Please write lapidusmusic@aol.com if you are interested in purchasing one of the instruments featured on this page.
The Butterfly Dulcimers are getting their final coats of lacquer. One is sold and one is for sale and will be available by 6/1/19.
I'm am just putting the final finish on the two Butterfly East Indian Rosewood/spruce dulcimers. The Butterfly Dulcimer design was created for dulcimer artist Kevin Roth. One is Kevin's and the other will be for sale. They are both 6 string dulcimers and can be set up as a standard 4 string dulcimer with bass, middle and melody strings doubled. Or they can be set up for 4 equidistant playing with a doubled bass and melody string and 2 individual middle strings. If interested contact me through the website.
The Jellyfish Dulcimer is now for sale.
The Crying Seahorse Dulcimer was sold.
Joellen and Kevin with the unfinished Butterfly Dulcimer
Butterfly Dulcimer soundholes
Butterfly Dulcimer Peghead
Butterfly Dulcimer lower soundholes
Butterfly Dulcimer Upper Soundholes
Joellen putting final finish on Butterfly Dulcimers
THE JELLYFISH DULCIMER
SOLD/THE CRYING SEAHORSE DULCIMER, This was my personal dulcimer for many years. It has matured and is broken in and has a wonderful sweet mellow sound.
THE JELLYFISH DULCIMER was completed on June 13th , 2016. The back, sides, peghead and tailpiece are made from a slab of 40 year old Indian Rosewood and 45 year old European spruce that was cut from a cello blank. (I've had both slabs of wood in my possession since 1971.) The inlay in the peghead is made of mother of pearl and green abalone shell. The upper bout soundholes are green abalone. The lower bout holes are mother of pearl, yellow mother of pearl, and red and green abalone shell. The fingerboard is sedua with a 1/4" ebony overlay with 2 green abalone fret markers. The fret scale is 27.5 inches. The designs are all original creations by myself based on the jellyfish exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific in 2015. I made 2 of these dulcimers, one already sold to one of my music students who designed the instrument with me based on her love of the ocean.
$5000
with a custom hardshell case
plus shipping if required
SOLD: The Crying Seahorse Dulcimer is an original Joellen Lapidus mountain dulcimer made in 1978. It is made of paduak wood which is a tropical hardwood that is very musical, much like well seasoned mahogany, but with a deep rich orange rust color and rich musical tone. The top is American spruce. It was my personal dulcimer for many years. It is 2 and 3/16" deep with a 28" fret scale. It has gold schaller pegs and has recently been refinished and refretted by myself.
Slide 2: The peghead has an Indian rosewood silhouette of a crying seahorse. The tears and eye are white and yellow mother of pearl, and red and green abalone.
Slides 3 & 4: The upper and lower sound holes are paduak wood that is inlaid into the soundboard. The upper sound holes are tears. Mother of pearl and abalone shell butterflies and hummingbirds are drinking the tears. There is a spray of shell stars across the left upper bout sound hole.
The fingerboard is Brazilian Rosewood and it has both the 6+ and the 13+ fret
Slides 5 & 6: The dulcimer comes with a solid wood custom made case with a rich green velour interior and an accessories pocket. It has strap pins and a black fabric strap.
PRICE: $4000 No longer for sale
The Crying Seahorse Dulcimer
