Help Identifying

[Pedrobandito]

Hi,

I have found this old instrument in the garage and i think its probably been there since the 70's, can anyone tell me what it is?

Thanks in advance.

[MikeEdgerton]

It appears to be a Bouzouki

[Pedrobandito]

Thanks, any idea what make it is or is it just a standard non specific one?

[MikeEdgerton]

Barring an internal label you may not find that out. One of resident bouzouki experts may be able to tell you a little more.

[Seter]

Looks nice for just sitting a garage for a few decades, the action does look pretty high though so finding out the condition of the neck would be important. Hopefully as Mike said a label can provide further clues as to origin.

[zoukboy]

Yes, if you can get a clear pic of the maker's label and post it here we can help identify it. By the looks of the bridge, inlay, and pickguards it does not appear to be an expensive/finely made instrument.

[Pedrobandito]

I have just looked all over it and cant find a label

[Ray(T)]

Not to be confused with the Irish versions, its a Greek Bouzouki; although not necessarily built there.

[allenhopkins]

Greek bouzoukis have either three or four double courses of strings, so six or eight strings. Yours is a four-course (tetrachordo) instrument. Traditional Greek tetrachordo tuning is stated as C-F-A-D, low to high.

The "action" -- distance of the strings above the fretboard -- of your bouzouki seems really high. This will cause problems for the person trying to play it. An experienced instrument repair tech should examine it, and see if the neck is bowed forward, pulled by string tension, or if the joint between the neck and body has weakened, allowing the neck to pitch forward. High action can be cured by several expedients, though some are quite expensive.

There are quite a few inexpensive bouzoukis basically made for the "tourist trade," often not worth repair if repairs are needed. If your instrument has no maker's label, it could be one of those. It does appear to be decently constructed, but it's hard to go further than that working from pics. If you have access to a good instrument shop, you might want to take it there for inspection and recommendations. Then you can decide what you want to do next -- fix it and play it or sell it, us it as room decor, whatever.