Gazuki or Not?

Subject: Gazuki or Not?
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 25 Feb 09 - 06:02 PM

I'm gonna get a guitar bouzouki. What do you think?

Should I wait and see what these are like

http://gazuki.co.uk/

or just get on and order one from Paul Hathaway?

Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 12:03 PM

I've played in a session where Phil Williams had his gazuki. It certainly is a fine sounding instrument and, for a prototype, looked good too. For the price he's quoting I think it would be a good buy, I'd be tempted myself if I didn't already have a 'very expensive' Sobell guitar bouzouki. The man himself is a very nice bloke if that helps. Mind you, I also like Hathaway's instruments, so I guess you pays your money...

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Stu
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 12:13 PM

I've only just got my new Foley - how the hell am I going to justify buying one of these at 400 quid?

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,punkfolkrocker
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 12:18 PM

if you can afford it, fair enough.
Otherwise skint musos might just consider taking the outer 2 courses
[and tuning heads]
off a standard reasonable quality budget price 12 string acoustic
and restringing/retuning for aproximately the same hybrid Gazuki sound.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: boosh
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 03:51 PM

i thought they were called "Bouzar's"

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 26 Feb 09 - 04:39 PM

Nah, a bouzar's got a guitar neck and a bouzouki body.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: mandotim
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 03:11 AM

Sugwash; t'other way round. Check out here and look under the 'gear' section. Stefan Sobell made this very early Bouzar for Maart in 1990. I've played it, and it's a monster.
Tim

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 03:28 AM

Tim, that was by the way of a joke, I actually own a Sobell guzouki/bouzar/guitar-bouzouki/bouzouki-guitar or whatever else you want to call it, mine was made in 1992. Sadly, what I don't possess is Andy Irvine's talent on the thing.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 03:38 AM

Well, the sound sample on the site above would worry me if I were to be interested - either the instrument was not fully in tune when starting the chord sequence, or its intonation was not spot on (or maybe its just so easy to bend floppy strings out of tune) but some of those chords were not quite right.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 07:13 AM

Think I'll go with original plan to buy a Hathaway.
Might raise my game a bit trying to justify spending more cash.

Thanks for the rumination fodder.

Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: mandotim
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 07:16 AM

Oops, sorry Sugwash; sudden sense of humour bypass, coupled with a bad case of 'I know about this'! Speaking of wierd instruments though, does anyone remember the bouzouki bodied thing that (I think) Gold Tone used to make, strung like a five string banjo?
Tim, feeling suitably abashed.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 08:35 AM

Quite alright Tim, I didn't claim it was a good joke. Actually Stefan Sobell made his wife an instrument which was a five string banjo neck on a cittern body. You can see it hung on the wall behind Andy Irvive if you scroll down the page a bit clicky.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 09:31 AM

Joe Stead plays a banjouki made for him by Peter Abnett of Wouldham, very sweet but not as loud as a banjo!

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 10:42 AM

Are you unison or octave Sugwash?

Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: irishenglish
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 10:59 AM

So many monster combos these days-would this be the instrument that Chris Leslie seems to be playing a lot these days with Fairport?

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Phil Williams
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 11:01 AM

Thanks Sugwash! BTW I'll be putting more sound samples up soon
The reason that might sound slightly wonky is that this is the original prototype and the nut was too high meaning you tended to pull
the strings onto the frets. I've lowered the action now, and the
batch will have my personal attention to each instrument before they go out. Steve Hunt & Neil Davey like it! As yer man says 'You pays your money'....

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Big Mick
Date: 27 Feb 09 - 06:32 PM

Anyone seen that monster that Brian McNeil plays? It looks like a bouzouki, but is deeper and bigger in diameter and has 12 strings - 6x2. I happened to see it in Jed Marums photos on facebook. Does anyone have any info on it, tuning, etc? I will bet it is a strong sounding thing, given the size of the soundbox.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Mooh
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 06:48 AM

Mick...Brian McNeill would probably answer you himself, he's a most amiable fellow. He also plays guitars by Joshua House (as do I).

There's a Josh House guitar shaped bouzouki of which I am fond. Cedar top, walnut back and sides, ebony elsewhere, Gotoh 510 machine heads, pin bridge, sunrise inlay on the fretboard, purpleheart rosette and purfling. There may still be a picture at www.houseguitars.com

Guizouk?

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 11:01 AM

Al, mine's set up in unison.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 11:09 AM

What's the point?

I mean, I'm sure they are lovely instruments, but so are the bouzoukis. The bowl shaped ones I accept are tricky to handle if you haven't got a concave stomach (though Greeks tend not to be shaped that way), but the standard flat backed ones used in folie circles don't have that problem.

