• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Owl Mountain Music, Inc.

Dedicated to helping your sing your soul

  • Home
  • About Steve
    • Support Steve on Patreon
    • Bio
    • Contact Steve
    • Discography
    • Composer
      • Arabian Nights-Opus Award
    • Producer
    • Publisher
  • Dulcimer
    • Steve’s Dulcimer Articles
    • DulcimerCrossing
    • Instruments-Dulcimers
    • Dulcimer Orchestra
      • Dulcimer Orchestra Library Project
      • Berkeley Dulcimer Orchestra
        • BDO-Spring 2020 Resources
      • Colorado Dulcimer Orchestra
    • Colorado Dulcimer Festival
  • Lessons
    • OnLine Classes
    • Private Lesson Studio
      • Long-Distance Lessons
      • Strummin’ with Steve
      • Habits from the Muse
      • DulcimerCrossing
      • Steve’s Workshop Titles
      • Recital
      • Habits for Your Healthy Music Habitat Patron Access
    • JamPlay Guitar Courses
    • Truefire Courses
    • Mr. Steve’s Folk Music for Little Folks
      • Teacher Steve’s Instrument Petting Zoo
      • Mr. Steve’s Folk Music for Little Folks EP
    • School Programs and Residencies
    • 30 Days of Dulcimer Joy
      • Vault: 30 Days of Dulcimer Joy
    • 31 Days to Fingerstyle Mastery
      • Vault: 31 Days of Fingerstyle Mastery
    • Steve’s Workshop Titles
    • Reprinting, Permissions & Usage Fees
  • Video
  • Shop
    • All Products
    • Thinning the Herd
    • Worship Music
    • Books
    • Dulcimer
    • dulci-bro
    • Guitar
      • Fingerstyle Guitar Series
    • CD-Recordings
    • Owl Mountain Muses
    • Cart
    • Checkout
    • My Account
  • Blog
    • Steve Eulberg on Tour
    • Poetry and Writing
  • Bands
    • Steve & Erin Mae
    • S·E·A Folkgrass
    • Fiddle Whamdiddle
    • JimJim & the FatBoys
  • Lent Musical Devotions
You are here: Home / amplification / Dulcified & Amplified

Dulcified & Amplified

July 2, 2018 By Steve Eulberg

by Linda Ratcliff

Your success in learning to play the dulcimer is not something new.
It merely amplifies what was already inside you.
– Linda Ratcliff

Dulcified & Amplified
You’ve been playing your dulcimer for a while now, and you’ve learned how to play several tunes. Your friends have told you that you sound pretty good. So you decided to play at the local nursing home. Afterwards, you thought the mini concert went very well until the seniors gathered around. They thanked you for coming, but they also asked if you could play a little louder next time because they couldn’t hear a thing.

Oops. With a gentle-sounding instrument like the mountain dulcimer, being heard is sometimes a challenge. Unplugged mountain dulcimers don’t put out a lot of volume and seniors are often hard of hearing. That’s not a good combination for the first time you dipped your toe in the performance arena.

But there’s a solution. You just need some kind of input device to capture the sound, as well as an output device to amplify that sound … make it louder.

Input Devices

    • Microphones are by far the most common input device. They work by sensing the vibrations of the air around your instrument and turning that into an electrical signal that an amplifier can use.
    • Pickups work by directly sensing the vibrations in the instrument itself, and converting those vibrations into electricity. An “under-bridge pickup” is built directly into the bridge of your instrument. A “surface mounted pickup,” can be attached to the wood quite easily with a bit of removable adhesive, and can be moved from instrument to instrument.
  • The Direct Box is a device used to send the instrument’s signal through long lengths of cable. This device has many additional features, but can be confusing for a newbie.

Output Devices

    • The Electric Guitar Amp might be your easiest option if you know someone who already has one that you can borrow. You simply plug in and start playing. The biggest problem is that these amps are designed to also modify the sound of the instrument as well as make it louder. If you want a more natural sound, this won’t be your best choice.
    • The Acoustic Amplifier gives a very realistic sound, and there are even battery-powered models that are very handy for playing outdoors.
  • The Public Address System is recommended for a musician who plays in many different locations and needs to amplify a number of instruments. Most dulcimer players won’t need to go this route.

But that’s not all – you will also need cable, and plan to bring a little more cable than you think you’ll need. Cheap cables are a short path to disaster, so take the plunge and buy a better quality of cable right from the start. In addition, purchase a high quality extension cord to reach the power outlet.

One of the best things you can do to prepare for a public appearance is to practice at home with the sound system you have selected before going public with it. Don’t expect to be an expert right away. Ask someone to listen to you from different places in the room, to find out if you are getting static feedback or if you’ve turned up the system too high. Don’t be surprised if you have to move your mic around to get the best result. Many like the sound of their mic best somewhere in the middle of the instrument.

At DulcimerCrossing.com, Steve Eulberg offers a number of videos on the issue of sound reinforcement in a series called “So You Want to Be Heard.” He examines and demonstrates specific products and models of input devices that he has personally used. Sign up here to become a member and have access to this series and many others.  

 

As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask Steve or myself.

Happy dulcimering,
Linda

Filed Under: amplification, amplified, chromatic mountain dulcimer, DI box, digital interface, dulci-bro, fiddle, hammered dulcimer, microphone, mountain dulcimer, pickup, sound reinforcement, subscriber news

Primary Sidebar

Between the Tracks Player

Sign Up for Steve’s List

Holiday Dulcimer

Cart

Bootkicking Old-Time Dulcimer on Spotify

Want to support my music?

Patreon
For as little as $5 a month, you can support my Patreon campaign and get special benefits!

Patreon Welcome from Steve Eulberg on Vimeo.

WANT TO Be PART OF THE ART?

Want to know where I am performing next? (Click on my photo)

Here is where Steve Teaches Guitar Online

Steve teaches guitar on JamPlay - enter code EAF321 at checkout for a free trial

Want to learn Dulcimer?

Sample Lesson on Dulcimer Crossing.com


Subscribe to view the whole lesson set and learn this tune!
  • Home
  • About Steve
  • Dulcimer
  • Lessons
  • Video
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Bands
  • Lent Musical Devotions

Copyright © 2023 Owl Mountain Music | Web Design by Wickam Group