Cumberland River Dulcimer, Chromatic: "Bridge Over Troubled Water"

Every now and then… we get something a little fancy.

This is one of those.
I asked Justin Blanner to take this Cumberland Chromatic Dulcimer Guitar and really put it through its paces — not just strum a few chords, but explore the full range of what it can do.

Here’s the difference:
A traditional dulcimer is diatonic — meaning it’s set up to play naturally in one key. Beautiful. Simple. Approachable.

This one?
It’s chromatic.

That means:
🎵 All 12 notes in the Western scale
🎵 Major and minor options everywhere
🎵 Chord changes you simply can’t get on a diatonic
🎵 Way more harmonic territory

It’s still tuned DAD, just like a traditional dulcimer.
But once you add those missing notes back in, the landscape changes.

More to think about.
More to explore.
More possibilities.

Chromatic instruments aren’t necessarily “better” — they’re just different. They open doors that a diatonic keeps closed.

If you’ve ever wondered what that difference actually sounds like, this video is for you.

And if you’re curious about owning one of these fancy builds… check out what's in stock in the Cumberland collection here or join the waitlist.

We don’t make a ton of them.

—Ryan