Hey guys,
I'm looking to start playing bouzouki, but first, I need one. What would be a good beginner's model? I'd like to get a decent quality instrument, but not one that insanely expensive ...any suggestions?
Thanks,
---Corey
What price range did you have in mind Corey? There are many budget conscience choices out there but you would be wise to avoid some.
Many recommend the Trinity College TM-375, for about $450 - $500 USD, as a decent starter instrument. You might want to replace the octave strings with unison strings if you plan on using a capo and playing up the neck. The tail piece on TCs are really cheap, stamped tin that usually breaks, so replacing that is a good idea.
My experience is NOT that "they usually break". They are just inexpensive tailpieces. Trinity College instruments are great for the price. If you decide to stick with it and want better tone, a new bridge and heavier tailpiece will make a notable improvement for a relatively small cost. I've found that the Red Henry bridges make great replacements.
Hey, Craymcla, that's my tune you're playing there !
Yes, a heavier tailpiece and a Red Henry-pattern bridge will boost volume and tone; there's a very good company in the US that makes cast bronze ( I think ) tailpieces. I got my replacement from one of these Far-East companies, heavy brass with mother-of-pearl inlay - tasty ! My 'zouk is now so loud my daughter won't stay in the room as I practice -was that why she moved out ?
Jimtowat - it is NOT true you need to replace octaves with unison if you plan playing up the neck - this is a fallacy that has not been corrected since the bad old days of unbalanced 12-string sets for guitars. I use both a capo regularly on my octave-strung 'zouk, which is badged "Ozark" which is what they call them in the UK, a TC by any other name, you figure it out, and I have no serious problems with intonation and tuning on the bass pairs of strings, either high-capo'd or playing chords involving open strings and high-fretted strings; eg 11, 0, 0, 10 is a nice D chord on GDae tuning. Sounds great, not out of tune.
PS OM same as 'zouk, TC is a good starter.
I don't think there is really such a thing as a beginner instrument. There are more expensive ones and cheaper ones--factory produced and luthier built--quality materials and cheaper materials--etc. etc.. The issue should be what do you want to spend or can spend, how long do you want to wait, and what you are willing to trade off in terms of quality, playability, etc.
Better instruments are usually easier to play and sound better, so you will probably enjoy playing them more. Some Trinity College instruments sound fine, many probably will need some set up work to get them more playable. Same is true for the Romanian (Hora) instruments, and some of the other cheapies. If that is all you can afford, then go for a Trinity College and plan on possibly having to spend a bit more for set up.
But, if you can afford it, why not get a decent quality luthier made instrument? Not only will you probably like it better, but it will tend to hold its value, and could actually go up in value.
And luthiers all stand behind their instruments if you have a problem with it. If you can wait, you can order one from Davy Stuart in New Zealand who makes a great instrument at an incredibly reasonable price. A bouzouki from Bill Petersen in Omaha runs around $1,000--Elderly Instruments has a couple of his bouzoukis in stock right now starting at $950. Herb Taylor in Colorado builds great instruments but is more expensive. Joe Foley in Dublin is a fantastic builder, and his waiting period is about 1 year. I have seen many of Joe's instruments and all are very nice. Graham McDonald in Australia is another good luthier. A little know, but excellent builder is Tony Sutherland in New Mexico.
There a lot of other fine builders out there. You can find a list of luthiers at http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/bouzouki/. This is probably a bit out of date, but a good place to start.
Check the ads at the Mandolin Cafe. There are some instruments there right now both 4 and 5 course. Yahoo groups has both a cittern list and an Irish bouzouki list where you can contact folks who may have instruments for sale.
PS My late Father-in-law always used to say "What this country needs is a good 10-cent cigar." ie you basically get what you pay for, and you can't compromise price and quality.
If you know and name your intended budget we can give further advice.
I know a couple of people who bought Trinity College instruments in recent years, and were very happy with them.
For a collection of information that folks taught me when I was learning to accompany this music, click on my user name and read the article in my profile--I am a guitarist myself, but much of the information is applicable to the bouzouki as well.
