pulse - 7-20-2012 at 01:05 AM
Hello There,
Sorry that this is not a Oud related question.. so I'm hoping some kind person might have an answer for me 
I'm looking at buying a second hand Saz... I'm not sure how old it is but it is at least 10 years old and the owner want's at around $700 Australian
dollars for it. I've attached some pictures to this post... so hopefully someone may be able to guide me if this is a profeshional quality instrument
and if he is asking too much for it?
Big Thanks in advance!
Anthony
fernandraynaud - 7-20-2012 at 04:09 AM
I dunno. Saz sell for a lot less than ouds, and are usually better made than Arabic ouds. This looks like an ordinary garden variety saz. The Saz I
got for under $100 US doesn't look a bit worse, and it's probably 10 years old, through no merit of its own. I'd say that $700 AUS is a high price for
a saz that's not fully decorated. Besides, the saz is tuned in ascending fifths, and is hard to get used to for people used to ascending fourths like
on oud, guitar, bass, etc, so be sure you can get "into it". It's not a solo instrument, it's more of a strummer.
teslim - 7-20-2012 at 07:11 AM
It is hard to tell from the pictures but the price may be high depending on who the maker is...if you can find the makers name and post it that
would be helpful..decoration has nothing to do with the price and quality.. as to the post above i have to disagree that the saz is "not a solo
instrument"...it is most definitely a solo instrument and the the tunings are many not just the one mentioned " ascending fifths"-- .. many people
give advice on this forum without really understanding the details involved ...there are many sources for saz info on the net and youtube to see the
breadth of its sound and variety...a basic long neck baglama like the one you pictured can run anywhere from 200-2000 dollars US--depending on maker
...i have purchased many on ebay that are quite nice for under 500 dollars...you are restricted to certain pitch centers depending on string
length...and certain tunings work better o different sized instruments..one can also capo to change tonic centers but again you are limited as the
fretting system only allows certain places up the neck to put a capo without moving frets...it can be confusing to understand what makes a 100 dollar
saz different then a 1000 dollar one unless you have played for a while or know a player you can trust...good luck in your search..if you need more
advice please send a post or U2U...all the best..
Greg - 7-20-2012 at 07:17 AM
I agree with fernandraynaud in regard to the price of the pictured saz. I bought one in Turkey that looks fairly similar in quality to this one and it
cost me around the $140 mark.
But I disagree with his comments about the saz not being a solo instrument. It is. Adelaide based wizard of all stringed things, Paddy Montgomery, is
a good example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-Xap92cWec
I use what I believe to be the most common baglama saz tuning (low to high) Aa gg ddd. It is known as 'Bağlama düzeni' and is reentrant. A
little hard to get used to if you are used to conventional forms of tuning. But well worth the effort, as it is a great little instrument for self
expression.
fernandraynaud - 7-20-2012 at 02:22 PM
There ya go. There are Saz lovers in the woodwork who sure know more about the Saz than I do. But I do play one and my reaction may be typical of
people who play other instruments and find the Saz a strange nut to crack.
pulse - 7-20-2012 at 02:33 PM
Hey Big Thanks to all for giving me a hand with regards to this Saz. It definately seems over-priced for this given instrument and quality... I really
do apprecaite everyone's help
I guess living in Australia there really isn't a one stop shop for these sorts of instruments... always keeping an eye on the net, you never know your
luck
Kind regards,
Anthony
ambrusg - 1-2-2013 at 12:16 PM
Hi,
I'd like to build a baglama. I have some measure. I can draw the "tekne" in CAD 3D. But I don't know size of the "sap". I have, which long. I haven't
cross-section: width, hight. I don't know distance of strings too.
Can somebody help?
Thank you.
Gábor