www.DulciCaster.com - Our Products

Four exciting body shapes to help you stand out from the crowd:

RAZOR (Hybrid)

Designed with both the stand-up and lap player in mind, the Orca combines the best of both worlds for a wide variety of playing styles.

RAPTOR

Designed for the ultimate in "coolness," the Raptor body style is based upon the B.C. Rich "Mockingbird" guitar and is sure to be a head-turner anywhere it is played.

VORTEX (Hourglass)

Designed with the lap player in mind, the Hourglass has a sleek "speed" shape balanced to sit firmly on both legs.

SHARK (Semi-Teardrop)

Designed more for "Over-the-Top" players with a gentle inset curve and protruding horn to prevent the instrument from sliding back and forth.

Standard Design Statistics:

• Custom Saddle Tailpiece (pat. appl. for) that allows for custom intonation and string (action) height adjustment -- a feature found on no other dulcimer!

• GraphTech Ghost Saddle Piezo Pickups for the ultimate in piezo sound quality (mounted on Piezo versions only)

• GraphTech String-Saver Saddles to decrease friction and to reduce or eliminate string breakage

• Overall Length: 36 - 37" (will fit in a 36" case diagonally)

• Vibrating String Length (Scale Length): 25 1/2" to make it much easier to reach those difficult chords

• Basswood or Agathis Body with a Hard Maple Top

• Bone Nut

• Diatonically Fretted Maple Fretboard with Rosewood or Pau Ferro Fingerboard overlay

• Jumbo frets to make it easier to finger notes

• Fret Dot Markers at 3, 7, 10 and 14

• Ernie Ball Slinky Guitar strings (.10 - .12 - .22)

• GFS Lil' Killer Humbucking Rail pickups to eliminate dead spots when bending strings and to accommodate the difference in string spacing between a regular guitar and a dulcimer

• 3-way switch for selecting pickups

• Coil Cut switch to turn the double rails to a single rail for that sweet, singe-coil sound

• Series/Parallel switch for added punch and low tones

Versions Available:

Magnetic Pickups or Magnetic/Piezo combination
Our most popular product, we offer superior Solid-Body dulcimers with magnetic pickups or with magnetic/piezo combinations. These have humbucking rail mag pickups called Lil' Killers from GFS. These are adjustable height pickups and are coupled with the intonatable/height-adjusting bridge for complete control over your sound. These pickups are coupled with advanced switching options that allow the pickups to be coil cut and series/parallel switched. These mag pickups can also be integrated with the Active, Passive, or MIDI systems listed above.

Variax Version which incorporates the amazing electronics from the Line 6™ Variax 300 Modeling Guitar.

Variax versions include "Line 6 Workbench" software for programming tunings and instruments
right from your computer (PC/Mac).

Variax versions also include a footswitch power supply that powers the electronics or the DulciCaster can be run from 6 AA batteries or one 9 volt battery.

Non-Variax Version with a Passive Ghost Piezo Pickup System from GraphTech™
These models are also available in a Non-Variax version with passive Ghost™ Piezo individual pickups.
This includes a volume knob and output jack. This version is a straight solid-body electric dulcimer
without the ability to change instruments or tunings on the fly, but you do get amazing acoustic tone from a solid-body instrument which can then be fed to a preamp, and amplifier, or through a D.I. Box to a P.A. system.

Non-Variax Version with the GraphTech Acoustiphonic Active Piezo Pickup System
The Active Ghost Pickup system, which includes an on-board pre-amp and volume control utilizes GraphTech's Acoustiphonic preamp for silky tone-shaping and an astounding acoustic sound.

NEW! GraphTech Hexpander MIDI-capable pickup system
We now offer a MIDI - capable electronics system for dulcimers that can be integrated with either the Active or Passive systems listed above. With MIDI you can access a giant world of synthesizers and samplers, allowing you to turn your instrument into a piano, organ, pipe organ, strings, brass, woodwinds, or just about anything else inmaginable!

*Note: The Hexpander system converts your dulcimer signal into one compatible with any Roland-Ready device that accepts their 13-pin cable. These devices are sold separately and are required to access synth/sampler sounds. We recommend the Roland Gr-1, Gr-9, Gr-20, Gr-30, or Gr-33 systems, available online through music retailers or (our preferred method) through Ebay (usually listed as Guitar Synthesizers). We do occasionally have guitar synthezisers available here, so call us and see what we have in stock.

We're sorry, the MIDI system cannot be combined with the Variax system at this time.

OPTIONS:

We can design almost any custom shape within a few parameters
(it has to have room for the electronics and it should probably fit
into a case - typically 8.5" x 36")

Custom Shapes are an additional $50

All of the DulciCasters come standard with chrome tuners, chrome strap buttons
and chrome Volume/Tone knobs.

