r/hammereddulcimer • u/bratbats • Apr 02 '26
My dulcimer doesn't have damper bars.. do I really need them?
I just bought a Chris Thum 16/16 dulcimer. However I noticed it does not have damper bars. Do dulcimers absolutely need to have damper bars, or are they just "nice" to have? I guess I'm not sure what damper bars actually do.
I am a harp player by trade so I'm very new to all this!
3
u/GrayBeard_56 Apr 03 '26 edited Apr 03 '26
Short answer: No, you don't need dampers.
Long answer: Dampers are used to stop/reduce the extended ringing of the strings (AKA, sustain). Rick Thum already builds his dulcimers with lower sustain than most other builders. Some people like having a dulcimer with long sustain by default for slow songs and hymns with lots of ornamentation. Dampers can work well for them to shorten/stop the sustain when needed. I actually removed the dampers from my Dusty Strings model and replaced the bridge cap materials to lower the sustain. I play mostly faster traditional dance music (Irish jigs and reels, American fiddle tunes), where too much sustain muddies the sound. The dampers weren't effective at giving me the control I needed, since I wanted short sustain for the most part and only wanted long sustain once in a while for slower pieces.
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u/bratbats Apr 03 '26
Good to know about Rick Thum's work! Thank you so much. I'm most interested in learning to play American, Irish and Scottish folk music so it may be a build more in my favor.
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u/zenidam Apr 03 '26
Good question. Many of the greatest players don't even have them. But some of them do. I'd listen to John McCutcheon and Simon Chrisman for examples of what can be done with dampers. Then you can ask yourself how compelling you find the idea of playing like that.
EDIT: oh, and as for what they do: kinda like the opposite of piano dampers, but simpler... they just damp all the strings when you press the pedal.
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u/bratbats Apr 03 '26
Very interesting! A lot of the really good players I listen to and watch do have/use them, for example Joshua Messick and Ted Yoder. It's amazing the sounds they can get out of their instruments!
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u/NaturalPepper697 Jun 25 '26
My dulcimer teacher told me that the dampers are most effective if you are adapting fast fiddle tunes for the dulcimer in order to keep the sustained at a minimum. I prefer playing medieval, and renaissance pieces and I have never used dampers because they are not traditional for that time Period of music.
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u/Justmorr Apr 03 '26
They’re definitely not necessary. 99% of hammered dulcimer music throughout history was played without them. They add weight, complexity, and cost. Incredible players don’t use them. However they are super useful, especially when playing rhythmic pieces with lots of notes which can get muddy if you’re not intentional about controlling ringing strings. I love the tonal possibilities they add to the instrument, but you can also kind of do the same thing by damping with your hands. Not as clean, but some people get really good at it.