I was born and brought up in East Anglia, which is uniquely rich in late mediaeval churches, as well as being the main stronghold of traditional dulcimer playing in Britain; so I have named my dulcimers after some of my favourite churches.

Even so, my dulcimers are modern instruments rather than copies of old East Anglian types, and their very mixed ancestry includes, in common with most modern dulcimers, influences from America, China, and many of the other places where the dulcimer has taken root. To me, the dulcimer is an instrument of the present, of the future, which has barely begun to realise its full potential, rather than an interesting survivor from the past.

As with my harps, although the sound is the critical factor, I believe that an instrument which is beautiful to look at is more likely to be out, and being played; so I take great care in both the design and the selection of materials.

Denston
The use of three relatively light gauge strings per course, and high quality tone-woods for the soundboard and frame give this dulcimer an exceptionally fine and expressive tone, as well as plenty of volume; though they are slightly less stable in tuning than instruments based mainly on ply. The standard instrument has 23 triple courses, is diatonically tuned, with a sycamore frame and soundboard of spruce or western red cedar. Supplied with two pairs of light hammers, hard and soft. A 31 course version is available for those who want a wider range of strings, though the 23, the traditional layout, is more than adequate for most purposes.

Denston 23 - £1,050

Denston 31 - £1,300

Melford
This is the same as the Denston model in almost every respect, but with inlay strings on the back, and fretwork soundhole roses which reflect the rich workmanship of Long Melford's incomparable church. This is the model I play myself.

I am always glad, incidentally, to quote for cutomised instruments, made from other woods, or with some carved or other decoration. Please ring or Email for details.

Melford 23 - £1,150

Melford 31 - £1,400

Santur-type dulcimers
One thing which impressed me greatly about the santurs in Iran - which is believed to have been the place where the dulcimer was first developed - was how small and light they were, relative to the very full sound they produced. My version is built of sycamore rather than walnut (the main wood used for making Indian as well as Iranian Santurs), and echoes the early dulcimers of mediaeval europe as much as those of modern Iran; and not only in appearance, as their spare, haunting sound is well suited to early music..

These light and very portable instruments have a surprising volume of sound, and have proved especially popular for taking to crowded sessions. Built of sycamore throughout, they are available in a variety of string configurations, from 9 treble and 3 bass to 10 treble and 9 bass; and there is also a version, designed specially for children, which has guitar machine-heads instead of wrest pins for less sensitive tuning.

Elburz (9 treble and 3 bass) - £450
Caspian (10 treble and 9 bass) - £550

Mediaeval plucked psaltery £850

This versatile instrument was hugely popular in mediaeval times, and deserves far more attention from both folk and early musicians than it currently receives. Based on a fourteenth-century type, the double stringing, deep sound-box and western-red cedar soundboard give this classic 'pig-snout' psaltery a sweet, rich tone, excellent as an accompaniment for singing, or for playing mediaeval, renaissance or traditional music. The standard instrument has 24 double-courses, including three low drones, a sycamore frame and back, and soundboard of western red cedar.

We reserve the right to alter prices and specifications without prior notice All prices are ex-works.