access to one octave, and it's fretted differently. Mountain dulcimers have a mixolydian fretting pattern because they were originally drone instruments with melody strings tuned a fifth higher than the bass drone. Ionian fretting wouldn't work, cos then if your bass was D you'd be playing A ionian and thus be out of key. Instead you have to have mixolydian fretting and start on the 3rd fret. This would be simplified to retuning to DAd rather than DAA, and adding a 6.5 fret to switch to ionian, all this during the 40s abouts during the first dulcimer revival. However they still retain the old mixolydian fretting pattern as a remnant of this history. The strumstick clearly is based on that same history, the Merlin however is not and has innovated by changing it to purely ionian. There is no Irish instrument featuring one string that is used to keep the beat in ensembles, you've entirely invented that and it's absolutely unbelievable that a small one stringed melody instrument would be used to keep beat. You're probably thinking of the washtub bass which was created for much the same reasons the cigar box guitar was and around the same time. Nor is the pickin stick anything old or traditional, pickin stick is simply another common way to refer to stick dulcimers and same as them stems from the late 70's early 80's onward and has no history prior. Cigar box guitars sometimes having 3 strings with diatonic fretting has no connection to dulcimers, nor do stick dulcimers have any connection to them. It's simply they grew up in a similar context, the need for simple easy to play instruments. That's as deep as that connection goes. If you want to read more, Inglewood instruments has a decent blog post about the history of stick dulcimers that's a pretty decent recap of their very recent history though I've recounted most of what you'd read there. You ought to read more though, because the smallest amount of research would give you all you need to know, and you've got some major misconceptions to unlearn.
@@-jank-willson If only. Nothing they recounted there was accurate. The Strumstick and Merlin are both descended from the mountain dulcimer and were invented in the 80's, not part of anything remotely 'traditional.' They're purely modern instruments
@@wilhelmseleorningcniht9410 i have seen images of one-string instruments made with cigar boxes that have diatonic fretting dating back to the 1800's. 'walkabout dulcimer' is a real historic term that dates back to the 1800's.
Thank you, this is the comparison I was waiting for. In the beginning I bought a strumstick because I preferred the longer scale, then I switched to the Merlin, but sometimes the short scale represents a limit for me, so now I am also playing an electroacoustic Smokey Mountain strum stick because personally I do not like the quality in general of the strumstick anymore. I also chase the occasion to ask you if you are planning new video lessons or are accepting requests.
Thank You. I have been waiting for this as well. But strum stick dont show up used up here in Canada to often. I have looked at the Smokey mountain stuff in the past but never puller the trigger. How are they compared to the Merlin. I always have new lesson coming but alot of time I am playing more guitar and dont pick up the Merlin as much. Always will take requests but never guarantee that I will do it but send it in cause you never know.
@@RyansSeagullMerlinM4Lessons Well, Smokey Mountain strum sticks have a loud and mellow sound, some of them are also electroacoustic by default, but they are less refined than Merlins
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How would you compare the Roosebeck Wildwood walking dulcimer to these two? It has an even thicker fretboard (the same width of fretboard that a regular mountain dulcimer would have) and the full mountain-dulcimer 2-octave scale length.
PS it cuts through if used for strumming not tunes :-)
As a lover of all musical instruments, and having both of them, the only adequate comparison I myself can make that really makes a difference, is the sound and tone quality. The Strumstick has a kind of bluegrassy sound (at least the way I play it), and the Merlin has a nice warm tone that can be relaxing to the ear. Both of them are 3 stringed instruments, play almost the same way, but they are not the same at all. My advice would be; buy both of them!
They are 2 Completely different instruments, with different lineages. ‘Dulcitars’ like the Merlin is a modernization of the ‘walking dulcimer’, which is in turn descended from the mountain dulcimer, which Is in turn descended from the Pennsylvania Dutch schieholt.
Music sticks on the other hand, like the McNally Strumstick and cedar creek dulcimer Chord Stick, are descended from a one string old mountain instrument called a ‘pickin stick’. Pickin sticks were sometimes made with cigar boxes, and Thus were also the ancestors of the cigar box guitar lineage. the pickin stick was descended from an old Irish one string instrument that kept the beat in ensembles.
They are both played differently. Walking dulcimers, just like mountain dulcimers, are played with the two paired strings fretted whilst the other two strings are not fretted and used as drone strings. Whilst the chord stick, like the name implies, is played chorded, like a 3 string guitar if you will.
Walking dulcimers traditionally have 4 strings in 3 courses with a wide fretboard, whilst music sticks traditionally have 3 strings in 3 courses with a skinny fretboard.
Often times they are confused for each other, this is because they both have diatonic fretboards. However, that is the only thing similar about them, the similarities end there.
They both can be referred to as ‘stick’ dulcimers, but only because of the diatonic fretting.
@@tilltanky5367 Interesting!
@@tilltanky5367 that's all absolutely false. The Strumstick invented by McNally was adapted from an older creation of his, the 'backpacker guitar' (looks like a truncated chromatic strumstick), and directly took inspiration and design notes from the mountain dulcimer, and in particular the dulcitar which was invented by Homer Ledford just a few years prior (luthier well known for combining dulcimers with other instruments).
