Comments

• sockeye Philadelphie sur SchuylkillNew

  March 2006 Posts: 415

  Is this Ken Bloom the old-time musician of bowed dulcimer fame?
  
  John from Sugar in the Gourd here. There are a few of us old-time music folks around here, hiding in the corners...
• Ken Bloom Pilot Mountain, North CarolinaNew

  March 2006 Posts: 164

  Hi John,
  
  One and the same. I'm building myself a new bowed dulcimer and the Selmer 7 string as a matched set. I'm looking for input on the sound and tone differences between the standard Selmer bracing system and the Favino, which looks to be more like what I'm looking for. The guitar I've been playing for decades was designed after the Selmer but with significant construction differences.

  Ken Bloom
• Josh Hegg Tacoma, WAModerator

  March 2006 Posts: 622

  Favino tend to have less bass and more mid. Then you have Busato who had a Favino style build that has much more low end. The original Selmer has a really nice bass response compared to many newer makes of the same style. Alot of the tone comes from the bracing but there is allot to do with finish, bridge tuning, top plate stress, amount of rake, setup, and the player.
  
  Cheers,
  Josh
• Ken Bloom Pilot Mountain, North CarolinaNew

  March 2006 Posts: 164

  Hi Josh,
  
  Thank you for the reply. I am aware that there is much more to tone than bracing.
  Your answer does make sense to me, given some experience with other ladder bracing approaches. I was planning on only using four braces instead of five. Any thoughts about this?

  Ken Bloom
• sockeye Philadelphie sur SchuylkillNew

  March 2006 Posts: 415

  Ken, you might ask Michael Collins or Shelley Park what they think. Both are North American luthiers who have built Selmer and Favino style guitars.
  
  http://www.collinsguitar.com/
  
  http://www.parkguitars.com/
  
  John