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Irish Bouzouki

Posted by Mr. Toad on August 17, 2014 at 12:52am in Building Secrets, Tips, Advice, Discussion

A friend wants me to make him an Irish Bouzouki. What I think I really need is the scale length. I'm assuming that it is of the mandolin family (the largest). I am using quarter sawn white oak for the neck. Do I need to use a truss rod. Tell me anything else I might need to know. Would it be better to use a large box?

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Replies

  • Randy S. Bretz August 17, 2014 at 8:15am

    Talk to Jay of Tinyguitars...he has made several from scratch...a very talented builder and player !!!!

  • Richey Kay August 17, 2014 at 1:57am
    Sounds like a fun project! Were you considering an 8 string instrument? A quick glance at Wikipedia tells me the scale length is usually around 25" - even quarter sawn oak might struggle with this amount of tension on a long neck, unless its mega chunky. A truss rod might be sensible. I'm sure others would recommend a laminated neck, as this would be stronger than one piece of solid wood. The bigger the box, the louder the instrument would be, so I guess that's up to you!
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