Re: Experience of short scale bouzouki?
I play a 23" scale length Herb Taylor bouzouki (specifically this one) tuned GDAD with all unison strings in trad sessions all the time. Works great! As for not having a 'traditional bouzouki sound' it may not sound like a greek bouzouki, but it doesn't sound out of place. There's plenty of longer scale lengths and plenty of people playing 21" or 22" octave mandolins, but I find 23" to be a really good sweet spot. I'm using 1.194mm/0.813mm/0.559mm/0.380mm or 47/32/22/15 (as you say, with the appropriate decimal points) strings.
My Instruments:
Ellis Twin Point #524
My beloved Old Wave #83
Herb Taylor Bouzouki #228
Mid-Mo M1 #4321 and M14 #176 (my first mandos)
Scuderi #001 OM Model Guitar
Plus a fiddle, a viola, a cello, another guitar, and (worryingly) three bagpipes.
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