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#4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
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Author:  Doug Balzer [ Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:28 pm ]
Post subject:  #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
So I just strung up #4 this weekend - an Irish Bouzouki inspired by a similar instrument owned by a friend and made by Alberta luthier, Will Hamm. Specs on this one: Wenge B/S; lutz spruce top; lacewood bindings, rosette, headstock back plate; ebony bridge, fretboard, headstock veneer; curly maple neck; 24.9" scale, Golden Age tuners. Tuned to GDAD. I am always amazed as to how much volume comes from such a small bodied instrument.

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Author:  johnparchem [ Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
very nice!

I really like the rosette and binding. Real cool instrument as well.
Author:  Nick Royle [ Sun Mar 30, 2014 7:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Just beautiful! Looks like a fun instrument to build.
Author:  Alex Kleon [ Sun Mar 30, 2014 9:50 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Doug, your skills and attention to detail are incredible. I really look forward to everthing you build!
Your bouzouki is a killer! :D

Alex
Author:  flounder [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Very nice! and I agree with John, the rosette and binding compliment the instrument perfectly! [:Y:]
Author:  Fred Tellier [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 8:18 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Looks great Doug, I hope you have as much fun with it as I have had with mine. Bouzouki is an awesome addition to the Celtic sessions most don't have anyone with a bouzouki.

Fred
Author:  cphanna [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Doug, I think it's beautiful in every single detail.
Patrick
Author:  Fred Tellier [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Doug, what are the body dimensions and what case did you find for it?

Fred
Author:  Steven Odut [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 1:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Doug, that's a beauty. You must never sleep. I think you've finished two or three instruments since I finished mine, and all I've done is buy materials for two new guitars and "family stuff" takes the rest of the time.

Cheers,
Steven
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:35 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Fred Tellier wrote:
Doug, what are the body dimensions and what case did you find for it?

Fred


Hey thanks friends for your kind words. Sometimes I am glad that I don't own a high end, mega-pixel SLR camera as my iPhone 4 makes my work look better than it really is. Seriously. This is not false-humility at play.

Fred, body specs: tip to tail - 37 1/2", body width - 14 1/8", body depth 3 1/8 - 3 1/2". I have not yet begun to look seriously for a case but was hoping perhaps a banjo case might work. Any ideas on that front? There are not a lot of options to bouzouki cases I have found.

On another note (pun intended), I have just started to play the bouzouki over the past 3 days and I am quickly falling in love with the instrument. With only 4 courses of strings it is so simple to play but has such a rich sound...not my bouzouki specifically but the kind of instrument in general.
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 10:37 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Steven Odut wrote:
Doug, that's a beauty. You must never sleep. I think you've finished two or three instruments since I finished mine, and all I've done is buy materials for two new guitars and "family stuff" takes the rest of the time.

Cheers,
Steven


Yeah, I hear you Steven. What can I say about that? I'm sure lots of us get asked where we find the time to do what we do. My answer is quite simple: 1) I don't watch tv much which enables me to spend about 6-8 hours a week in the shop, 2) I could not have done this when my kids were younger and needed me to play with them for hours on end...which I did happily, and 3) I have a supportive wife.

Being completely obsessed also helps :)
Author:  Joe Sallis [ Thu Apr 03, 2014 7:36 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
That's the nicest looking bazooki I've seen in ages.
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Thu Apr 03, 2014 11:52 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Beautiful Doug.....you may be a newbie in the chronological sense, but you are an excellent luthier! I too, look forward to watching your builds. Congrats on another great instrument!
Author:  Fred Tellier [ Thu Apr 03, 2014 12:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Quote:
On another note (pun intended), I have just started to play the bouzouki over the past 3 days and I am quickly falling in love with the instrument. With only 4 courses of strings it is so simple to play but has such a rich sound...not my bouzouki specifically but the kind of instrument in general.


I finished mine in August and have hardly played any guitar since, I attend several Celtic sessions here in Windsor and there are always to many guitars so the Zouk was a welcome addition.

As for cases the 8940 banjo case from Heinl violins will fit a 14" Zouk but with your cutaway shape you might be to outside the circle shape. Ron Belanger uses them and says he needs to move the storage area forward to clear the neck heel. Gater also makes a 14" banjo case but it is to shallow for my body which is 4" to 3.5"

Fred
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Sat Apr 05, 2014 7:19 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Tight fit but the banjo case idea works!
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Sat Apr 12, 2014 11:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Video of the 'Zouk. The performance is a little sketchy as I only started to play the bouzouki 2 weeks ago but it gives one an idea of the sound produced by this instrument. No amplification or audio editing were used in this recording.

[youtube]http://youtu.be/DsUYwO2IWoM[/youtube]

http://youtu.be/DsUYwO2IWoM
Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Sun Apr 13, 2014 10:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
That's a pretty sweet instrument
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Sun Apr 13, 2014 11:15 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Looks and sounds AMAZING, Doug! Never know you were new to either building or playing :) Congratulations on another job well done.
Author:  Murray Hunt [ Sun Apr 20, 2014 11:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Hey Doug, nice clean work, very cool! The bracing pattern looks very guitar like, is that kind of standard on bouzoukis? X braced? Thanks!
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Mon Apr 21, 2014 8:51 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Thanks James, Beth. Murray, I am no expert but 'zouk and flat top mandolins that have fixed bridges will frequently be x-braced. A floating bridge with a tail piece calls for a different bracing style.
Author:  Alex Kleon [ Mon Apr 21, 2014 11:22 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Very nice, Doug! [clap] :D [clap]

Alex
Author:  Wes Paul [ Sun Apr 27, 2014 12:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
That's really sweet I want to play it bad!!!
Super clean side purdling and all.

I used wenge on a dreadnaut I made a while back,
Turned out great but I got some nasty splinters.
Also it has huge pores. What pore filler did you use?
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Sun Apr 27, 2014 7:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: #4 Finished - Irish Bouzouki
Wes Paul wrote:
That's really sweet I want to play it bad!!!
Super clean side purdling and all.

I used wenge on a dreadnaut I made a while back,
Turned out great but I got some nasty splinters.
Also it has huge pores. What pore filler did you use?


Thanks Wes. Wenge is a pain to work with but I love the look and sound. Somogyi puts it in the same category as BRW. http://www.esomogyi.com/blog.html#wenge

For pore filling I used West System epoxy.
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