Mountain Dulcimer

Roosebeck Emma Mountain Dulcimer, 4-String Vaulted Fretboard

Name: Roosebeck Emma Mountain Dulcimer, 4-String Vaulted Fretboard
Brand: Roosebeck
SKU: DMDS4
Price: 299.0 USD
Availability: InStock

$299

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4-String Rosewood or Walnut Spruce Top Vaulted Fretboard Scroll Peg Head

Ideal for: Players who want the deluxe features of the Roosebeck dulcimer line and a reconfigurable string setup

The deluxe end of the Roosebeck mountain dulcimer line.

The Emma gathers the best features of the Roosebeck mountain dulcimer line into one instrument. A straight-grained cream spruce soundboard, the vaulted fretboard that lifts the playing surface clear of the top so it can vibrate freely, four f-hole openings rather than the usual two, a crown-shaped tailpiece in gold, and a hand-carved scroll peg head. The bridge and nut are bone, and the nut is notched for more than one string arrangement, so the setup can follow your playing rather than the other way round. Choose a solid rosewood or solid walnut body; the instrument is otherwise identical.

Light, Reactive, and Open

The completely spruce soundboard is light and straight-grained, and light is exactly what you want in a soundboard: less mass means it starts moving sooner and keeps moving longer. Paired with the vaulted fretboard and four f-hole openings, the Emma responds to a gentle touch rather than needing to be driven.

Rosewood or walnut: Rosewood is the denser of the two, warm with a strong fundamental and long sustain. Walnut is a little lighter, slightly more open through the midrange, and shows a more visible grain under finish. Both use the same soundboard, the same fretboard, and the same hardware.

Vaulted Fretboard, Scroll Peg Head, Four F-Holes

The vaulted fretboard lifts the playing surface away from the soundboard, giving the top more freedom to vibrate and project. It is a noticeable difference in volume and responsiveness compared to flat-fretboard dulcimers.

The classic hourglass body carries four f-hole openings instead of the more common pair, and the tailpiece is shaped like a crown in a gold finish. The peg head is carved into a scroll and fitted with four gold-colored mechanical geared straight tuners at a 4:1 ratio. The bridge and nut are bone. Body, neck, and fretboard are solid in your chosen wood.

Why vaulted matters: On a flat-fretboard dulcimer, the fretboard sits directly on the soundboard, dampening vibration. The vaulted design creates an air gap that lets the soundboard resonate freely.

Four Strings, Three Ways to Set Them Up

The dulcimer comes as a 4-string with two melody strings, one middle, and one bass drone. We recommend traditional DAD tuning, where your open strings already form a D major chord, so strumming all four gives you music immediately. Many other tunings work.

Traditionally the mountain dulcimer had three equally spaced strings: melody, middle, and bass. The 4-string came later, by changing the spacing and doubling the melody string to give the melody line more volume. The nut on this instrument is cut with extra notches, so you have options. Leave it as a standard 4-string; remove the inside doubled melody string entirely to revert to the traditional 3-string setup; or move the inside melody string and the middle string over one notch each for equal spacing across all four. Try them and keep what suits your hands.

The 6½ and 13½ frets: Most early dulcimers were strictly diatonic, fretted for a major scale with no half steps. Adding a fret between the 6th and 7th, and between the 13th and 14th, does two things: it lets you play a major scale starting from a different point on the open string, and it makes most songs with accidental notes playable. The tradeoff is that they take some getting used to if you have been playing without them.

Technical Specifications

Strings	4 (2 melody, 1 middle, 1 bass)
Scale Length	25.5 inches
Body, Neck, Fretboard	Solid rosewood or solid walnut
Soundboard	Straight-grained spruce
Sound Holes	Four f-holes
Frets	18 metal (including 6½ and 13½)
Peg Head	Carved scroll
Tuners	4 gold-colored geared straight, 4:1 ratio
Bridge and Nut	Bone
Tailpiece	Crown-shaped, gold finish
Nut Width	1.25 inches
Neck at Body Joint	1.25 inches
Dimensions	34 inches L × 7 inches W × 3 inches H
Weight	2.6 lbs

String care: Strings carry no warranty, and makers suggest replacing them every 3 to 4 months. Keep a spare set on hand, wipe the strings with a dry cloth after playing, and plan on fresh strings if the instrument has been stored for a while.

What's in the Box

Every Emma Mountain Dulcimer ships with everything you need to start playing.

Pick Noter Owner's Guide (PDF)

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Roosebeck Emma Mountain Dulcimer, 4-String Vaulted Fretboard

Rosewood

$299

Watch & Listen

Hear it played

Tradition you can feel, craftsmanship you can hear.

Solid tonewoods

Cured, cut, and chosen for sound.

Voiced by hand

Fretboards dressed, action set, bridges fit by our luthiers.

Made to be played

Built for working musicians, designed to sound better the more you play it.

Since 1973

Five decades of building instruments that last generations.

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