This Roosebeck "Grace" Mountain Dulcimer model has added performance features at a great value. Its vaulted fret board makes it lighter and as a result there is more soundboard vibration and excellent sound quality. It has an hour glass shape and its body, neck, and fret board are solid Walnut. It has a Nut and Bridge of bone. The soundboard is spruce and has a charming Walnut skirt design on both ends, as well as 4 of the classic f-scrolls openings. This model also features 4 mechanical geared right angle tuners with a 14:1 ratio and has 4 strings, including 2 melody strings, 1 middle string and 1 bass drone string. Many tunings will work, but we recommend the traditional DAD method to make it easy to pick up and play. E

The 6 1/2 and 13 1/2 Frets This model includes the 6 1/2 and 13 1/2 frets. Most early dulcimers had a strictly diatonic scale; that is, the frets were placed so as to produce a major scale (do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do) with no extra half steps. More recently, dulcimer players have found that the placement of an extra fret between the 6th and 7th frets and between the 13th and 14th frets allows two things; (1) a major scale can be produced starting at another point (on the open string), and (2) most songs containing "accidental" notes can be played. The 6 1/2 and 13 1/2 frets add versatility. The disadvantage is that it takes a while to get used to the extra frets if you have been playing a dulcimer without it.