Bouzouki from the gutter

doorknocker · 17th July 2005, 10:38 AM

I found this round the street corner in a heap of trashed furniture and stuff waiting for removal: An EKO electric bouzouki. Too cool! Who would throw this away?
I'm sure David Lindley would love it.
Anyway, it needs a setup and new strings, there's only 1 left. Is anybody Bouzouki-hip? This is the Greek type with the round bowl back. I found out that there are also Irish Bouzoukis with a flat back.

Tuning? Any tips?

I love using instruments that I can't really play! Actually, I got a lot of mileage out of a $ 100 mandolin I bought ages ago and that sounds really good. It's perfect for recording and I might not use it for a year or so only to dust it off for a little rhythm part in a production.

**Jules** · 17th July 2005, 10:45 AM

On a holiday to Greece, at La Placa (a very central hill / square in Athens) you can stand in one spot and hear about 7 different Bouzouki players from all the surrounding restaurants at THE SAME TIME!

It was the closest to "musical hell" I have ever been..

Berolzheimer · 17th July 2005, 10:49 AM

Wow, excellent find, have fun with it.
I have a friend who has incredible karma with this sort of thing, he's found guitars, amps, preamps, and I once saw him pull a cornet out of the trash after a rehearsal.
He even once won a magazine equipment giveaway.
And the best part- he deserves it.

Me, I've never found anything great in the trash, but I did once find, in a dusty corner of an old junky antique store, a 1924 Ludwig Black Beauty with a $12 price tag.

rodhmos · 18th July 2005, 01:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doorknocker

I found this round the street corner in a heap of trashed furniture and stuff waiting for removal: An EKO electric bouzouki. Too cool! Who would throw this away?
I'm sure David Lindley would love it.
Anyway, it needs a setup and new strings, there's only 1 left. Is anybody Bouzouki-hip? This is the Greek type with the round bowl back. I found out that there are also Irish Bouzoukis with a flat back.

Tuning? Any tips?

link1
link2

autodidactic · 18th July 2005, 05:31 AM

I play Bouzouki so I thought I'd chime in. Even though electric bouzouki's are pretty common these days, it's always a treat to find one orphaned in the dumpster, congratulations If it's the same one that was in the picture then it has eight strings. The tuning from high to low is D, A, F, C. You hold it in the same manner as a guitar (right hand picks while left hand works the neck). The bouzouki instrument is awesome. Bouzouki music blends the best flavours of European and Middle Eastern music. Enjoy your find!

If you have any more bouzouki related questions, I'd be happy to share what I know

Cheers

doorknocker · 18th July 2005, 07:09 AM

Thanks for all the help and the links!

Jules,

do you know Charles Ives orchestral works? He sometimes had 3 full orchestras going AT THE SAME TIME playing largely unrelated stuff. He supposedly was doing an 'avant-garde' take on his childhood impressions hearing different marching bands 'overlapping' during celebrations in New England. And all this he did by the end of the 19th century!
What about a Bouzouki version of this? 'Fear and loathing in La Placa' or something? Now that would be scary, I guess!

Berolzheimer,

yeah, if I think about it, I got pretty lucky with finding instruments in the last few years.
I also got a dobro from a music store that went out of business, it cost me almost nothing.
It turned out to be a really nicely made instrument and I eventually set it up for lap-style playing and now I really got into learning and playing it.

The lap steel you see me play in my avatar was given to me by a friend, just out of the blue. He found it at a flea market and said: You play slide, so take this. Nice guy!
This happened shortly after the dobro finding, so I guess there IS some mojo involved! It turned out that the lap steel was made here in Basel/Switzerland, probably in the 40ies or 50ies.
The PU was unuseable, so I had somebody build me a lap steel PU, it really works well. One problem playing lap steel live is that if you switch from a Tele or Strat, you really have to turn down about 50%. It's incredibly powerful.
Meanwhile, I also own a Gibson EH-150 from 1936 and it's even more powerful than my Swiss lap steel. Must be the construction of the thing itself I guess.
I really dig the fact that it's basically just a piece of wood with strings attached.
Almost a diddely bow.....

