mavrothis
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1st of 2 new instruments - Bouzouki with microtonal frets
Hi guys,
I recently received this great instrument from Tasos Theodorakis of Thessaloniki, Greece, and thought I'd share some pics with you. The sound is
really great. Very strong, with a mix of bouzouki, tzoura and saz tones.
I really love it!
Euxaristw Taso!
m
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mavrothis
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The finished instrument:
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Ararat66
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What a beautiful instrument, nice to see the pommegranate flowers creeping in there, lovely, what is the second instrument?
Is it unusual for a Greek bouzouki to be fretted like this?
Enjoy it well, would love to hear it. 
Leon
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reminore
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i wonder if the sound will approximate the sound of yiovan tsaous's tamboura! καλορίζικο!
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mavrothis
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Hi guys,
Thanks, yes, it really is a nice instrument. It is very uncommon for a Greek bouzouki to be fretted like this, though it has been done before.
The Yiovan Tsaous sound is definitely what I was hoping for, and I think it is close to it. Like I said, it combines the sound of bouzouki with
tzoura (the smaller cousin) and saz/tamboura. It's very cool - I just need to get used to all these frets!
Hopefully will get a sound file up soon.
Thanks,
m
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Ararat66
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Lots of frets)
I like the way that even though this is a new instrument, Tasos has all the tradition and feel in his instruments and the way he considers them -
I'm looking at that photo with the wood plane. I really admire that, tradition and innovation at the same time ... or good old fashioned innovation
maybe?
Brilliant work
Leon
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Brian Prunka
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Hey Mav, this is cool, I had thought about this possibility years ago and always thought it would be great.
How did you devise the fretting system? Aren't standard Bouzoukis in equal temperament? I would think that the microtones would sound strange if the
rest of the frets were tempered.
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spyros mesogeia
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Great Instrument Mavro,
I wish you to play it with health
Taso you always amaze us,congratulations
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mavrothis
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Hey, thanks again guys. I will soon be offering an "Adopt a Fret" program to try and help me finance this latest batch of instruments...yikes!
Brian, the sound isn't weird at all. When you play the microtonal frets, the tone definitely goes more towards a saz, though i think with more
projection. The tempered frets sound normal - it's just that in some case you have to stretch your fingers a little further than before b/c you have
more frets, and have to hit the note more exactly than with a tempered fretting system.
I think it's all a matter of habit, just like on a saz or lavta. I've never been great on those instruments before, so I need to work a little harder
to get used to it. Hopefully you can try it sometime!
Thanks again guys - Taso is the man!
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