The Ultralight is a design Russell Cook started in 1983 after watching an older couple attempt to load their large 45 pound hammer dulcimer into the trunk of their automobile. After decades of fine tuning, Master Works has managed to get the weight of this cutting-edge instrument down to approximately 11 pounds!
“It is the most instrument for the dollar available on the market.”
Russell Cook, Owner Master Works
Range and Configurations
- Ultralight (16/15) – Mostly chromatic from D3-E6
- Ultralight Chromatic (16/15+5) – Fully chromatic from D3-E6
- Ultralight Chromatic Extended Range (16/15+9) – Fully chromatic from D3-E6, and the lower range extends to a diatonic D2-G2
Materials and Design Technologies
- Sipo soundboard
- Morado bridges
- Maple pinblocks
- Choice tapered soundboard to improve vibration and response as well as reduce weight
- Precisely designed pinblocks to reduce weight
- Solid alder back to improve sound quality and reduce weight
- Wound strings on lower courses
Visuals
- Cherry or walnut endrails
- Natural soundboard finish. A brown or red/brown stained soundboard is a popular upgrade.
