Is it worth getting an Dulcimer as an Guitar replacement?

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

Im not sure. Its just that i can't really well play Guitar at all,so maybe an Dulcimer might solve that problem.
But is that an great idea? Haven't touched an Dulcimer in my live,but if anyone can share how it is playing on it,great thanks.

[LPChip]

for those, like me who have no clue what the Dulcimer is, here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTYVB-xKIeo

Seeing this instrument, it reminds me of a ukelele, which can be really cool too, see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PB3RbO7updc

Now, if I'd compare both instruments, I'd say, both have 4 strings, the ukelele has a better soundcase which IMHO brings a nicer sound, but thats more a matter of taste, especially given that there are a lot of different ukelele's out there. Because of the smaller case, it cannot produce the more bass notes a normal guitar can, but neither can the Dulcimer.

Now, if its sound that you are after, you may want to check out the hommel, which is what the Dulcimer is based upon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nco5IqnAMNU

Note that for each instrument, you'll have to learn to play it. That applies for the guitar as much as for the ukelele as much as for the dulcimer. The good thing about the ukelele is that there are some very good training video's on youtube. But note that each instrument has different tunings, so if you can play one, you don't necessarily be able to play the other.

All these instruments do share the same basics though. If you play a snare without touching it, and you then press the half, the note will go up by an octave. If you go half of that, the note goes up by another octave (if I remember it correctly). This means that unlike with a piano where the same notes on different octaves are always the same distant apart, on a guitar you have to learn how to find these notes, and per string, the same note can be there on different places. Also, a guitar does not have a full 8 octave range, and the smaller the instrument, the smaller the strings, the less octaves you have.

Does that mean you should go for a guitar? No. It just means you have to be sure that once you pick any instrument, you dedicate to learning it, or it will be a serious waste of time, because switching to another one means you have to learn it again. Though, if you learned the guitar or ukelele and you'd switch to the other, it will be easier than if you never played one.

If you can play say... a keyboard, maybe you should look into instruments such as a keytar: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykys2v2eDw0 and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GxPz3imuWeI

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

Ok,i think i got it all.

Does that mean you should go for a guitar? No. It just means you have to be sure that once you pick any instrument, you dedicate to learning it, or it will be a serious waste of time, because switching to another one means you have to learn it again. Though, if you learned the guitar or ukelele and you'd switch to the other, it will be easier than if you never played one.

I got an Guitar as an present once,but i can't get much out of it. Plus,its broken in some parts. Im an Percussion player, but there was always something that makes me want to try learning playing on new instruments.

But there's an difference in the instruments acoustics.

The Dulcimer has an mistiflying sound,even if it sounds like an regular Acoustic Guitar.
The Ukulele has an more flat sound,which is not really that great.

[Saga Musix]

Or if you want to learn something even more different, try a hammered dulcimer, which is played with, surprise, hammers (no, not the toolkit kind of hammers, fools).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qkF099Hs3FM
Obviously you should try the instrument before buying it to get a feel of it and check if you like it at all. Asking other people what they think of it is pointless.

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

Saga, this is the kind of Dulcimer i was looking for! Many thanks,seriously.

Obviously you should try the instrument before buying it to get a feel of it and check if you like it at all. Asking other people what they think of it is pointless.

Well, i ask people about instuments rather rarely, but there are times i know about the instrument less then enoght for being sure if its what i think what it is.

[LPChip]

Ah, I see. This instrument will be different than a guitar-like instrument, and is probably easier to learn because each note is always on the same place. Yeah, this changes everything. Still, try it out before you buy though.

Also, if you have a bad guitar, it can seriously hinder learning the instrument. When I was little, my dad had a guitar and at some point I wanted one too to learn it. My parents got me a guitar to learn playing it, but it had a bar that was really long at the end of the neck which ment that the strings were quite a distance away from the neck, which was really unpleasant to make a grip, so I never learned to play a guitar just because of that.

[FreezeFlame(Alchemy)]

I actually got myself an type of Guitar (am unsure what it is called in English).
I like it so far, plus it has the same kind of sound an Dulcimer could produce (not really the same,but similiar).

[spacecult]

The instrument you bought is a mandolin.  It is tuned in 5ths like a violin and not like a guitar which is mostly 4ths (with a skip as a fingering convince modification), that will be your only trip-up if trying to convert your fretting skills to guitar.

Anyway, I love mandolins. Or any plucked instrument.