I once had a great late 60ies Tele (I also got it from a friend, it cost me a staggering $ 900 approximately) that eventually got stolen

. I knew I'd never be able to really replace it so I was just checking e-bay and found a Fender Japan Tele that looked really promising and well-worn. It was my first ever e-bay action and it turned out to be a great sounding slab of wood. I installed some Seymour Duncan Antiquity PUs and now it's my main guitar. The e-bay price was about $ 350.

rodhmos,

thanks for the links, I'll check it out.

autodidactic,

thanks, great to know about the tuning. I realize that the Irish Bouzouki players use differnt tunings. The Eko I got now is exactly the model as shown in the link.
A good friend of mine is a fantastic guitar builder so I'm sure he can set it up fine.

I'm really looking forward to blasting the beast thru my Marshall Super Lead (maybe with a Fuzz Factory in the chain

) Bouzouki serenaders beware!

Andi

www.doorknocker.ch

autodidactic · 18th July 2005, 07:47 AM

A Marshall would be interesting to play through. However, If you want the fattest electric bouzouki sound, nothing beats an electric bouzouki going through a fender twin reverb half stack. Nothin but girth comin through the cabs. Try it, and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Cheers

djavid15 · 18th July 2005, 07:55 AM

mesa boogie double rectifier! DEATH METAL BOUZOUKI!!! HAHA!

djavid15 · 18th July 2005, 07:57 AM

couldn't help it! good find and good luck! I wish I could find something nice! I did find two twenty dollar bills on the ground once, but a friend stole it for weed. DAMN POTHEAD!

Kris · 18th July 2005, 04:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jules

On a holiday to Greece, at La Placa (a very central hill / square in Athens) you can stand in one spot and hear about 7 different Bouzouki players from all the surrounding restaurants at THE SAME TIME!

It was the closest to "musical hell" I have ever been..

Haven't been invaded by a Guitar Center in London yet?

cultureofgreed · 19th July 2005, 05:13 AM

SCHWEEET! I have a Greek Bouzouki similar to that, but not as nice. Grats!

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17th July 2005, 10:38 AM	#1
doorknocker Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 3,614	Bouzouki from the gutter I found this round the street corner in a heap of trashed furniture and stuff waiting for removal: An EKO electric bouzouki. Too cool! Who would throw this away? I'm sure David Lindley would love it. Anyway, it needs a setup and new strings, there's only 1 left. Is anybody Bouzouki-hip? This is the Greek type with the round bowl back. I found out that there are also Irish Bouzoukis with a flat back. Tuning? Any tips? I love using instruments that I can't really play! Actually, I got a lot of mileage out of a $ 100 mandolin I bought ages ago and that sounds really good. It's perfect for recording and I might not use it for a year or so only to dust it off for a little rhythm part in a production.

17th July 2005, 10:45 AM	#2
Jules Gearslutz.com admin Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: London, UK Posts: 11,795	On a holiday to Greece, at La Placa (a very central hill / square in Athens) you can stand in one spot and hear about 7 different Bouzouki players from all the surrounding restaurants at THE SAME TIME! It was the closest to "musical hell" I have ever been.. __________________ Jules "PS. I don't have an opinion on the topic." - jdtrbn

17th July 2005, 10:49 AM	#3
Berolzheimer Lives for gear Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: El Lay Posts: 1,977	Wow, excellent find, have fun with it. I have a friend who has incredible karma with this sort of thing, he's found guitars, amps, preamps, and I once saw him pull a cornet out of the trash after a rehearsal. He even once won a magazine equipment giveaway. And the best part- he deserves it. Me, I've never found anything great in the trash, but I did once find, in a dusty corner of an old junky antique store, a 1924 Ludwig Black Beauty with a $12 price tag. __________________ Purveyor of fine sounds since 1961. My very incomplete IMDB list: My very incomplete IMDB list I'm all ears.

18th July 2005, 07:55 AM	#8
djavid15 Gear maniac Join Date: May 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 223	mesa boogie double rectifier! DEATH METAL BOUZOUKI!!! HAHA! __________________ Dance my minions! DANCE!!!!

