NBD: New Bouzouki Day

[rustydusty]

I ordered an Irish Bouzouki from Romania that arrived in only 11 days! Fit and finish are pretty good, could use some “set up” , which will be easy as it has a “floating bridge”. Solid spruce top, maple sides, and solid maple back and neck. Fretboard is acacia. Sounds really good, with a kinda banjo ring to it. I have tuned it GDAE as I like the chord shapes better than the more traditional Irish tuning of GDAD. Going to be a challenge and fun to learn a new set of chords…

 

[TimWilson]

New Bouzouki Day, which IS a Big Deal, rather than the "no big deal" that I'd been assuming.

And what a gorgeous instrument! Would love to hear you play it when you get a chance!

 

[roastbeast]

Looks sick! Hope you post a vid.

 

[don_b]

Damn that baby is HOT

 

[Canada Jim]

Very cool. I see you have unison courses rather than octaves on the 3rd and 4th courses.

In the mid-nineties I was playing a lot of Irish music and had a desire to use my mandolin chops on a lower pitched instrument. I saw a bouzouki advertised in Greek Town in Toronto, so Maggie and I drove down and knocked on the door of the apartment. The seller was an older Greek gent who lived there with his father. They made us a cup of coffee and we sat around playing the bouzouki. I was all ready to give him the $250 he was asking when Maggie said, "Let's think about it a bit." We went for a walk and she pointed out the poor quality of the instrument and its sloppy repairs, so I headed home very disappointed.
For my next birthday Maggie gave me an octave mandolin. She had it delivered to the school where she taught and had already broken a string before my birthday. It's not a high end instrument, but I love it. When I realised that those chop chords like the 7523 G chord that are quite playable on the standard mandolin become quite impossible on an octave mandolin, I started tuning it bouzouki style GDAD.
Thanks Maggie, for talking me out of an inferior instrument and for getting me my OM.

 

[rustydusty]

Unison tuning on the lower courses is supposedly “Irish” style, with the octave tuning “Greek”. I’ve seen both on Irish Bouzoukis so who knows. Personally, I would prefer octave tuning…
I can always change it when I next install new strings.

 

[Canada Jim]

I have one of my mandolins tuned with octaves on the 3rd and 4th courses, the way some of the old jug band mandolin players did. Here's my mando family.

 

[Nickie]

Congrats on your new bouzouki! It looks pretty.

 

[rustydusty]

Thank you. It’s a blast to play and stays in tune remarkably well. I always tune my instruments right before I play and the bouzouki is rarely a little out on a string or two…