The same high standards and professional appearance of Mr. Foye's Spanish classical guitars have been carried on in his work with the fretted dulcimer.  The fretboards are straight and the fret spacings are accurate and properly dressed; only close grained ebony fretboards are used, making for long wear, stability and smooth playing conditions.  The instrument is light but sturdy in its construction.  The interior, "skeletal" work, (its linings, braces, end blocks, etc.) are expertly selected, glued, and carved to address the fine line between strength and acoustic flexibility.  Every detail, from the selection of soundboards to the cutting of nuts and saddles, mirrors a sense of balance, thoroughness of execution, and a constant mindfulness of players needs.  These instruments sing and are a pleasure to play, providing many years of musical enjoyment.
    All models can be set up with string combinations up to six gears, with any custom nut and saddle layout.  Three or four tuning gears are included with the base price of each model, extra gears are available at additional cost.  Standard Aeolus dulcimers include a 6 1/2 and 13 1/2 fret; custom fret placements and chromatic bass dulcimers can be special ordered.   The Models A-40 and A-50 are essentially the same version featuring our highest-grade tonewoods.  Rosewoods, maples, curly cherry, Koa wood, and various spruces have all graced the laps of over a hundred Aeolus dulcimer owners.
   Because properly aged wood is essential to good tone production, all the woods used are personally selected by Mr. Foye and have been aged a minimum of five years with some species dating back decades.  For soundboards we use Sitka spruce, western red or yellow cedar, and Pacific coast redwood. We have used many species for the back and sides depending upon the type of sound and appearance our customers are looking for.  We have good stock in birdseye maple, Honduras mahogany, Honduras rosewood, East Indian rosewood, Koa walnut, flamed maple, and, on rare occasions, Brazilian rosewood.
   All our fretboards are ebony aged 20+ years.  The color ranges from jet black to boards with some brown or gray streaking,  We grade all our woods, according to model number, but grading can be tricky, as it is cosmetic in some cases and subject to availability in others.  Mr. Foye makes all of his instruments with great care, regardless of the price!