"Playing ball " (mpala) with Gomolaka

And the beautiful  luster of  old woods!

The talented luthier , Stelios Tsilimigkas, ( https://steliostsilimigkas.wixsite.com/luthier), finalized the musical instrument's  polishing state by using the difficult and time consuming technique of "Gomolaka with mpala" (Shellac application with muneca also called 'rubber')

The primary reason for using this kind of finish, is because, the shellac once been applied, dries almost instantly, and when several layers have been applied, is extra lightweight with a beautiful luster, that allowed all the natural timbre and overtones of the sound woods to vibrate freely, and the rich fullness of sound to be set free.

It is no coincidence that many of the incredible quality, beautiful and unique Stradivarius Violins were made with Shellac, although the exact formula is still unknown."

Stelios sent me today few photos (after completion of the first layers of application with "gomalaka") revealing for first time the final appearance of the beautiful woods which  this unique pre-war bouzouki is made of.