The one of a kind P.Tsimis three course bouzouki.

And the intense research for an original bridge !

As I had mentioned on an earlier post, on April 16, 2015 , after a long and intense research, I wrote an article regarding a very unique, shorter scale  bouzouki,  which appeared  in an early advertisement of the master luthier  Theodoros Karabas and his NY " NEOLAIA " workshop.

Back then, my research led me to the famous luthier of Peloponnesos- Greece , Takis Tsimis, (Panagiotis Tsimis and Co established in N.Y on 1908) 

Four and a half  years after my initial research, a beautiful three course bouzouki - in excellent condition, constructed by P. Tsimis on March 31st 1924 with serial number 7565, came into my hands.

Up to now this Panagiotis Tsimis bouzouki is the only three course bouzouki known that has survived.

The instrument was found in an excellent vintage condition with the need of only minor cosmetic restoration, and touch ups.

Unfortunately though,  the original bridge and the original nut had been replaced, by a second unknown luthier.

The master luthier and friend Chris G. Pantazelos who works at the Spartan Instruments shop (http://spartaninstruments.com/) , and has proven experience, knowledge, and respect on restoration of historical instruments at this caliber, did the final restoration

The luthier revived the instrument's old varnish, with a new layer of Shellac application with muneca also called 'rubber (French polishing)

The luthier also cleaned the beautiful and original brass tuners, and filed the bone-nut.

As I mentioned above,  the original bridge of the instrument was replaced by an unknown, second luthier (who did a small restoration on the instrument) with a new bridge made out of ebony wood.

After an intense research which Chris Pantazelos and I did,  it was obvious to both of us that the shape and the dimensions of the new bridge, was not following the Pre-war style of instrument created by Theodoros Karabas and Anastasios Stathopoulos.

Fortunately,  Chris Pantazelos recently had restored two Theodoros Karabas bouzoukia from the same era.
One of them, was still carrying the original bridge when was delivered to Chris' workshop.

Due to the passage of time and the fragility of the wood, the luthier had to replace the original Karaba's bridge with a new and exact copy.

The original Karabas bridge left behind in Chris workshop, and the luthier now had the opportunity to create a second exact copy for my P. Tsimis instrument.

But as an "obsessive" researcher, I was still tormenting with the dilemma if at the end, a Karabas bouzouki bridge would be the closest bridge to the one that the Tsimi bouzouki initially carried.

So I started a very intensive research. I left no stone un-turned!
And three months later,  the research paid off!
A second Tsimis bouzouki (this time, a later years, four course,  with wider body) appeared in an auction.
The instrument had few structural and cosmetic issues, but luckily enough, the bouzouki still was carrying a half broken original bridge.

Using my digital tools I was able to reconstruct the complete bridge and also identify that the bridge was made by rosewood and not by ebony wood!

Once again, Chris Pantazelos did a remarkable work restoring  back to"perfect" condition this little treasure.

Following a side by side photo of the only two Tsimis bouzoukia known that have survived. At the left, a wider body four-course or multi-course bouzouki.At the right, the three course before restoration