Hora Bouzouki

What I have invited this time is an Irish or flat backed Bouzouki, made by Hora in Romania and imported by Stentor under their Ozark branding.

It was in a timed auction and I  didn't realise that a timed auction is an auction that an auction house runs kind of like eBay but still with the normal auctioneers fees, (unlike eBay). Anyway I put an opening bid in at the minimum they would accept and planned to come back and watch the auction live, (though to be honest, with the fees I wasn't really planning to go much higher). Come the time of the auction I went to connect like I normally do and found that there was nothing to connect to; and that the timed auction had ended with no one else bidding so I had won!

Some further research tells me that this was the original 2222 model in the Stentor catalogue but that this design was replaced in 2007, (however it is still in the Hora catalogue as their natural finish Irish Bouzouki). It apparently has a solid spruce top with solid maple back and sides on an Octave Mandolin sized body with a slightly longer neck and a fairly, (compared to the Greek Bouzoukis), subtle inlayed wooden "pick guard" motif. I thought (and the Hora website concurs), it should be tuned G~D~A~E like an standard Mandolin but an octave lower and I was thinking that like the Mandola, it will be easier to play than a standard Mandolin, but unlike the Mandola it will use exactly the same chords so I won't need to transpose, on top of that though, the Hora website also suggests an alternative G~D~A~D tuning. When I went to the Stentor website though, they were recommending a tuning in fourths like a Guitar rather than fifths like a Mandolin and that I should use the same four notes as the four lowest strings of a Guitar so E~A~D~G. In some ways this will make it easier to play but I know from some of my other chordophones that missing the first strings can be a bit confusing, especially as the Baritone Ukulele and the Chicago tuned Tenor Guitar, that I am use to playing, are tuned to the four highest strings of a Guitar. So lots of options for tuning and I wouldn't be at all surprised if it needs new strings when it arrives, thus leaving all the options open and lots of tuning fun; I'm looking forward to it.

It's here now and from the internal label, (and this is the only Ozark branding on the instrument), it was made in 2006. From the string tensions it is tuned G~D~A~E, (well that is nearly how I've tuned it but with 8 strings. Its actually tuned gG~cC~AA~EE because it allows me to use almost Ukulele chords, just transposing the E and A courses). It is quite large, (nearly as long and the Mandocello, but with a much smaller body), and it does sound and play very well. It could do with new strings, but not desperately so I won't rush out and get new ones, but when I do I will probably go for the fourths tuning, partly to see what it sounds like but partly because I think it will be easier for me to play that way.