Designing the fret inlays

Turkish influence in "tsampoukades"

Giannis has started to form the headstock (karavola) design. Even tho the bouzouki will be tetrachordo (8 strings) I asked the luthier to create the older style headstock, the one the old trichordo(6 strings) bouzouki of 40s-50s use to carry.




Now days most of the bouzouki luthiers create bouzoukia with the newer headstock design.From my experience, the newer design of headstock allows a more stable rig on the wood for the tuning machines, and an easier tuning rotation.The keys that sit perpendicular to instrument's headstock(these are referred as a new type) clearly facilitate better the tuning and the changing of strings.
But for me the choice to use the older type was purely aesthetic.

Also Giannis has started to create the fret inlays (tsampoukades) from Mother of Pearl with a very beautiful and unique old style design.

The word "tsampoukas" deriving from the Turkish word "cabuk" which means "fast".I supose, luthiers from Turkey used to call the markers on the fretboard this way, since they were helping the instrument player to find easier and faster the notes of the music composition.

1.A beautiful fret marker at the 5th fret space.



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