I am in Eastern Canada and have played Long Scaled Irish Bouzouki (Peter Abnett) for many years. About 90% of what I do...is Irish Trad tunes and songs. Im a GDAD guy, which is great for the modal quality, accompaniment and counterpoint playing. I play in a small local session with 5 or 6 other musicians. The tuning and scale length are a bit of an issue for melody playing...but...i get by The Abnett is a "Cannon", of an instrument. I have had a many different OM's and Zouks over the years...but this one is one that I will never part with. I have my eye on a Greek Trichordo(3 course instead of 4) for playing Irish music cuz I love the jangly tone....and would love to learn to play in the Style of the great "A.F." (now I wonder who that could be.....). Well....I've said enough. So...jump right in..with the 5 W's Who(are U),What(Do U play... for a Zouk),Where(in the world are you....roughly),When(did you start playing) and Why(Do you Love the Bouzouki....as much as me!!) Lets see if this group will Fly.....or Die.... Slainte Dale
I live in Stanley, Victoria in Australia. Well, I play a Paddy Burgin bouzouki (scale length 23") and a Joe Gallacher octave mandolin (also doubles up as an Irish bouzouki - it has a pin bridge - scale length 22.75"). Both lovely instruments. I play balkan and celtic music on them, right up the neck. I prefer not to capo except for some Irish tunes. I play in lots of different keys and modes and rhythms. I also play mandolin. At the moment I have put these to one side to get my mandolin picking up to scratch.
Welcome NG53.. Paddy Burgins instruments look quite nice. I used to correspond with the guy who first commissioned Paddy to build his "Shanghai" Zouk (Kireon Seamons). I am not familiar with Gallacher instruments..but would love to try a "pin bridge " OM or zouk someday. I imagine they might resonate a bit better. My Abnett scale length is quite long at near 26 and is a bit more difficult to try melody on....so.....I too.... resort back to my mando (Davy Stuart) to keep up my "chops", on melody playing.. . ...Cheers BB
BTW I did have an Abnett bouzouki made for me. I found it to be quite a heavy instrument. For some reason the fingerboard was difficult to play and the instrument did not speak to me. My Gallacher bouzouki is light and balanced and much easier to play. I also feel its tone is well balanced across the strings. Refer to my recording. Cheers Nic
Interesting group with possibilities, this! Attached is a link from my YouTube page where you can see and hear my own-build bouzouki. I tune GDAE and play both Scottish and Irish tunes. The bouzouki with its greater sustain is especially good for slow airs, I feel. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4P9Qi...yer_detailpage
Hello John..and welcome to our little(so far) group. As you can see we are just starting out, and hope to have some interesting topics of conversation, exchange ideas, videos ..etc. Just viewed your you tube...and am "duly impressed " your build, and your playing on that tune. Beautiful instrument...great tone and volume to it. Be sure to check out our other member(NG53)'s video of his, unique instrument in one of his posts. I will make an effort ...to put up a short video of myself (on the Abnett zouk)some time in the next week or so. Cheers..Dale
I think that this group has some definite possibilities. I was getting a bit tired of the CBOM discussions going around in circles discussing the merits of different bouzouki makers but I never heard a decent rendition of any of the instruments being discussed. I am interested in hearing a Crump being played well by someone - so any Crump owners want to post a recording, we will be very interested. So come on board and join us!
I love zouks, om's, citterns and all things in between. My current instruments are a Dio Dinos (flatback) tetrachordo with unison pairs, a Crump C-III cittern, A Beard OM, an Ovation doubleneck with the top 12-string set up as 10-string cittern (octave pairs on the bass courses), and a Graham McDonald guitar-bodied archtop/archback bouzouki. I think I know where you got that Abnett? There's a beauty Fletcher Brock Cittern in the classifieds, btw...