18th July 2005, 05:31 AM	#5
autodidactic Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tennessee Posts: 335	I play Bouzouki so I thought I'd chime in. Even though electric bouzouki's are pretty common these days, it's always a treat to find one orphaned in the dumpster, congratulations If it's the same one that was in the picture then it has eight strings. The tuning from high to low is D, A, F, C. You hold it in the same manner as a guitar (right hand picks while left hand works the neck). The bouzouki instrument is awesome. Bouzouki music blends the best flavours of European and Middle Eastern music. Enjoy your find! If you have any more bouzouki related questions, I'd be happy to share what I know Cheers

18th July 2005, 07:09 AM	#6
doorknocker Lives for gear Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Basel, Switzerland Posts: 3,614	Thanks for all the help and the links! Jules, do you know Charles Ives orchestral works? He sometimes had 3 full orchestras going AT THE SAME TIME playing largely unrelated stuff. He supposedly was doing an 'avant-garde' take on his childhood impressions hearing different marching bands 'overlapping' during celebrations in New England. And all this he did by the end of the 19th century! What about a Bouzouki version of this? 'Fear and loathing in La Placa' or something? Now that would be scary, I guess! Berolzheimer, yeah, if I think about it, I got pretty lucky with finding instruments in the last few years. I also got a dobro from a music store that went out of business, it cost me almost nothing. It turned out to be a really nicely made instrument and I eventually set it up for lap-style playing and now I really got into learning and playing it. The lap steel you see me play in my avatar was given to me by a friend, just out of the blue. He found it at a flea market and said: You play slide, so take this. Nice guy! This happened shortly after the dobro finding, so I guess there IS some mojo involved! It turned out that the lap steel was made here in Basel/Switzerland, probably in the 40ies or 50ies. The PU was unuseable, so I had somebody build me a lap steel PU, it really works well. One problem playing lap steel live is that if you switch from a Tele or Strat, you really have to turn down about 50%. It's incredibly powerful. Meanwhile, I also own a Gibson EH-150 from 1936 and it's even more powerful than my Swiss lap steel. Must be the construction of the thing itself I guess. I really dig the fact that it's basically just a piece of wood with strings attached. Almost a diddely bow..... I once had a great late 60ies Tele (I also got it from a friend, it cost me a staggering $ 900 approximately) that eventually got stolen . I knew I'd never be able to really replace it so I was just checking e-bay and found a Fender Japan Tele that looked really promising and well-worn. It was my first ever e-bay action and it turned out to be a great sounding slab of wood. I installed some Seymour Duncan Antiquity PUs and now it's my main guitar. The e-bay price was about $ 350. rodhmos, thanks for the links, I'll check it out. autodidactic, thanks, great to know about the tuning. I realize that the Irish Bouzouki players use differnt tunings. The Eko I got now is exactly the model as shown in the link. A good friend of mine is a fantastic guitar builder so I'm sure he can set it up fine. I'm really looking forward to blasting the beast thru my Marshall Super Lead (maybe with a Fuzz Factory in the chain ) Bouzouki serenaders beware! Andi www.doorknocker.ch

18th July 2005, 07:47 AM	#7
autodidactic Gear addict Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Tennessee Posts: 335	A Marshall would be interesting to play through. However, If you want the fattest electric bouzouki sound, nothing beats an electric bouzouki going through a fender twin reverb half stack. Nothin but girth comin through the cabs. Try it, and you'll see what I'm talking about. Cheers

18th July 2005, 07:57 AM	#9
djavid15 Gear maniac Join Date: May 2005 Location: Pennsylvania Posts: 223	couldn't help it! good find and good luck! I wish I could find something nice! I did find two twenty dollar bills on the ground once, but a friend stole it for weed. DAMN POTHEAD! __________________ Dance my minions! DANCE!!!!

19th July 2005, 05:13 AM	#11
cultureofgreed Gear maniac Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Interzone Posts: 292	SCHWEEET! I have a Greek Bouzouki similar to that, but not as nice. Grats! __________________ Too many pieces of music finish too long after the end. - Igor Stravinsky.

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