{"product_id":"roosebeck-greek-bouzouki-4-course-8-string-with-gig-bag","title":"Roosebeck Greek Bouzouki, 4-Course 8-String with Gig Bag","description":"\u003cdiv class=\"rb-badges\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"rb-badge\"\u003e4 Courses \/ 8 Strings\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"rb-badge\"\u003eRosewood Stave Body\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"rb-badge\"\u003eEuropean Spruce Top\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"rb-badge\"\u003e26.25\" Scale\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"rb-badge\"\u003eTruss Rod\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"rb-audience\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIdeal for:\u003c\/strong\u003e Rebetiko and Greek folk players, guitarists and ukulele players looking for a new voice, and anyone tracing the instrument back to its source\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"rb-tagline\"\u003eThe Greek original, with a staved rosewood body and CFAD tuning.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"rb-intro\"\u003eThis is the Greek bouzouki, the instrument the Irish one was adapted from, and it is a different animal: four courses tuned C F A D, a longer 26.25-inch scale, and the bright, sharp attack that carries rebetiko and Greek folk music. The body is built from rosewood staves, the same bowl construction our Renaissance lutes use, which is the traditional method for this instrument and the reason it projects the way it does. European spruce soundboard, mahogany neck, rosewood fingerboard, and custom lacewood inlays across the top, fingerboard, and headstock. A padded gig bag comes with it.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-nav\"\u003e\n\u003cbutton class=\"rb-acc-btn active\" data-panel=\"bouzrn-sound\"\u003eSound\u003c\/button\u003e \u003cbutton class=\"rb-acc-btn\" data-panel=\"bouzrn-design\"\u003eDesign\u003c\/button\u003e \u003cbutton class=\"rb-acc-btn\" data-panel=\"bouzrn-start\"\u003eTuning \u0026amp; Strings\u003c\/button\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-nav-row2\"\u003e\n\u003cbutton class=\"rb-acc-btn\" data-panel=\"bouzrn-specs\"\u003eSpecifications\u003c\/button\u003e \u003cbutton class=\"rb-acc-btn\" data-panel=\"bouzrn-box\"\u003eIn the Box\u003c\/button\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel-wrapper open\" id=\"bouzrn-sound\" style=\"max-height: 600px;\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eBright, Sharp, and Built to Cut Through\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe European spruce soundboard gives the Greek bouzouki its characteristic brightness and quick attack, and the staved rosewood body behind it adds warmth and sustain underneath. Eight strings in four courses produce the chorused shimmer the family is known for, and the longer 26.25-inch scale puts more tension behind each string, which sharpens the attack and adds projection compared to the shorter Irish instrument.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-callout\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eGreek or Irish:\u003c\/strong\u003e The Greek bouzouki tunes CFAD with a longer scale and a brighter, more cutting voice suited to rebetiko and Greek folk. The Irish bouzouki tunes GDAD on a shorter scale for the droning, chordal accompaniment of Celtic session playing. Same family, genuinely different instruments.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel-wrapper\" id=\"bouzrn-design\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eA Staved Rosewood Body\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe body is built from individual rosewood staves, each shaped and joined edge to edge into a rounded bowl rather than bent from a single sheet or assembled as a flat back and sides. It is the traditional construction for the Greek bouzouki and considerably more work: every stave has to meet its neighbors cleanly along its full length, and any error shows.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe payoff is acoustic. A staved bowl has no flat panels to resonate at a single pitch, so the body responds evenly across the range and the instrument projects forward rather than spreading. It is the same construction our Renaissance lutes use, for the same reason.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe soundboard is European spruce, the neck is mahogany, and the fingerboard is rosewood. Custom lacewood inlays run across the soundboard, the fingerboard, and the headstock, and lacewood suits the job because its ray-fleck figure reads as pattern rather than as a stripe of contrasting wood. There is a truss rod in the neck, which lets you correct relief as the instrument settles or as seasons change instead of living with whatever the neck decides to do. Not every instrument in this price range has one.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-callout\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA long history:\u003c\/strong\u003e The bouzouki traces back to Byzantine times, when a related instrument was known as the pandura. It later became the tambouras, and around the 19th century evolved into the modern bouzouki. The Irish adaptation did not arrive until the 1960s.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel-wrapper\" id=\"bouzrn-start\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTuned CFAD, and Easier to Learn Than It Looks\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe recommended tuning is C F A D, each course in unison. That is the standard four-course Greek tuning and the one most Greek repertoire assumes.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHere is the part that surprises people: the intervals between those courses, a fourth, a third, then a fourth, are exactly the same as the top four strings of a guitar and the same as a ukulele. The pitches are different, but every chord shape and scale pattern you already know transfers directly. If you play either instrument, you are not starting over.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-callout\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eComing from guitar:\u003c\/strong\u003e Play your familiar shapes on the top four strings and they will produce correct bouzouki chords, just in a different key than you expect. Learn where the new root notes sit and the rest of your fretting hand comes along for free.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel-wrapper\" id=\"bouzrn-specs\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eTechnical Specifications\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003ctable class=\"rb-specs-table\"\u003e\n\u003ctbody\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCourses\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e4 (8 strings total)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eBody\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRosewood stave construction\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eSoundboard\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eEuropean spruce\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eNeck\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eMahogany, with truss rod\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eFingerboard\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRosewood\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eInlays\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eCustom lacewood on soundboard, fingerboard, and headstock\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eScale Length\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e26.25 inches (667 mm)\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eRecommended Tuning\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eC F A D\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eDimensions\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e37.5 inches L × 11.75 inches W × 7 inches H\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003ctr\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003eWeight\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003ctd\u003e2.65 lbs, 4.85 lbs with gig bag\u003c\/td\u003e\n\u003c\/tr\u003e\n\u003c\/tbody\u003e\n\u003c\/table\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-callout\"\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eString care:\u003c\/strong\u003e Strings carry no warranty, and makers suggest replacing them every 3 to 4 months. Keep a spare set on hand, wipe the strings with a dry cloth after playing, and plan on fresh strings if the instrument has been stored for a while.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel-wrapper\" id=\"bouzrn-box\"\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-acc-panel\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eWhat's in the Box\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEvery Greek Bouzouki ships with a case, ready to tune and play.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-box-items\"\u003e\n\u003cspan class=\"rb-box-tag\"\u003ePadded Gig Bag\u003c\/span\u003e \u003cspan class=\"rb-box-tag\"\u003e\u003ca title=\"Roosebeck Bouzouki Owner's Guide\" rel=\"noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/3558507.app.netsuite.com\/core\/media\/media.nl?id=83883\u0026amp;c=3558507\u0026amp;h=rlBGwFnZwppOWVaj5jgP75iBFE9yRWsIlZWnR3B810VQGtb8\u0026amp;_xt=.pdf\" target=\"_blank\"\u003eOwner's Guide (PDF)\u003c\/a\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"rb-cta\"\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHave questions about this instrument?\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/contact\"\u003eContact us\u003c\/a\u003e or \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/all\"\u003ebrowse all Roosebeck instruments\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Roosebeck","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46221794246792,"sku":"BOUZRN","price":699.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0730\/1080\/6920\/files\/BOUZRN_01.jpg?v=1786374812","url":"https:\/\/roosebeck.com\/products\/roosebeck-greek-bouzouki-4-course-8-string-with-gig-bag","provider":"Roosebeck","version":"1.0","type":"link"}