Hi Eddie..great to have you aboard. We are just getting this group started up, and it's nice to have such an active member of the Cafe (and Zouk,OM lover), as yourself to join us. I actually got my Abnett directly from Peter as I commissioned him to build it....BUT....one of my session buddies and a good friend (goes by Bannon), has bought/traded a few instruments from you in the past. Does a trade of a Greek zouk for a Vega cylinder back...ring a bell?? He also has an Abnett bouzouki, which I suspect he purchased off of you. Wow...small world...eh? He is a collector(and great player... of all these wonderful toys (Sobells,Trillium,Foley,Abnett,Forester..and the list goes on..) I have enjoyed many of your vids on youtube in the past, and look forward to watching many more along with some healthy discussions via this group!! Slainte Dale
Ah-ha! I thought you were Bannon... Yes, he got his Abnett from me and the Greek Zouk...
Hello, all. I thought I would take a moment to introduce myself, per the 5 Ws at the beginning of the thread. Name is Jim, from Princeton, NJ. I just bought a bouzouki while in Donegal a few weeks back, so will likely do far more absorbing of info than having much to offer at the outset. I have been playing guitar for some time (mostly folk and rock), but something about the 'zouk seems to have gotten me fired up. I just sat in on my first seisiun on Sunday, and am busy trying to absorb Irish traditional music as fast as I can. I hope I am not too much of a pain :-)
Hi JGR, Welcome to the group. If you are starting out on bouzouki, I can highly recommend Zan McClouds Irish Bouzouki instructional DVD available on Homespun Tapes. The Irish Bouzouki is made for modal music. The other Book and CD is Mel Bays Chris Smith's Celtic Accompaniment. This book has some good features but it is a bit dense and the exercises sometimes do not go anywhere much. Cheers Nic
Hi JGR Welome to the group and the "addiction"! Please.... tell us a bit about your New bouzouki and what tunings you are looking at. Please feel free to ask any of us ...any questions, as we are a small(but growing every day) friendly group, with the same interests in instruments and the music Slainte Dale
Hello Nic and Dale, and thanks for the warm welcome. I picked up a decent (read: inexpensive and decent sounding) Richwood (generic, mass-produced thing no doubt) that I already know I will replace. I noticed the postings on other luthiers pieces and would like to hear more opinions in that regard. I have begun playing with a GDAD tuning for starters, as it seems reasonably prevalent in the Irish traditional music I am trying thus far. As far as instruction goes, I appreciate the Zan McLeod recco. To be honest, the promo on the internet I found for it looked, shall we say, somewhat cheesy. I found a basic course online at oaim.ie (Online Academy of Irish Music), which is a decent start. I am also devouring as many other websites I can for tablature (mostly modify mandolin tabs) and playing and experimenting. At the same time, I am trying to absorb as much traditional music as I can, while still sprinkling in some of the other music I like. I did an adaptation of an Arctic Monkeys song the other day, which wound up being rather fun, if a bit odd. Thanks again for the welcome. Best, Jim
Hey, some of you know me from the song a week group, but for those of you who don't, my name is Kyle Baker. I live in eastern Ontario Canada, and have been playing the Irish bouzouki for the past 4 years. I started on a trinity college that my wife bought me for my birthday, and for the last couple years have been enjoying my Jack Spira bouzouki. It was built for me, and is just what I wanted. Blackwood back and sides, Sitka top, ebony fingerboard, and the scottish rampant lion inlayed in the fingerboard. Very happy to see a Irish bouzouki players group on here. Cheers!
Hi Kyle, My Gallacher bouzouki is related to yours in that Joe Gallacher got the designs from Jack Spira and then modified them slightly to suit his style of building a bouzouki. He is also great friend of Jack and I also know Jack Spira personally. I met Jack in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales ~15-17 years ago when he was starting out his luthiery in a place called Hartley, just of the Blue Mountains. Cheers Nic
Welcome belatedly, JGR. Kyle that is one lovely instrument you have there. As a Scot i really love the lion rampant inlay and the rosette is rather tasty too.
Hello to a fellow Canadian..Kyle. I had no idea that the Spira Zouks...were that beautiful. I am sure that it sounds , as good as it looks. Looking forward to a sample clip from you , in the near future. I see you are quite active on "the cafe" and we are all happy to have you join our band of Bouzouki Players....I have a short sample and video description of my Abnett zouk..take a look when you get a moment.. Cheers Dale
Hi - I'm Steve. Been playing mando in NE England for 40 years and got an OM (Celtic Star) a few years ago. I love the ringing sound, but have not played it much. I need inspiration and perhaps a little help with tuning - which is why I have joined the group. My OM is currently tuned GDAE, but I'd like to have a go at GDAD but not sure where to start.
