Tzoura strings

[Kriko]

What size of strings are to be put on a tzoura?
I mean, I guess one can buy tzoura-strings-sets in countries where it
is played, but how to do elsewhere? It's probably possible to use a
gauge of strings intended for other instruments (folk guitar,
mandolin?), do you have an idea?

[tambouras]

You should be able to use trihordho bouzouki strings with no problem.
If that sounds a bit loose you can tune the tzouras a bit higher.
There is nothing which says that a tzouras should always be tuned DAD.
I have mine at EBE or even FCF sometimes. I'm not even sure you could
buy specific 'tzoura string sets' in Greece either!.
So: for the D strings 0.10-0.11", for A 0.14-0.15" and the usual D
bass for a bouzouki. Actually I have used plain brass piano wire
0.175" on bouzouki and tzouras for the D bass string for many years -
you never have to change them!
Good luck!

[Kriko]

Thanks a lot
Its quite impossible to find "trichordo strings" in my town
(country?), but with the gauge I will find something equivalent
Bye

[Nikos A. Politis]

As Tambouras says, even in Greece there are no special strings for
tzouras. Everybody, including myself, uses bouzouki strings. But
Tambouras' idea with the piano strings is very challenging! Since he
has used them for years, I will also try this (for the bouzouki I
mean, with the tzouras I also keep the strings for years, since they
are not tensed to the highest possible weight).

Of course the strings sound a bit loose but this is an acceptable and
generally wanted feature. Certainly one can tune higher but I am
happy with DAD. After all, a tzouras is not a bouzouki.

Generally speaking, it is amazing how different a sound one can
achieve by using different kinds of strings (mandolin etc.) and it is
worth the necessary tries.

[The_Walrus]

Skeezo sells sets of tzoura strings http://www.skeezo.com/strings

On May 21, 7:37 pm, "Nikos A. Politis" <nika...@otenet.gr> wrote:
> Generally speaking, it is amazing how different a sound one can
> achieve by using different kinds of strings (mandolin etc.) and it is
> worth the necessary tries.
>

Niko, what strings would you recommend to make my Tsakirian trichordo
sound more like a Markos bouzouki? It has Skeezo strings on at the
moment, but to me they sound too clean, like a pure ringing tone,
while I think there should be more twang. Or maybe it's the way I
pluck them that is wrong....

[Nikos A. Politis]

Chris, it is difficult to “recommend” strings without having tried on
a specific instrument. Next time you come to Greece, you should buy a
collection of string sets and start experimenting. In the mean time,
you can start doing the same with whatever strings are available in
your local market. Anything goes, guitar, mandolin, piano if
available etc. but I would think they should be metal strings, not
plastic or gut.

Another alternative is what Tony suggests: try to lower the pitch by
a semitone or two, if this doesn’t bring difficulties when playing in
a group. And of course, you will keep your plucking attitudes as they
are.


On May 22, 12:46 pm, The_Walrus <christopher.blackm...@btinternet.com>
wrote:
> Skeezo sells sets of tzoura stringshttp://www.skeezo.com/strings

[Mr. Narghile]

Hoe you play has just as much, maybe more, to do with the sound than
the strings. And don;t forget Walrus, although Markos might have had
the same buzouki as you, it might not be the one you're hearing on
the records, especially he older ones...

dave

[The_Walrus]

Thanks for the encouragement gentlemen!

Dropping the pitch sounds interesting, I will have a try soon. Having
just played for twenty minutes to entertain myself, I think Mr
Narghile is right. I may need to buy something cheaper to get the
sound I'm looking for. The Tsakirian sings, but it can jangle and roar
as well. I don't know if I am making sense here. Goodnight!

[Fabian Philippoussis]

Chris, try Maestro or the Laouto strings if you can get them...but ultimately it is your right hand, your picking technique that you must change inorder to sound more like Marko...we all have unique voices when we speak, so too when we play our instruments...good luck brother in your noble quest...

[nicos]

hello all , I use prodigy strings - tzoura/bouzouki set. I have gone
back to basics with the left hand but yes the right hand is the one
with plectrum techique ?

On May 23, 9:12 pm, "Fabian Philippoussis" <fabianospi...@gmail.com>
wrote:

> > as well. I don't know if I am making sense here. Goodnight!- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[wildaker]

Greetings all.