"I made a small three-stringed instrument on the principles of the appalachian dulcimer called “The Stringed Pennywhistle.”
This name was meant to suggest a stringed equivalent to the Irish tinwhistle (not a wind instrument with strings on it!)
Like the dulcimer, it combined diatonic fretting with strings tuned to a drone,
but it was held like a guitar for ease of playing."
"The success of the little Stringed Pennywhistle (about1,000 made) inspired the making of an even simpler instrument, with one string,
which was the original Strumstick"
This is your "pickin stick"
Later on he of course added two more strings, leaning more heavily on the dulcimer influence.
The backpacker guitar has nothing to do with cigar box guitars, it was simply an invention born out of the demand for small portable instruments during the 80's. In particular, small portable _easy_ instruments, that beginners could pick up.
That's why McNally took inspiration from the dulcimer in the first place, the fretting pattern was directly lifted off of then current mountain dulcimers, in an effort to make the instrument easier. Diatonic fretting, in a mixolydian pattern, with a 6 and half fret to enable ionian play without retuning. 3 strings, tuned in a 158 pattern. All this is current now as it was then on mountain dulcimers, the origin of this particular system.
"walking dulcimers" aren't even a thing, that's just a synonym for stick dulcimers all of which stem from the 70's onward, nothing before then.
The Seagull Merlin isn't a modernization of anything, it's a continuation of the trajectory towards simpler instruments that the strumstick started.
The Merlin's even more removed from the dulcimer than the Strumstick is, chronologically as well as design (Merlin invented in the 2000's, Strumstick since the 80's).
Only has access to one octave, and it's fretted differently. Mountain dulcimers have a mixolydian fretting pattern because they were originally drone instruments with melody strings tuned a fifth higher than the bass drone.
Ionian fretting wouldn't work, cos then if your bass was D you'd be playing A ionian and thus be out of key. Instead you have to have mixolydian fretting and start on the 3rd fret. This would be simplified to retuning to DAd rather than DAA, and adding a 6.5 fret to switch to ionian, all this during the 40s abouts during the first dulcimer revival. However they still retain the old mixolydian fretting pattern as a remnant of this history.
The strumstick clearly is based on that same history, the Merlin however is not and has innovated by changing it to purely ionian.
There is no Irish instrument featuring one string that is used to keep the beat in ensembles, you've entirely invented that and it's absolutely unbelievable that a small one stringed melody instrument would be used to keep beat. You're probably thinking of the washtub bass which was created for much the same reasons the cigar box guitar was and around the same time.
Nor is the pickin stick anything old or traditional, pickin stick is simply another common way to refer to stick dulcimers and same as them stems from the late 70's early 80's onward and has no history prior.
Cigar box guitars sometimes having 3 strings with diatonic fretting has no connection to dulcimers, nor do stick dulcimers have any connection to them. It's simply they grew up in a similar context, the need for simple easy to play instruments. That's as deep as that connection goes.
If you want to read more, Inglewood instruments has a decent blog post about the history of stick dulcimers that's a pretty decent recap of their very recent history though I've recounted most of what you'd read there.
You ought to read more though, because the smallest amount of research would give you all you need to know, and you've got some major misconceptions to unlearn.
@@-jank-willson If only. Nothing they recounted there was accurate. The Strumstick and Merlin are both descended from the mountain dulcimer and were invented in the 80's, not part of anything remotely 'traditional.' They're purely modern instruments
@@wilhelmseleorningcniht9410 i have seen images of one-string instruments made with cigar boxes that have diatonic fretting dating back to the 1800's. 'walkabout dulcimer' is a real historic term that dates back to the 1800's.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for watching!
I have both and love both .
Awesome
Thank you, this is the comparison I was waiting for. In the beginning I bought a strumstick because I preferred the longer scale, then I switched to the Merlin, but sometimes the short scale represents a limit for me, so now I am also playing an electroacoustic Smokey Mountain strum stick because personally I do not like the quality in general of the strumstick anymore.
I also chase the occasion to ask you if you are planning new video lessons or are accepting requests.
Thank You. I have been waiting for this as well. But strum stick dont show up used up here in Canada to often. I have looked at the Smokey mountain stuff in the past but never puller the trigger. How are they compared to the Merlin. I always have new lesson coming but alot of time I am playing more guitar and dont pick up the Merlin as much. Always will take requests but never guarantee that I will do it but send it in cause you never know.
@@RyansSeagullMerlinM4Lessons Well, Smokey Mountain strum sticks have a loud and mellow sound, some of them are also electroacoustic by default, but they are less refined than Merlins
Get a roosebeck wildwood dulcimer. It has the 4 strings and wide fretboard of a Merlin, but an even longer range than the strum stick (2 octaves)
@@tilltanky5367 Yeah I agree
After a slow start you get into a great video thanks :-)
Sorry, but you seem to be rambling to my ears
The merlin wins BIGTIME !
Guitare kabosy malgache
Ngl I always thought strum sticks were kinda pointless
Always depends on the use