I bought one from a charity shop a while ago & only recently started to try to play it. From what I could find out from various sources the tuning is (very bizarrely) A on the lowest string & the same E on both the other strings. Ie if you sit it facing you then you are looking at AEE. I have also heard that although you tend to get them with steel strings they are better if you put nylon strings on them (I haven't with mine yet tho). Not having a clue how to play it properly (and not wanting to lash out on the book just at the moment) I tried just working out some chord shapes by transferring the notes from the guitar strings onto the balalaika strings. The shapes you end up with seem surprisingly feasible, and I've been able to use it to accompany a few songs just for my own consumption. The drawback is that it is very unforgiving in that the notes bend a bit too easily - hence I'll need to practice a lot more before I take it out anywhere. BUT it is a nice sounding instrument & has a lot of potential. I've no idea whether AEE makes it suitable for celtic stuff - or would you need to adjust it to ADD? If you buy the Mel Bay book I'd love to know what its like.

Kris