Chris: different strings can make quite a difference. An interesting
experiment is to use Savarez Argentine "New Concept" strings, as used
on French-style jazz guitars (assuming you can get singles). The bass
D-string is wrapped with silver-plated copper wire, which gives a less
jangly tone than a brass or phosphor bronze winding. Argentine strings
are available with loop ends, BTW, which prevents a lot of faffing
about compared with normal ball-end guitar strings. Nominal 0.11-0.11,
0.14-0.14 and 0.11-0.22w (Argentine actual gauges are a bit off) would
be my choice - and, to return to the original theme, they're just fine
for the tzouras as well (and, come to that, baglamas, although you
need to cut a lot off at the tuning peg!). A silk-and-steel bass D-
string might be a fun experiment, too.

However, strings are just part of the equation with any stringed
instrument. You can also experiment with different plectrum shapes,
thicknesses and materials - try a thick (over 1.5mm) pick made of a
softish substance such as acetate for a reasonable approximation of
the tortoiseshell picks that were popular in the 30s (and are now
illegal). You can also try coconut shell, olive wood, horn, bone,
stone...

But the most important ingeredient is the hands (both of them - I
suspect that Markos's, like those of most profesisonal plectrists, to
revive a wonderfully silly 1930s term, were very strong, and that he
really pressed down hard with his fretting hand). As Keith Richards
once said (roughly), "I've got loads of guitars and they're all
supposed to sound different, but whichever one I pick up I just sound
like me".

It's worth remembering that, if you manage to mimic the Markos sound
perfectly you will not sound like Markos's recordings (and if you
sound like the recordings you won't sound like Markos). 1930s
recording techniques and equipment - single ribbon mics, valves/vacuum
tubes, straight-to-wax-master recording - coloured/compressed/filtered
the sound rather a lot!

On May 22, 9:19 pm, The_Walrus <christopher.blackm...@btinternet.com>
wrote:

[AKRITAS]

Thank you wildaker - wonderfully informative and makes a lot of sense!   One question:  Are you sure that pressing down with the fretting hand (the left usually) is what makes the big difference?  I mean, once you use enough pressure for the string to touch the fret firmly, is any more pressure doing anything?  Wouldn't it be the right hand, the plectrum hand (the penia stroke) that makes the bigger difference? .... that's two or three questions! :-)   Akritas

[wildaker]

Akritas, *both* hands make a difference, in my view. A strong left
(fretting) hand does affect the tone - you can see that most top
players of stringed instruments such as the bouzouki and guitar (and
violin and...) really "attack" the neck when they're playing - even
when playing quietly.

A strong left hand, and fingers that can hammer hard against the neck,
can make the process of fretting a note faster, effectively reducing
(or removing) the transitional period where the string is "not quite"
fretted - and this helps with tone and clarity. Strength in the
fretting hand is also essential for a good vibrato. And a strong hand
opens up more fingering possibilities - those with weak hands often
have fourth (and even third and/or second) fingers that can't really
fret a note unless they're "helped" by the rest of the hand.

Finally - and this is entering the realm of the somewhat esoteric -
you'll find that a number of really good players use a combination of
strength and precision to "micro-tune" the notes they are playing
(bending the strings very, very slightly), to iron out the compromises
inherent in even temperament and imposed by the fretboard, and thus
they play more completely in tune. Wringing "just intontation" out of
a tempered instrument in this way isn't something that is much
discussed, but it does happen.

A strong and skilled plectrum hand is also important, of course!

Mike

On Jun 17, 2:14 pm, AKRITAS <akrita...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> Thank you wildaker - wonderfully informative and makes a lot of sense!

> &nbsp;
> One question:&nbsp; Are you sure that pressing down with the fretting hand (the left usually) is what makes the big difference?&nbsp; I mean, once you use enough pressure for the string to touch the fret firmly, is any more pressure doing anything?&nbsp; Wouldn't it be the right hand, the plectrum hand (the penia stroke) that makes the bigger difference?

> .... that's two or three questions! :-)

> &nbsp;
> Akritas
>
> &nbsp;

[AKRITAS]

Thanks for this discussion - that makes a lot of sense...   How does one strengthen the hands for this purpose?  Is it just from hours of playing?  Are there exercises one can do for this purpose?   Thanks

[Fabian Philippoussis]

Unfortunately, as Al Dimeola once said, "some people are just born, as are athletes, with the proper tendons, ligaments and muscles"... Paganini was built perfect for the violin but he looked kind of freakish