Re: Buying a bouzouki in Ireland - advice
Originally Posted by
Dagger Gordon
You will see that this Trinity College instrument has a very long neck, and there is is a lot of grey area between whether an instrument is a bouzouki, an octave mandolin, a mandola or a cittern.
Personally I don't like too long a neck, and I would tend towards an instrument more often described as an octave mandolin.
Aren't they all the same? A bouzouki is THE standard instrument, and some people will call anything a variation of the same. All others then become short scale bouzouki, shorter scale bouzouki, pocket or backpack bouzouki, ten string bouzouki, guitar-bodied six string bouzouki, and my current instrument which is a mouth-blown stringless bouzouki, called by the uninitiated a clarinet.
Ok forgive my tongue-in-cheek ramblings there; personally what I'd do is, while over in Ireland, play as many as you can and get a feel for the instrument you want. Talk to the local musicians, listen to the sounds, and decide on your favourite.
THEN on your return home, see what's for sale on eBay or other music websites, and pay for the international postage. At present on eBay uk there are some lovely instruments well worth a bid: a Fylde Octavious, which I love for the deep warm sound; a Paul Hathway tenor mandola and even a hand-made mandola / bouzouki for £350 GBP. I have recently posted instruments to Russia and Sweden so international posting is no problem
"Danger! Do Not Touch!" must be one of the scariest things to read in Braille....
Bookmarks