Fun, lightweight, and easy to play, our Trail Dulcimer has the rich sound of a mountain dulcimer with just a little bit of banjo twang. The body style of the Trail Dulcimer allows it to be played like a guitar instead of the traditional "flat in the lap" position of the mountain dulcimer. With a spruce soundboard over a carved lacewood body, the Trail Dulcimer produces a lot of volume for such a compact instrument.

The Trail Dulcimer has three string courses: a wound string at the top, an unwound center string, and two unwound strings tuned in unison, at the bottom. Many tunings will work, but we recommend the traditional DAD to makes it easy to pick up and play. The frets are arranged in a diatonic scale, just like an Appalachian mountain dulcimer, but added is the infamous "6 1/2" fret just below the octave position allowing play in Ionian mode. The possibilities are many, playing the Trail Dulcimer can be as easy or as complicated as your care to make it. Explore!

Special Note: The strings put on the instruments in our workshops, while playable, are put through some rigorous testing. They should probably be replaced for improved playability, sound quality, and better tuning shortly after you receive the instrument. For your convenience we offer Roosebeck Mountain Dulcimer strings, and you can order them here.