Fun, lightweight, and easy to play, our Wildwood Dulcimer has the rich sound of a mountain dulcimer with just a little bit of banjo twang. The body style of the Wildwood allows it to be played like a guitar instead of the traditional "flat in the lap" position of the mountain dulcimer. The teardrop spruce soundboard with two rosettes stands out in contrast to the long, thin rosewood fingerboard. Choose between a dark rosewood or a creamy lacewood back. The Wildwood has three string courses: a wound string at the top, a plain center string, and two plain 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 Wildwood 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 workshop, 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. We recommend using Roosebeck branded strings.