Do they have some advantage such as louder volume or something?

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 12:01 PM

I have an Ozark Banjola - Five string Banjo neck on a Mandola body !
I love it , and take it out to (Non Paying) sessions far more often than the Guitar or the Straight Banjo .

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 28 Feb 09 - 07:36 PM

Good question McGrath of Harlow. It's a sound not quite bouzouki and not quite guitar, at least on my instrument. I like 'proper' bouzoukis, but find them a bit brash for some of the songs I sing. Equally I find a guitar doesn't quite produce the sound I'd like. Of course this means I've ended up with a collection of instruments none of which do all the things I want. Is there a name for instrument aquirement syndrome?

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Phil Williams
Date: 03 Mar 09 - 05:53 PM

Naturally enough the Gazuki has a richer Bass and I particularly wanted this for accompanying my wife Sarah Deere-Jones the Harpist, and I play it as a kind of acoustic bass really, works as a rhythm rather than a lead instrument. Its also nice to get away from the standard guitar sound too as we can't all be Arty McGlynn!
Lately I've been trying ADAD works well for 'Whitsun Dance' and 'Beeswing'. Going to try Octave for the bass string and unison for the other 3, I'll put a new set of sound samples up on gazuki.co.uk this week - hopefully in better tune this time ;-)
Sorry this isn't supposed to be a plug. Phil.
Aquirement syndrome? How many is enough? - Just one more.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Sugwash
Date: 03 Mar 09 - 06:08 PM

Wasn't it Ralph McTell who said "If a man knows how many guitars he has, he ain't got enough!"

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: Abdul The Bul Bul
Date: 23 Mar 09 - 08:44 AM

Where are these other sound samples then Phil?

Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Phil Williams
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 10:18 AM

Yes good point, thanks for the reminder! I've just re-strung to octave I'll post as soon as its done.

Phil

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 24 Mar 09 - 10:29 AM

I call it a Bizarre ! I have been attracted to the idea since I first heard James Fagan play his.The best one I've seen / tried so far was a Charlie Moon, in a shop in Brighton---an instrument to fall in love with !

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Phil Williams
Date: 20 Jul 09 - 03:00 PM

Website www.gazuki.co.uk updated with vids and specification.

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Phil Williams
Date: 21 Jul 09 - 09:52 AM

Sorry about the plug, just trying to get the word around after all the effort to procure!

Now listed on Ebay too.

This from customer in Birmingham!

"I have an obsession with bouzoukis, play instruments made by Joe Foley of Dublin. To me the best money can buy.Over the years played a number of eastern mandos and zouks for fun and this is by far the best and doesn't it go some when plugged in ! I'm very impressed with the intonation up the neck that's where most cheaper bouzoukis loose it. Not this baby! Not a bad set up at all for the money.

Not custom built perhaps, but never the less an excellent instrument. Would recommend to experienced and novice players alike.
No need to wait 2 years for a hand built instrument. A winning design.

Thanks a Million"

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Abdul The Bul Bul on his laptop
Date: 24 Dec 09 - 03:31 AM

Been out of the country since I got my Gazuki in July I think it was. As Phil had admitted their were a few teething problems with the factory set up. I'd taken a few mm off the saddle to get the action lower but it still needed sorting. Anyway, back in UK for Christmas so booked it in with Brian Rogers to sort it out.
So with the neck adjusted a tad to relieve the back bow, the bridge plate shaved, new Newtones, new bone saddle and nut and a pass of Brians magic hand I now have a GORGEOUS instrument.
Phil, it is beautiful. I took a flyer in going for it in the first place and am so very glad i did. It is exacty what I was after.
Incidentally, when taking the bridge plate down, off came the finish and Brian discovered a lovely rosewood beneath with a grain matching the colour of the top.
A happy Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,Abdul
Date: 24 Dec 09 - 03:34 AM

Correction....Rodgers with a D.
Al

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,roj
Date: 28 Dec 09 - 04:45 PM

Delighted you're pleased with it, Alan, and thanks for the vote of confidence!

That stripey rosewood bridge was a major find - beautiful!

Hope it finds it's way to your destination as set now. At least you have the numbers if it shifts in the 'plane.

Talk soon

Brian

Subject: RE: Gazuki or Not?
From: GUEST,paudman
Date: 13 May 12 - 11:33 AM

I own one of these, but as earlier posts say: you can do the same with an old 12-string guitar. Been there, done that...and went back again. I'm trying to get a local luthier to make me a bouzouki-bodied guitar...still waiting.