Body - Master Grade Curly Maple with Bloodwood stripes
Top - Curly Sitka Spruce
Neck - Curly Maple with Bloodwood laminations
Headplate - Macassar Ebony
Pickguard - Rosewood
Inlays - White, Bronzelip and Goldlip Mother of Pearl and Abalone
Theme - St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, Falls Church, VA, Holy Spirit Doves
Purfling - Abalone
I made this bouzouki in memory of my father, Marios Kacoyannakis. It will be donated to St.
Katherine Greek Orthodox Church, Falls Church, VA, to be used to raise money for the recent
church renovations. The body and neck, of Master Grade Curly Maple with Bloodwood stripes is
highlighted by inlays of the Ixthis Christian symbol, on the side, and Holy Spirit doves and the
symbol of the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America on the back. The Rosewood pickguard shows a
representation of St. Katherine Greek Orthodox Church's new facade. The fretboard markers are
Holy Spririt doves. Inside the body, I incorporated two pieces of wood from the old church pews.
Tzoura - H Melissa (The Honeybee)
Body - Cocobolo Top - Curly Kermodie Spruce Neck - Curly Maple with Ebony laminations Headplate and Pickguard - Purpleheart Inlays - White, Blacklip and Goldlip Mother of Pearl Theme - Honeybees Purfling - Abalone
This is an instrument I made for my daughter, in 2007. Since she is very young, I lined the bowl with carbon fiber, to prevent breakage from possible rough handling. There are also carbon fiber rods in the neck. Most tzouras are three-course instruments, but some are four-course. I decided to make this a four course so that my daughter could watch what I was playing on my four-course bouzouki, and learn to play. The tone is loud and twangy.
This instrument recently appeared in Fine Woodworking Magazine, August 2008, Issue No. 199, page 84, in the Readers Gallery. See it online, Fine Woodworking.
Travel Practice Bouzouki
Body/Top and Neck - Maple Inlays - Abalone and Mother of Pearl Theme - Dolphins Purfling - Abalone
I made this instrument for silent practice, in 2006. The neck and center section are one piece of maple. The "wings" of the front and the back "rib" make the instrument sit on the body like an acoustic instrument. It is headless, with the tuning machines behind the top. While you can hear the vibration of the strings (as you can on an electrig guitar) it is very quite. However, you can plug in and listen to any digital music player while you listen to yourself play through headphones. The four pieces fit into a custom made travel case that is fitted with wrench, tuner/metronome, cables and picks.
My First Bouzouki
Body and Neck - Mahogany Top - German Spruce Inlays - Mother of Pearl Theme - Horses
This is the first instrument I ever made. It was completed in 1980. The design is more like an early bouzouki, because the body is very lute shaped. The tone is a bit on the treble side and soft.
Kleftoyiannis Custom Bouzouki
Body - Walnut (dyed black)Neck - Bass wood Top - European Spruce Inlays - Pearloid and Mother of Pearl and Abalone (one of only a very few bouzoukis ever made with a fingerboard vine made from 100% Abalone) Theme - Grape leaf and grave vine Purfling - Abalone
I ordered this custom, made-to-order bouzouki from luthier Bobbis Kleftoyiannis of Athens, through Paul Kakouris of Bouzouki World, in 2002. It is a beautiful, top of the line, fully inlaid instrument, with fantastic sound and playability.
Tsolis Custom Bouzouki
Body - Rosewood Neck - Bass wood with Curly Maple veneer and Abalone stripe Top - German Spruce Headplate and Pickguard - Ebony and Mulberry Inlays - Mother of Pearl, Abalone Theme - Dolphins (the dolphins swim onto and up the fingerboard from the top and down the fingerboard). The dolphins on the body are classical Greek representations. Purfling Abalone Binding on Neck and Body - Mother of Pearl
Christos Tsolis of Athens made this fantastic bouzouki for me in 2005. I designed the inlay scheme and Christos modified it slightly. He is one of the few bouzouki luthiers who will take on full custom inlay work and he is a master at both design and execution.The tone of this instrument is very sweet and balanced, and the playability is soft and fast. Christos even had a custom hard-shell case made specifically for this bouzouki. A one-of-a-kind masterpiece.
The Logo Loft
