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< Bouzoukia ~ My Dekavalas bouzouki |
| MellowD |
 Posted: Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:33 pm |
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Joined: 03 Aug 2007
Posts: 41
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I'd like to kick off this section of the forum with a review about my experience with the Dekavalas shop. My father bought this bouzouki in 1991 in Thessaloniki from Kostas Dekavalas. It was a classic bouzouki in terms of cosmetic design. It did sound as wonderful as it looked too! I inherited it in 1997.
First, the tragedy: In 1999 I caused some serious damage to it. I put it on an instrument stand without realizing that the cord was still plugged in and wrapped around my ankle. When I got off my stool and started walking, I yanked the bouzouki bowl first onto ceramic tile flooring. This resulted in a really long crack in the bowl and the sound was gone. Whenever I'd play it, it sounded lifeless. No resonance what so ever. I took it to a local luthier ( I was living in Budapest Hungary at the time) and he did a patch job on the back. It sounded better, but nowhere near it's former glory.
Next comes the miracle: In 2005, I had my father take it back to the shop in Thessaloniki. As it turns out, Kostas Dekavalas had sadly passed away (R.I.P.) but his sons had taken over the shop. Well I must say that I was completely floored with the instrument I got back. The bouzouki was refinished and had all the shine and glamour of a brand new instrument. EXCELLENT workmanship! At first I was just cautiously happy. I thought to my self "well it looks good but does it sound any better?" Well I was even happier to note that it sounded incredible.
I would very confidently recommend the Dekavalas shop to anybody. Those guys there are wizards. I must emphasize the fact that my opinion is strictly based on the end product. I had never had the pleasure of visiting the shop myself. I had no bias and I haven't been fed any sales pitches. Not only did they sell us a wonderful new instrument, but they resurrected the same instrument after some near fatal injuries.
Below is a snapshot from when I got it back after repairs in 2005. It had an EMG pickup on it at that time. I've since put back the Ideal that was originally on there and also added a second pickup as well (McIntyre Acoustic Feather for Mandolin).
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Last edited by MellowD on Sat Mar 15, 2008 9:46 pm; edited 2 times in total
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| ikariotis |
| Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 10:17 am |
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Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 8
Location: Moorestown, New Jersey
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| I just ordered an emg-b from skeezo...should I not have? how do they comprae to the ideal? |
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| MellowD |
| Posted: Mon Mar 17, 2008 11:50 am |
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To my ears, when there is nothing between the pickup and the PA, they both sound pretty much the same. I think the signal is probably a little stronger with the EMG because it's active but in terms of timbre, they were almost identical. An amplifier (Fender, Solitaire etc) and/or effects will make a much bigger difference in the sound IMHO.
I switched back to the Ideal because I found that changing the battery was a huge PITA (that's internet lingo for "pain in the ass") I didn't feel the difference in signal strength and sound justified the extra hassle. Plus, I kind of like how it gives the bouzouki that old school 60's vibe  |
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| ikariotis |
| Posted: Fri Mar 21, 2008 9:50 pm |
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Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 8
Location: Moorestown, New Jersey
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| thank you... |
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| ikariotis |
| Posted: Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:24 pm |
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Joined: 30 Aug 2007
Posts: 8
Location: Moorestown, New Jersey
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| Hey, just poppin in to say yo...too many places to visit lately...I liked being centrally located before...cya around |
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