Ashbury Style A Irish Bouzouki

I am not from a musical background but I have been trying to teach myself a little guitar for the last 18 month. I was gifed a mandolin at the beginning of the year as a 40th birthday present from my girlfriend which I have really enjoyed getting to know and trying to play the odd tune on trying to teach myself sight reading and scales as well as chords and basic teqhniques.As I have had a fondness for Celtic/Scots folk music I thought that purchasing this instrument would be a good progression from mandolin and would help develop my interst further and it would lend itself nicely to tunes that I wished to learn to play that are native to North East of Scotland, I was really looking forward to receiving this item.I was sadly disappointed by the condition of the instrument when I opened the box, further more the product did not match the image used above as there was no tailpiece fitted, instead there was what can only be described as a poorly crafted piece of wood that the strings were fed under, further to this a badly fitted piece of material is tacked to the tail of the body in an effort to protect the wood from the strings. The strings are held in place by the required amount of metal nails/pins. I am far from an expert on craftsmanship but this is not what the image used above visually describes as it does look there is a better quality tailpiece attach to the instrument used above. Further to this the instrument arrive damaged, the poorly crafted piece of wood used to as a "tailpiece"was snapped into 3 pieces and the bodge was damaged. I was very disappointed, if I hadn't been intending to "upgrade" or customise it by fitting a tailpiece of my choice, striping the varnish back and reapplying a thinner coat I would be sending it back!The item was packed in a cardboard box but not bubble wrap was used, I intend to contact the seller to let them know the condition of the item when it arrived.

I decided I wanted to learn to play Irish bouzouki, coming from a guitar background I'm aware that poor quality instrument can totally ruin the learning experience. Unfortunately I didn't have the funds to purchase a trinity college or better bouzouki. I researched best I could and decided to take the risk on this instrument, as I don't have a music shop that sells them nearby I was aware of the risk I was taking. I am so pleased I did, this bouzouki looks a sounds lovely, it's solid wood (no laminate ) it comes octave strung ( top two sets of stings are different sizes, making them an octave apart, like a 12 string guitar) the neck is substantial with a solid feel. Good quality machine heads and strings are holding there tune well. I have Ibanez, Gretsch and Tanglewood instruments also and this Bouzouki is as well made as any of them. I can't stop playing this bouzouki. It's not the most expensive but it's sounds great, plays well and is a nice quality instrument. I am as you can tell a very happy customer. Just one little note, it doesn't come with a strap button so that's something that you have to sort out afterwards.

considering the price, the quality is average at best. Don't expect the regular tailpiece shown in the photo accompanying the ad as they seem happy to fit some poorly conceived and badly executed bodge with hammered in pins that won't last the test of time, and this is then covered by a crappy piece of wood in an effort to tidy it up. Surely the easier & cheaper option would be to put on a normal tailpiece? A few frets have sharp edges, almost zero adjustment available in the truss rod which meant fitting light strings in order to bring the action down, varnished finish is ok, and it's playable. I would have to say, given the choice again, I'd buy in a shop rather than online so my own fault really.