Rick Stone

Rick Stone grew up outside of Washington D.C., and his teenage interest in acoustic guitars and desire for a new, un-affordable-at-the-time, instrument inspired him to build a guitar. Rick had a woodshop class in high-school, and the shop teacher was also interested in building an instrument. The two combined resources, and Rick built his first guitar. He says it was a little rough around the edges, but it had a great loud sound. Rick got the instrument-building bug, and he has been making guitars, dulcimers, mandolins, and other stringed instruments ever since.

Rick’s family was from Watauga County, but his folks moved north for work in the 1930s. They would make frequent trips to the area visiting Rick’s grandparents, and it was on one of these trips that Rick saw his first dulcimer, at the old craft shop on “Greasy Corner.” Rick also had a chance to visit a dulcimer exhibit at the Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. He was intrigued with the variety of shapes and styles, and the artist in him liked the personal expression the builders could show through their instruments. Rick started building dulcimers, and they have been his most frequently built instrument over the years.

Rick got a job after high school in a guitar factory in Maryland, and there he honed in some of his luthier skills. The factory made electric guitars modeled after Fender styles. Rick got much experience in carving fingerboards and installing frets. But the foreman was also interested in acoustic instruments, and he passed along advice to Rick about the craft. Rick continued making his own instruments on his free time, including flattop mandolins.

Rick ran a shop in Vancouver, Canada, and in Maryland, but in the mid-1970s he moved to Watauga County, near where his parents had already returned. Rick has continued to build many instruments out of his home in the Aho community, including a four-string mandolin-like instrument of his own creation that he named for hi neighborhood. The instrument takes on a number of shapes, including the one seen here. The dulcimer also includes a number of Rick’s designs, including an innovative free-standing fingerboard, or staff, that is not connected to the tail piece, increasing the instrument’s vibration and projection.

For information about getting in touch with Rick, please contact
Watauga Arts Council Folklorist, Mark Freed.