Re: Advice about Bouzoukis' prices and value.
Here in the US the default entry level bouzouki is the Trinity College. It’s made in China, has all solid woods, maple and spruce, and is a pretty good deal for around $800 US. Most dealers who sell it will include set up. But this model may not be available to you in your local area. Which I assume is Europe? Based on what others have said here through the years, I don’t think that anything you order from Thomann will be set up. And I think that bouzouki is built for them by Hora of Romania, and those always need work to get them to play correctly. The Carvhalo instruments from Moloney are made in Portugal, and they get pretty high marks here for quality and value. I believe Moloney would set them up too. So that might be your best bet without spending a fortune. Have you ever considered an octave mandolin? They can function as a shorter scale, easier to play bouzouki. To get it to sound like a bouzouki you have to change out a couple of strings on the G and D courses. The clear winner for quality and value in this category is the Eastman MDO305 at 699 USD. Good luck.
Don
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