Dulcimer Guitars Review
Dulcimer guitars, or dulcitars, are a recent creation from Seagull Guitars that artfully blend the mountain dulcimer and a banjo, with a healthy dose of guitar in there for good measure.
They use diatonic tuning, so it’s basically impossible to hit a wrong note. Perfect for kids, they are small, lightweight and incredibly easy to play. They also have a relaxing mellow sound. The dulcimer guitar is like a gateway fretted instrument. Start with one of these and you’ll soon find that mandolins, guitars, banjos are more approachable.
But do not be deceived, the Seagull Merlin dulcimer guitars are serious instruments capable of producing some incredible sounds. Serious folk musicians have played these instruments, and you can hear them being used on many recordings.
So let’s have a look at three of them.
Seagull Merlin Mahogany SG, Natural
With its gorgeous mahogany top, the Seagull Merlin Mahogany is a well-crafted instrument that will cause heads to turn. While this dulcitar comes in both mahogany and spruce tops, we’ve found that this Merlin has a smoother, deeper sound than its spruce-topped cousin. Chord work and strumming sound incredible, with a sound not far from a dulcimer but with slightly discernible banjo twang.
With the same price as the spruce topped Merlin, you only have to choose between the brighter tones of the spruce or the softer, warmer sound of the mahogany.
All the Merlins have traditional-style tuning pegs like a dulcimer. They work well and offer good precision.
These things are a joy to play. Both beginner to expert musicians will find they can get a convincing tune out of it in no time.
This is overall our favorite dulcimer guitar. To read a more in-depth review on this, feel free to check out our article here.
Seagull Merlin Spruce SG Dulcimer Guitar, Natural
This is the typical Merlin dulcimer guitar from Seagull Guitars. It has a rock maple body and a spruce top. The dulcimer guitar has 4 strings: a bass, a middle, and 2 sympathetic melody strings that resonate together.
The body and neck are as long as a banjo but thinner, more like a tenor guitar. For the musician on the road, the Merlin is a great choice: it will fit in hand luggage so you don’t have to take a risk putting it in a plane hold where it might get smashed.
The rock maple body gives the instrument a lot of pop and projection, and the spruce top gives it a more guitar-like sound than a banjo or dulcimer.
A Merlin is incredibly easy to pick up and play. Using a diatonic scale, each fret corresponds to a note in a scale (depending on your tuning), so you can’t hit a bad note.
You can pick one of these Canadian-made instruments for an affordable price.
Seagull Merlin G Mountain
This dulcimer guitar from Seagull has a scale designed to be used in G tuning (usually DGD). It has a slightly different scale length and a slightly different sound quality.
With a gorgeous mahogany top and rock maple neck and body, the G Mountain Merlin is a warm but powerful sounding instrument. It looks amazing too, with a pleasing contrast between the neck and body.
Like all the Merlins, it has a through-neck and a string pass through design that maximizes resonance. It is surprising how loud these little things can be. They all have Graphtech tusq bridges, so they will be durable and sound as good as possible.
The G Mountain can be picked up for attractive price, the same as the other three.
Conclusion for Best Dulcimer Guitars
The Merlin range from Seagull is a remarkable collection of instruments. They take the best from banjos, tenor guitars, mandolins, and dulcimers and make something entirely new. If you are going to be on the road, they will make a perfect companion for fireside singalongs.
For teachers, they make a great tool to have to accompany students. Learners can become familiar with strumming and picking without a lot of the frustration of a guitar or banjo.
Merlins are a lot of fun, why not try one out?
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