The story behind the sales

A personal perspective!

 

A.Stathopoulos style bouzouki.Created by S.Dimis(c) 2012

.

My latest decision to list some of my bouzouki instruments for sale , brought in return a lot of unexpected questions, and somehow a feeling of disappointment for some followers of this blog.

On one hand, I understand that their reaction confirms their personal involvement with the "Memories" blog, and their personal likeness regarding the instruments I have in my possession.

This fact, makes me partially happy, since it illustrates the great bond which they have developed by following the events of this blog.

For most of them, (been bouzouki players), it is very hard to understand how a person with so much love and passion regarding the bouzouki, can take such a drastic decision to sale most of his musical instruments.

Especially the ones which took me a lot of time in research, design, and development,as the Pre-war trichordo bouzouki.

The answer may be different from what someone is suspecting.

None of the instruments I have, are less important to my heart. Neither any of the instruments, developed some kind of defect, which pushed me to take such a rapid decision.

When I started this blog, I was 100% a tetrachordo bouzouki enthusiast.
This is the reason why I first ordered my 1950s tetrachordo bouzouki.

But through this blog, the research, the conversation with luthiers, and the education I gained, I became a follower, an enthusiast of the trichordo bouzouki. Especially the pre-war trichordo and its ancestors before the 1900s era.

The pre-war trichordo made by the hands of Giannis Tsoulogiannis, is a superb instrument with a great quality of sound!

It is a trichordo bouzouki inspired and influenced by elements easily identified on bouzoukia created during the period of 1910s-1920s (as the Anastasios Stathopoulos bouzoukia)

During the making of the pre-war trichordo, I faced the dilemma if this bouzouki should carry a sound board with the Neapolitan mandolin type step, and if its scale should be close to the A.Stathopoulos scale of 63cm-64cm.

Back then, young and amateur still in the magical world of pre-war trichordo bouzouki, (it was the transition time from tetrachordo to trichordo), a flat style soundboard and a current scale of 68cm, felt the best decision for me.

-"If one day I had to sell this instrument, I thought, it should not be hard finding a buyer, as it follows ordinary, current specifications, and measurements of the modern bouzoukia"

This is not the case anymore.

The instruments I am designing these days, are instruments which I am planing to keep for a life time, regardless if they follow the "fashion" of now days. Regardless if someone, someday will like to buy them or not.

Have finally found two luthiers as Giannis Tsoulogiannis and Tasos Theodorakis who can produce the sound quality of the old rebetiko, the only next and last step remaining for me, is to create instruments with elements representing that era.

Maybe for some followers my growth into an enthusiast of the old rebetiko, happened too fast, too suddenly, and maybe they were unable to understand and follow my journey. Maybe to them my latest decisions are completely irrational.

For them, a bouzouki created 3 months ago for example, is a brand new bouzouki.

To me, that bouzouki has been designed one and a half year ago. And the only element I was waiting to hear, was its sound.

Since I know now, how the instrument sounds, I am ready to write the last chapter of my "Memories" keeping in my possession only two bouzoukia.

The one, the Politiko, is already being made by the hands of Tasos Theodorakis.

Some days I am tormenting with the idea if I should have gone even further in development of this hybrid Politiko bouzouki, by adding moveable silver frets, and braces tuned as taboura.

And this is the reason why the Politiko bouzouki got up for sale for short periods of time.

At the end I decided to leave this further development in peace, keeping it hidden inside my designer's drawer.

Who knows, maybe one day this design will come up to the surface.
And then the journey will start once again!