I'm getting a Trobadour Lionheart soon for only £140 I'll be sure to tell you all how it plays. The 'zouks and octave/tenor mandos from troubadour seem to be pretty good for the money, solid wood etc. Does anyone have any experience with them?
They are made by http://hora.ro/
The bouzouki is more or less playable. It has a truss rod that came extremely tight on mine, so the neck was bowed backwards. It had a zero fret way too high and a very cheap tailpiece. The bridge is not great, either. The strings that came with mine were useless. All these things are easy to fix if you have the right tools, and then it will become an acceptable instrument.
Oh, one other thing: the body is small, so you don't get a lot of volume.
A friend of mine got one, and that was my opinion too.
I believe the body size is the same as used for the mandola in the range - it really needs a larger body.
Also, if you buy the model with the pickup, the pickup is integral to the bridge, so you can't really replace the bridge with a better one.
Thanks for all the info guys, you've been very helpful. I'm looking to sell a few instrument (an accordion, and a cajon), which should total about $900? So that would be my budget for the bouzouki.
John, I was looking at Davy Stuart bouzoukis, and they're certainly beautiful instruments, but I think they're just a tad out of my price range. Depending on what model of his you guys would recommend, I could hopefully scrape together a little more?
Beginner Bouzouki
Beginner Bouzouki
Hey guys,
I'm looking to start playing bouzouki, but first, I need one. What would be a good beginner's model? I'd like to get a decent quality instrument, but not one that insanely expensive ...any suggestions?
Thanks,
---Corey
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by vacoreye
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
What price range did you have in mind Corey? There are many budget conscience choices out there but you would be wise to avoid some.
Many recommend the Trinity College TM-375, for about $450 - $500 USD, as a decent starter instrument. You might want to replace the octave strings with unison strings if you plan on using a capo and playing up the neck. The tail piece on TCs are really cheap, stamped tin that usually breaks, so replacing that is a good idea.
Good Luck!
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by jimtowat
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
My experience is NOT that "they usually break". They are just inexpensive tailpieces. Trinity College instruments are great for the price. If you decide to stick with it and want better tone, a new bridge and heavier tailpiece will make a notable improvement for a relatively small cost. I've found that the Red Henry bridges make great replacements.
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by Craymcla
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
not trying to steal your thread, but any tips for a beginner OM?
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by steve...r
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
Hey, Craymcla, that's my tune you're playing there !
Yes, a heavier tailpiece and a Red Henry-pattern bridge will boost volume and tone; there's a very good company in the US that makes cast bronze ( I think ) tailpieces. I got my replacement from one of these Far-East companies, heavy brass with mother-of-pearl inlay - tasty ! My 'zouk is now so loud my daughter won't stay in the room as I practice -was that why she moved out ?
Jimtowat - it is NOT true you need to replace octaves with unison if you plan playing up the neck - this is a fallacy that has not been corrected since the bad old days of unbalanced 12-string sets for guitars. I use both a capo regularly on my octave-strung 'zouk, which is badged "Ozark" which is what they call them in the UK, a TC by any other name, you figure it out, and I have no serious problems with intonation and tuning on the bass pairs of strings, either high-capo'd or playing chords involving open strings and high-fretted strings; eg 11, 0, 0, 10 is a nice D chord on GDae tuning. Sounds great, not out of tune.
PS OM same as 'zouk, TC is a good starter.
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
I'm very happy with my Allen TR-3 tailpiece:
http://www.allenguitar.com/tpcs.htm
But $75 is about the 15 percent of the price of a TC.
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by Ramiro
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
I don't think there is really such a thing as a beginner instrument. There are more expensive ones and cheaper ones--factory produced and luthier built--quality materials and cheaper materials--etc. etc.. The issue should be what do you want to spend or can spend, how long do you want to wait, and what you are willing to trade off in terms of quality, playability, etc.
