If you’re looking for unusual folk or Celtic instruments, I have only one suggestion: Song of the Sea, a husband-and-wife owned shop in Maine. Though there are a few other Internet vendors with a broader selection, these guys have consistently provided spectacularly good service and excellent prices. By way of example, here’s a recent exchange I had with them:

Hi Song of the Sea folks,

I’m in the market for a hammered dulcimer. I’ve
ordered things from you guys in the past and have been
very pleased, so was planning on ordering from you
again.

I’d really like to go ahead and get a 3 octave
instrument. I haven’t played the hammered dulcimer
before, but have done a fair bit of other folk and
acoustic music and am hoping to perform with it
eventually. The two instruments that I have my eye on
are the Whippoorwill and the Masterworks 15/14. With
that in mind, a couple of questions for you:

1. I assume that the Masterworks instrument is of a
higher quality, based on the relative prices and the
comments on your site. How much difference do you see
between the instruments? Is it worth the extra money
for someone who will be playing fairly heavily?

2. How much more is it? Your site says to call for the
price on the Masterworks. Consider this my call! I do
like the appearance of the Masterworks instrument
better, so would be inclined to consider it, depending
on the price difference.

3. Anything else I ought to know? 😉

Thanks in advance for your help!
Sean McMains

I got a personal response from Anne Damm, the co-owner of the shop, detailing prices and options with some very helpful advice within 2 hours of sending my message.