Our Story

We were somewhere in the Smokies — four kids, one popup camper, and no particular plan — when we wandered into Mike Clemmer's Wood-N-Strings dulcimer shop in Townsend, Tennessee. One of the folks there sat my son down and gave him an impromptu lesson on a mountain lap dulcimer. Watching him pull real music out of a few strings, minutes after picking it up, something clicked for all of us.

Building that first instrument lit a bigger idea. I wanted to get more instruments into more hands and spread the simple joy of making music — not just for people who already play, but for anyone willing to try.

The dulcimer guitar turned out to be the perfect on-ramp. It's diatonic and forgiving — you really can't play a wrong note — and it's genuinely fun from the very first strum. My challenge was to design and build one that was affordable enough, and travel-ready enough, that anyone could own one and actually learn to play.

That became the Boondocker. The name comes from “boondocking” — dry-camping off the grid in the RV, far from the nearest hookup. Our instruments are built the same way: compact, tough, and made to go wherever you go. They all fit the same gig bag, so they're just as at home on a trail or a porch as they are in the living room.

Getting an instrument into your hands is only half of it — I want you to play it. That's why we partnered with Inglewood Instruments, whose deep catalog of online video lessons takes you from your very first note to real songs at your own pace. We also build a custom Celtic model for Inglewood, engraved with traditional knotwork.