Better instruments are usually easier to play and sound better, so you will probably enjoy playing them more. Some Trinity College instruments sound fine, many probably will need some set up work to get them more playable. Same is true for the Romanian (Hora) instruments, and some of the other cheapies. If that is all you can afford, then go for a Trinity College and plan on possibly having to spend a bit more for set up.
But, if you can afford it, why not get a decent quality luthier made instrument? Not only will you probably like it better, but it will tend to hold its value, and could actually go up in value.
And luthiers all stand behind their instruments if you have a problem with it. If you can wait, you can order one from Davy Stuart in New Zealand who makes a great instrument at an incredibly reasonable price. A bouzouki from Bill Petersen in Omaha runs around $1,000--Elderly Instruments has a couple of his bouzoukis in stock right now starting at $950. Herb Taylor in Colorado builds great instruments but is more expensive. Joe Foley in Dublin is a fantastic builder, and his waiting period is about 1 year. I have seen many of Joe's instruments and all are very nice. Graham McDonald in Australia is another good luthier. A little know, but excellent builder is Tony Sutherland in New Mexico.
There a lot of other fine builders out there. You can find a list of luthiers at http://www.xs4all.nl/~hspeek/bouzouki/. This is probably a bit out of date, but a good place to start.
Check the ads at the Mandolin Cafe. There are some instruments there right now both 4 and 5 course. Yahoo groups has both a cittern list and an Irish bouzouki list where you can contact folks who may have instruments for sale.
John
# Posted on November 8th 2009 by John Conoboy
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
PS My late Father-in-law always used to say "What this country needs is a good 10-cent cigar." ie you basically get what you pay for, and you can't compromise price and quality.
If you know and name your intended budget we can give further advice.
# Posted on November 9th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
I know a couple of people who bought Trinity College instruments in recent years, and were very happy with them.
For a collection of information that folks taught me when I was learning to accompany this music, click on my user name and read the article in my profile--I am a guitarist myself, but much of the information is applicable to the bouzouki as well.
# Posted on November 10th 2009 by AlBrown
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
I'm getting a Trobadour Lionheart soon for only £140 I'll be sure to tell you all how it plays. The 'zouks and octave/tenor mandos from troubadour seem to be pretty good for the money, solid wood etc. Does anyone have any experience with them?
http://www.troubadour.uk.com/?page_id=12
# Posted on November 11th 2009 by Alasdair Paul
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
They are made by http://hora.ro/
The bouzouki is more or less playable. It has a truss rod that came extremely tight on mine, so the neck was bowed backwards. It had a zero fret way too high and a very cheap tailpiece. The bridge is not great, either. The strings that came with mine were useless. All these things are easy to fix if you have the right tools, and then it will become an acceptable instrument.
Oh, one other thing: the body is small, so you don't get a lot of volume.
# Posted on November 11th 2009 by Ramiro
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
A friend of mine got one, and that was my opinion too.
I believe the body size is the same as used for the mandola in the range - it really needs a larger body.
Also, if you buy the model with the pickup, the pickup is integral to the bridge, so you can't really replace the bridge with a better one.
# Posted on November 11th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
Thanks for all the info guys, you've been very helpful. I'm looking to sell a few instrument (an accordion, and a cajon), which should total about $900? So that would be my budget for the bouzouki.
John, I was looking at Davy Stuart bouzoukis, and they're certainly beautiful instruments, but I think they're just a tad out of my price range. Depending on what model of his you guys would recommend, I could hopefully scrape together a little more?
Thanks for all the help,
---Corey
# Posted on November 12th 2009 by vacoreye
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
http://christian-deloraine.blogspot.com/
hello everybodi i'm bouzouki maker
nougatown
# Posted on November 16th 2009 by nougatown
Re: Beginner Bouzouki
I'd say order a Davy Stuart and save up while he makes it....
top quality custom instrument.
go with the ZX8 for a standard bouzouki. rosewood back is an upgrade....same with a pickup.
# Posted on November 19th 2009 by tradmanpicks