Steve, get yourself Zan McCloud's Bouzouki DVD - he has some great instruction on GDAD tunes. Also check out our own Videos And Sound Files Vault - most of the renditions are on zouks tuned GGDDAADD.
Hey Steve! Give GDAD a whirl, you'll love it Cheers
Better late than never, I say:-) I bought a Flatiron OM/zouk in 1994 as I was having some serious hand problems from guitar playing. Took to it like a duck to water. Sold it in 2006 to help pay for my Foley (a long-scale big bodied yoke). In addition to the Foley I also have a smaller-bodied bouzouki with a 24" scale length and that's the one I take to any sesh I go to (there's a couple of big dings in the Foley from gob####es clattering around in the session circle). They're both in GDAD tuning and I back tunes, and myself singing, with them. I hang my hat in Newtown, Pa (near Philadelphia) these days and play and sing Irish music and Americana (anything from Stephen Foster to Steve Earle). Sin e. Paul Anderson
Southpaw, Paul?
Eddie, Being a ciotog is the only impediment to my buying that McDonald bouzouki you're flogging. Yes, I'm hopelessly left-handed, despite the tender ministrations of the Christian Brothers and their enlightened ways. Happy New Year to you and yours. As John Lennon was wont to say, "Let's hope it's a good one". Paul Anderson
Spyder here. OK, maybe I'm cheating a bit, but here goes... A real bouzouki is on my wish list. For now, I've got an Applause (cheap Ovation) 12-string tuned ADAD -- I removed the top and bottom courses. I had previously removed the two lower courses, which made it easier to play, but I thought this way the tension on the top might be more even and therefore stable. I've got some actual bouzouki strings on order, to see if it makes any difference. Anyway, I love the sound of it. Lots of good drone with the ADAD. I'm afraid what I play doesn't fir into any neat category. My wife and I play all original Native American folk music, sung in Cherokee. We've been wanting to expand our sound possibilities beyond just drum and percussion, so the last couple of CD's we've started to add guitar, bass and strumstick -- I just converted the old 12-string over to ersatz zouk, and even more recently bought a mandolin (standard Mando tuning). Anyway, thought I could learn a thing or two on this forum while I save up for an entry-level zouk.
Spyder here. OK, maybe I'm cheating a bit, but here goes... A real bouzouki is on my wish list. For now, I've got an Applause (cheap Ovation) 12-string tuned ADAD -- I removed the top and bottom courses. I had previously removed the two lower courses, which made it easier to play, but I thought this way the tension on the top might be more even and therefore stable. I've got some actual bouzouki strings on order, to see if it makes any difference. Anyway, I love the sound of it. Lots of good drone with the ADAD. I'm afraid what I play doesn't fit into any neat category. My wife and I play all original Native American folk music, sung in Cherokee. We've been wanting to expand our sound possibilities beyond just drum and percussion, so the last couple of CD's we've started to add guitar, bass and strumstick -- I just converted the old 12-string over to ersatz zouk, and even more recently bought a mandolin (standard Mando tuning). Anyway, thought I could learn a thing or two on this forum while I save up for an entry-level zouk.
Whoops! Sorry about the double post. i was trying to fix a typo... my bad...
Hi everyone, My name is Tom and I'm in the Chicago area. I have a Petersen level 2 bouzouki strung GDAE with octaves for the G&D. I originally got it due to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4f7voIo-XU&fmt=18 I've written a handful of songs for my band on the Irish Bouzouki. I'm enjoying it more and more. Sometime, I would like to get another IB with a bit more body and punch. The Petersen is great but quite delicate in sound and build. I have to be extra careful at shows with it. I've played guitar for 40+ years and have started to branch out into anything else I can get my hands on. Banjo, bouzouki, mandola, mandolin. My next goal is to get better at violin. That's one that simply hasn't worked out so well. Now, if they had just put frets on it...
