aelfrik - 9-11-2006 at 04:51 PM
I am going to be in Istanbul later this month, and I hope to buy a lavta while I am there. Can anyone suggest a good place to buy one? How much
should I expect to pay?
Thanks,
-Peter
Monty88 - 9-11-2006 at 06:07 PM
I was at both of Cankaya Muzik's branches in Istanbul. One is next to the cumbus shop on Ataturk Bulvari in Unkapani. The other is on the Istical
Cadesi street in Beyoglu, the giant strip of music shops.
They make a great lavta for a reasonable price. The sound is very good and build quality is superb. I think they are about 700 american dollars?
I have also played lavtas by Sagit Gurel who is a tanbur maker, and one by Mustafa Bicicioglu. The cankaya was very good, almost on par with these
other makers.
Don't buy a mass produced one or one you will find in a big shop with every instrument, it would most likely be garbage. But, the Cankaya lavtas are
very nice. If you want to pay extra, go to a maker to get a top quality instrument. Look up Mustafa Bicicioglu or Cengiz Sarikus.
teslim - 9-12-2006 at 03:42 PM
i was just in istanbul and looked at lavtas in the shops near Taxim and found them all very bad quality and overpriced. the best lavtas are made by
turhan demireli but will not likely be cheap, i also saw a lavta by ramazan usta who is a great oud maker that was very nice. i own a lavta made by
dimitris rapakousios from athens that is awesome. if you need contact info for any of these makers please feel free to email me. good luck
Monty88 - 9-12-2006 at 04:14 PM
Yes Teslim, your absolutely right.
Turan Demireli, that is the name I was after. Ross Daly and Socrates Sinopoulos both use lavta made by Turan Demireli. He is also an excellent tanbur
maker. If you can afford one of his lavta, that is the best.
Rapakousios is very good too.
al-Halabi - 9-12-2006 at 05:04 PM
I bought a lavta from Turhan Demireli (a copy of a larger 19th-century lavta). His work is definitely of high quality.
eliot - 9-13-2006 at 02:43 AM
Ramazan Calay has made a couple that were very nice, and would make more. There's quite a long lead time for his creations, though.
terennum - 9-15-2006 at 09:51 AM
I have seen a lavta made by Ramazan Calay last month. It was really nice. I think you should visit him before you buy one. He also makes ouds.
Osmanaga Mah. Serasker Cad. Piricavus Sok. No: 24 Kadikoy ISTANBUL
byfeat - 9-20-2006 at 04:01 AM
Ramazan Calay is the best. He make lots of lavta and his lavtas have got very nice tone. I advise Ramazan Calay.
Office number :
0090 216 330 81 43