B
Funny little trinket
The shipping has been a little troubled. I had to wait close to three weeks (inter-EU shipping) to have the order delivered, because the gigbag I ordered with it was temporarily out of stock. To be fair to Thomann, they offered a separate order for the gigbag to give me the instrument in the usual 3-5 business days, but I wasn't in a rush so I waited. The parcel was knot-tight as usual and presented no structural damage.
This is my first baglamas and my first roundback plucked instrument ever, though I have dabbled already in Irish bouzouki and flatback mandolin for some years. Visually, the instrument appears mostly as seen in the pictures. There are some minor flaws (two small varnish drops on the back, what appears to be a barely visible glue mark on a very high fret, some frets may stick out of the neck less than a half millimetre), but I guess it's almost reasonable to expect them on an instrument under 300 euros. I like the light varnish coating that gives it a "natural/satin feel" instead of the usual full lacquer coating.
Structurally, the baglamas feels very light, even feeble at times. The metal tailpiece cover is a bit wonky, but it doesn't slide off easily, and there are only four hooks to tie the six strings. The tuning keys are a bit hard to wind/unwind (which is pretty common among mandolin-style machines in this price range) and I'd have liked to have slightly longer tuning pegs encased with single metal nuts for more stability. I advise to tune the instrument one step down (cC - gg - cc) to reduce neck stress and increase its durability.
Sonically, the instrument is cutting and pointy as a baglamas should be, but not particularly powerful. I'm told that a good baglamas should be able to be heard over a full rebetiko/entekhno ensemble to double the singer's melody or the bouzouki solo parts. I'm led to believe that it happens because the instrument seems carved from a single wood block (even if I suspect some kind of joint upon the higher neck area), while high-end luthiery uses wood staves for roundback instruments to increase structural integrity and resonance.
In conclusion, I'm quite satisfied with my purchase. I bought this baglamas as a starter/study instrument so that, if I get good enough, I could move up to a higher end one.
This is my first baglamas and my first roundback plucked instrument ever, though I have dabbled already in Irish bouzouki and flatback mandolin for some years. Visually, the instrument appears mostly as seen in the pictures. There are some minor flaws (two small varnish drops on the back, what appears to be a barely visible glue mark on a very high fret, some frets may stick out of the neck less than a half millimetre), but I guess it's almost reasonable to expect them on an instrument under 300 euros. I like the light varnish coating that gives it a "natural/satin feel" instead of the usual full lacquer coating.
Structurally, the baglamas feels very light, even feeble at times. The metal tailpiece cover is a bit wonky, but it doesn't slide off easily, and there are only four hooks to tie the six strings. The tuning keys are a bit hard to wind/unwind (which is pretty common among mandolin-style machines in this price range) and I'd have liked to have slightly longer tuning pegs encased with single metal nuts for more stability. I advise to tune the instrument one step down (cC - gg - cc) to reduce neck stress and increase its durability.
Sonically, the instrument is cutting and pointy as a baglamas should be, but not particularly powerful. I'm told that a good baglamas should be able to be heard over a full rebetiko/entekhno ensemble to double the singer's melody or the bouzouki solo parts. I'm led to believe that it happens because the instrument seems carved from a single wood block (even if I suspect some kind of joint upon the higher neck area), while high-end luthiery uses wood staves for roundback instruments to increase structural integrity and resonance.
In conclusion, I'm quite satisfied with my purchase. I bought this baglamas as a starter/study instrument so that, if I get good enough, I could move up to a higher end one.
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