Hi Tom.Welcome to the IB group. For a more robust sound, and certainly a more robust instrument, you might consider a CRUMP Cittern - 10-string. Can be used in a variety of tunings - CGDAE (to cover mandocello through Octave Mandolin), DGDAD - full-range bouzouki (with optional octave strings on the DGD lower courses, etc.
Hi Ed, I saw that you have a Crump cittern for sale. I have been interested in one for about a year, but haven't got to the point of making a purchase. If you don't mind me asking, why are you parting with it?
I got it to cover Mandocello and Octave mandolin in the L.A. Mandolin Orchestra. However we have shrunk in size and now I'm needed on mandola and mandolin. That and the tax-man...
My name is Tom. I live in the Atlanta, GA area. One of my music activities is playing guitar and occasional mandolin for folk type dances known as the Dances of Universal Peace. I saw a film last year of the head of the organization playing a Greek style bouzouki at a large dance in India. The tone and volume were perfect for this, so I set out to buy one. Long story short, I decided to build a long scale Irish bouzouki after finding only shorter scales than I wanted. I recently posted a thread for bouzoukis in progress which you may have seen. Looks like it will be completed in about two months. Meanwhile, I wound up with two Greek bouzoukis, one of which is a very nice one but the top is caving in. The other appears on a video posted in the thread titled Jacobson Mandolin #16. This was the first time I've played it with other instruments and the first time to explore DGAD tuning. Actually, I tuned it down a whole step, then capoed up to where I needed it. The modal tune is in Bb, so I capoed to the third fret and played an A modal form. Don't know if any of this is traditional. I do need to review it because it muddied the sound when the guitar was played on another tune. I guess I'm now officially a bouzouki player. Glad to find others interested in long scale bouzoukis.
Hi guys, my name is Garry. ive been playing 5 string banjo for a couple years but recently focusing on mandolin and bouzouki. I don't have any lovely hand made instruments but hope to upgrade soon. at the moment I play an Ozark 2243 celtic zouk. the first time I saw Andy Irvine I was converted!! I played gdae for a while but I definitely prefer gdad as I mostly play chords and simple pickinh technique. I have considered buying an APC 851, if anybody has experience of them caould they give me some help. its strange though I don't know anybody else that even knows what a zouk is, let alone play one! im considering ordering a Davy Stuart this summer. fingers crossed!!
Hey Garry! Welcome aboard. I've not been on this group in a long time as family life has made me fall off the map, but I see you're the first recent post in ages! Good luck on the mandolin and zouk, Andy Irvine has a way of converting people to the zouk world.
After playing guitar and banjo for 15 years I was also pulled into the world of Planxty and Andy Irvine. Going to see him in June! Saw him 2 nights in a row in 2012. One of the highlights of my life. I play a Big Muddy M11-W and a Gold Tone Octave Mandolin tuned GDAD. My dream is to have a Davy Stuart Bassouki. Should be able to place my order sometime this year. I've been stuck in a rut for quite a while now and still can't decide what tuning I should stick with. In my neck of the woods playing this music can be a lonely experience. No other musicians to socialize with around here.
Hi to Japhy and Garry: Good to see a few new faces around here. Posts (on my part) have been few and far between ...as work has been crazy. Excuses...excuses...I know!! Anyway welcome aboard...I hope to get to more regular posting..this spring and summer...Cheers Dale
Hello, I'm Connie. I took delivery several days ago of a Trinity College bouzouki. My first instrument was/is mountain dulcimer, second mando, and yes, I've a bit of MIAS going on. (Hopefully the 'zouk will alleviate that for a time.) Getting myself adjusted to the fingering and the different sound of octave courses as opposed to unison.
Hello, my name is Gerard. I play a trinity college bouzouki. I had already played mandolin for several years and always wanted something bigger. I hope to upgrade soon but am awaiting the build of a new mandolin. I listen and try to play some Planxty tunes as well as some tunes by Andy Irvine. I play mostly out of gdad and occasionally play around with ddad. Hope to learn somethings here with some fellow bouzouki players. Glad to know ya!
