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Post by Danny on Feb 2, 2008 18:36:45 GMT
Just to get things kicked off in this section a bit, I've been thinking of getting a bazouki, does anyone here have one at all?
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Isis
New Member
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Post by Isis on Feb 7, 2008 0:16:42 GMT
OK, nerdy moment, the instrument is a bouzouki. The original was a Greek instrument with three pairs of strings tuned DAD and had a bowl shaped back. An Irish folk musician called Johnny Moynihan got hold of one (can't remember if he was on holiday in Greece or one of his mates) and got a luthier to make something similar but with four courses and a flat back. So, the Irish/Celtic bouzouki is quite a young instrument really. Tune it how you will. Mine is GDAD (similar to a mandolin but an octave lower). It can have octave stringing in the two lower courses or with identical pairs. The former is OK for accompaniment and gives a bright ringing sound similar to a 12 string guitar but if you want to play tunes (and tunes can be a bit of a stretch because of the scale length), then it is better to have identical pairs. Expect to pay at least about £800 for a decent one, although they can be got for from between £100 - £200 and more like £2500 for a really good one. I used to have a Fylde Octavious but now I have one hand made by Richard Osborne www.osborneguitars.co.uk/pages/bouzoukis_osborneguitars.html |
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Post by Danny on Feb 7, 2008 8:52:47 GMT
That's fantastic,
When did Johhny Moynihan invent the modern bazouki then?
By the way, shouldn't that have been GDAE???
In unrelated news, when my new guitar arrives, I'm thinking of stringing my old one up in nashville tuning (just using the octave strings from a twelve string set) It has a really sweet sound
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Post by Danny on Feb 7, 2008 8:59:44 GMT
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Post by TomsDadJet on Feb 7, 2008 12:55:41 GMT
It does look a bit like the result of leaving a mandolin and a tenor banjo unsupervised! Either that or the long-term result of using a wall hanger rather than a stand.
Iain
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Isis
New Member
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Post by Isis on Feb 7, 2008 17:11:17 GMT
No! Don't do it. Get an acoustic jobby and fit it with an undersaddle pickup. You can play it loud and also take it to sessions, something that would be a bit more tricky with the Ozark. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bouzouki will give you a history and dates. My bouzouki is tuned GDAD and not GDAE. It makes it easy to play accompaniment in D, G, Em, Bm and A (which are the most common keys in folk) and for anything else, well there is a capo. For beginners, one finger for D and G, two for C, three for Bm, Em and A. These two bouzoukis would probably be good starters and with a fitted pickup and pre-amp come out the same as the Ozark. As I said, you could use these on stage or in sessions and clubs, the Ozark would really only suit the stage. Ashbury AM-375 Irish Bouzouki. Solid spruce top, maple body, rosewood fingerboard, gloss finish. Price: £ 249.00 From Hobgoblin. Tonewood WCBZ Bouzouki Solid Spruce top, laminate mahogany back and sides, Mahogany neck, Individual enclosed die-cast machines, Pressed tail piece, Floating bridge,. Comes fitted with Octave strings as standard, can be changed to Unison strings on request. Price £241.78 from the Music Room. |
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Post by Danny on Feb 7, 2008 18:12:07 GMT
Isis, I agree the electrics are COMPLETELY useless, I just think it looks GREAT :-)
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Post by jonfreeman on Jan 13, 2009 7:18:51 GMT
I've been thinking of getting a bazouki, does anyone here have one at all? I considered an "Irish bozouki" (see another post for the history) but decided on an octave mandolin/mandola instead. My reasoning is that I'm mostly a GDAE melody player and I find the longer scale length of the bozouki quite a stretch and hard work. I think the bozouki tends to become the better option for those considering more open tunings such as GDAD or ADAD and are likely to base their playing more around chords. |
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Post by tylercornett86 on Jan 19, 2009 9:03:10 GMT
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