I've been making hammered dulcimers (as well as some other instruments, like harpsichords, clavichords, oldtimey banjos and even mountain dulcimers) for over 35 years. The Australian dulcimer movement would be a very much smaller animal if I hadn't taken such a liking to these frankly addictive instruments. In the early years, I made instruments based on old English models and the newer American models. Then in 1988 I travelled to the USA, Britain and Europe and discovered a wondrous variety of dulcimers from many traditions. During that trip I saw the 19th century American tradition represented at the Henry Ford Museum at Dearborn, and at Ann Arbor, and handled my first example of 18th century baroque salterios at the Horniman Museum in London. In Antwerp I saw the Flemish tradition, the fine collection at the Royal Conservatoire in Brussels and the Gemeentenmuseum in the Hague. I was hooked.

Then followed years of research, building and experimenting to understand how these dulcimers worked. I've travelled to and worked in museums around the world documenting dulcimers wherever I find them. That work continues: see The Great Dulcimer Search. In 1997 I presented a paper in England about the physical properties of dulcimer sounds, looking at why a dulcimer sounds like it does, and how it differs from a hackbrett, from a cimbalom, from a santur etc. I'll put a copy here when I've done more pressing things.

So, about the instruments I build now. If you want to play dulcimer, then I make instruments for beginners to professionals. I've borrowed from the English and American traditions to develop the designs I make. If you want to play music more suited to other members of the dulcimer family, like klezmer music or Middle Eastern music for example, then I also make cimbaloms, santurs and sandouris. For baroque music, the salterio as it was played in Italy and Spain in the 18th century opens up a new delightful experience. I'm still developing new models: most recently a bass dulcimer and a whole tone dulcimer, which is suitable for a wide variety of music.

The timbers I use come from a variety of non-rainforest sources. They include beech and maple for wrestplanks, Tasmanian blackwood for outer fascias, spruce and pine for baseboards and Western Red Cedar or King William Pine for soundboards. There are other suitable timbers of course, and I sometimes use them, but the ones listed here are the most commonly used ones.

Here is the current catalog. Click on the name which interests you.

• Hammered dulcimers
  
• Cimbaloms
  
• Santur
  
• Sandouri
  
• Salterio
  
• Tsimbaly
  
• Hackbrett
  
• Tonic dulcimer
• Other catalog items