The Schaller-style Knob Tuners feature precision 16:1 gear ratio,
sealed lubrication, cast housings and removable metal knobs.

photo courtesy of Stewart-MacDonald/www.stewmac.com

Special Options:
Black Gotoh Tuners (+$15)
Gold Gotoh Tuners (+$25)

We also offer the Planet Waves Auto-Trim Locking Guitar Machines, which are my
tuners of choice.

These machines do it all:
Tuning
Locking
String cutting
Insert the string and tighten the thumbscrew clamp at the base of the gear housing;
the patent-pending design cuts off the excess string automatically as you tune it.

The string is clamped securely, without multiple wraps around the string post, for
faster string changes. 18:1 gearing ensures smooth and precise tuning.

photo courtesy of Stewart-MacDonald/www.stewmac.com

Planet Waves Chrome Tuners (+30$)
Planet Waves Black Tuners (+$35)
Planet Waves Gold Tuners (+$35)

Or, for a more sleek look, try the new Steinberger Headless Tuners as seen on the DulciQin on YouTube!

photos courtesy of Stewart-MacDonald/www.stewmac.com

These gears have a 40:1 ratio for fine tuning and a locking knob on top to lock down the string -- no more winding multiple times around the post!

These are $60 for Chrome or Black, and $85 for Gold

We also offer options on the strap buttons. You can choose from either standard strap buttons or locking-
type strap buttons for extra security. Strap buttons all come in pairs. A standard, chrome set is included
in the base price.

Special Options:
Standard Buttons - Black or Gold, no extra charge
Locking Strap Buttons - Chrome, Black or Gold (+$15)

All DulciCasters are painted an opaque (solid) color with a high-gloss finish.
Natural or transparent staining is also available for an additional $70 as these
options require a finer grade of Maple for the top and additional finishing steps.

Custom woods for the body and top are also available. Call us for options and pricing of
custom wood choices.

Full Price List

	Base Model	Variax Model	Passive Piezo	Active Piezo	Hexpander MIDI	Actve Piezo/MIDI Combo
		$1749	$629	$752	$903	$1028
with 1 Mag Pickup (GFS Lil Killer Rail)	$599	$1839	$709	$829	$979	$1104
with 2 Mag Pickups (GFS Lil Killer Rails)	$649	$1889	$772	$878	$1029	$1154
Price for the foldable GuQin seen on YouTube (with or without frets): $2489 Without the Nut Pickup: $2289 Link to the GuQin Video All above model pricing for Vortex, Razor, Raptor or Shark body styles. Alternate Magnetic Pickups: For Lace Sensor Golds, add $40.00 for one or $80.00 for two For Seymour Duncan Hot or Cool Rails, add $50.00 for one or $100.00 for two For the Passive, Active, MIDI, or Combo with no Tone control, subtract 24.95 (All mag systems will have a Tone control and switched coil tapping and Parallel/Series via mini toggle switches)

Custom Options:
Custom Shape	+$50
Black Gotoh Tuners	+$15
Gold Gotoh Tuners	+$25
Chrome Planet Waves Tuners	+$30
Black Planet Waves Tuners	+$35
Gold Planet Waves Tuners	+$35
Chrome or Black Steinberger Headless Tuners	+$60
Gold Steinberger Headless Tuners	+$85
New! Add the N-Tune Onboard Guitar Tuner to any system (except Variax)	+$86
Locking Strap Buttons (C, B, or G)	+$15
Fret Dots on Side	+$20
Ebony Fretboard Overlay	+$50
Extra Frets (1 1/2, 6 1/2, 8 1/2, and 13 1/2)	Free!
Fully Chromatic Fretboard	+$20
Hardshell Case (with Instrument)	+$120
Extra Packing for instruments ordered without a case	+$15

Texas residents must add 8.25% sales tax.

We do not have the facilities at this time for any custom inlay work. We hope to add this
option in the very near future.

We do not offer online ordering as there are too many choices and options.
To set yourself up with a brand new axe, please drop us a line at:
Stephens Musical Instruments
2207 Merrill Hills Circle
Katy, TX 77450

or call us at:
281-693-5151
Please leave a message if there is no answer -- we've got three kids who are more than
a little bit demanding. We will get back to you within 48 hours.

or email to:
DulciCaster@aol.com

We accept Checks, Money Orders, PayPal, MasterCard, Visa, and Discover

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Dulcimer Hard Tail Bridge Plates

I will be making these hard tail bridge plates available for use with intonable guitar saddles. At last intonation and action height are in our hands!

These plates are made of solid steel with a bright, shiny, nickel finish.

These are the same bridge plates I use on the DulciCasters (see the Gallery for pictures).

Cost will be $42.95 for an empty bridge plate, $68.95 for a bridge plate with Graphtech String-Saver Saddles, and $149.00 for a bridge plate with GraphTech Ghost Piezo saddles.

Note: These bridge plates are for top string mounting, so no need to drill holes through your instrument! There are holes in the back of the bridge plate for the strings to pass through and then over the saddles. Note: These plates require ball-end strings.