Thanks for your review Molly. Like you, I bought a Hora Irish Bouzouki from eBay, but it was around 15 years ago. Mine came tuned GDAE with octave tuning. Since then, I have tried unison tuning which also sounds good, but I prefer octave. I have also switched over to GDAD tuning as I like that sound more. Hope you enjoy playing yours.
Picking one of these up later on today.. looking forward to getting started with it, it's branded Ozark but I'm pretty sure it's from the same Romanian makers
@@MusicalMollyKhan I do! I had to do a bit of setting up on it but I love the instrument itself.. very intuitive to get around on and it sounds great. I can see it sticking around!
I need a Thoman Portugess Mandolin. Please let me know how to order for it and the website to which ordered. Excellent finishing. The sound of it also be so melidious.
Does each pair of strings come in the same gauge so you can tune it in unison? I saw another video from a few years ago where the gauges in each pair were different for octave tuning. Thanks for the video!
I just checked, and the strings in each course are the same gauge! Mine came tuned in unison, which I really like the sound of, so I'm keeping it for now :)
No, the bouzouki especially It's not tuned like a fiddle. There are various tunings but by far the most common is GDAD and an octave lower than the fiddle
I would say the way it's strung would be mandochello. I have a Hora I bought on ebay over 15 years ago. I really like it. It is my go to. I don't have a good case for it. It came with a basically useless gig bag. I wrap it in a blanket when transporting. Mines tuned with octave strings on the lower two bouts. I also had to lower the bridge on mine.
I have the same instrument. I just put better Rubner tuners on it. I was worried about the box, too. They're putting less banjo-like bridges on the newer ones.
Hello, I'm thinking or getting one of these and was hoping you may be able to tell me how much your entire shipping costs were (assuming you're in the US)? Did you have any additional fees that you had to pay (customs, etc.)?? How long did it take to come in after you ordered it?? Thanks!
This was a little while ago, so these are my best guesses, haha! I believe I paid about $160 and an additional $60 in shipping. There were no hidden customs fees or additional costs at all. I can't remember the exact shipping time, but I purchased it near the beginning of April and made this video near the end, so I would estimate about 3-4 weeks to receive it :) I hope that's helpful!
@@MusicalMollyKhan Awesome. Thanks very much for the quick response! Did you order directly from Hora, or was it via another company (they're also sold by "Thomann" out of Germany which is the site I found them on). How did you find the string action; I've heard it can be kind of high on these. Thanks again.
@@kavikv.d.hexenholtz3474 I actually purchased mine on ebay from a seller "digitalmediashop85". Everything went well for me but they do have a couple of negative reviews. Thomann is a good and trustworthy company though, if you want to go through them. Personally, I find the action quite comfortable. Once you get above the 6th fret it becomes a bit high, but I have mostly been working with chords near the nut so it hasn't bothered me enough to try and fix it!
Mine came from a local dealer. USA anyway. No duty costs. I recomend having a good luthier set it up when you get it. I do enough setups I did mine myself. Everyone who sees and hears it falls in love.
Hora makes VERY AFFORDABLE but absolutely WONDERFULLY SOUNDING bouzouki / octave mandolins! Mine did arrive a bit damaged but due to US customs. This instrument is well made of decent wood and the sound far surpasses what the Chinese produce. Perfect for any guitar player who wants to try playing a mandolin. Really perfect for Irish, Celtic, modal Mountain music as well as Serbian and Arab music. Hora is NO beginner to luthiership. Check out their website and video. I wish they made mandolins. Ok, now for the versatility. You can tune the bass G and D strings in unison with wound strings OR you can tune them like a 12 string with one wound string and one bare steel string. And you can tune the bouzouki to standard violin / mandolin tuning OR to others like GDAD or ADAD. It is awkward to hold so I recommend having a luthier install a strap button in the neck heel (do NOT do it yourself unless you know what you're doing). My bouzouki arrived with some sharp fret edges which my luthier had to file down to keep my fingers from bleeding. The action was too high for me so I sanded down the bridge which was easy since the top is flat. I'd like to try a wider bridge to get even more vibration transmission. But anyways I really recommend this instrument. Just because it's made in Rumania and costs less than 300 bucks doesn't mean it's junk.
I wishbu had watched this before I bought my Blue Moon bouzouki for about $150 more than the Hora. It looks as good as the Blue Moon. I had read/seen disparaging reviews of the Hora, but it looks and sounds good. I had to have my fret bars files dow and a buzz in the springs dealt with.
Internet bouzouki s are much easier to obtain now than when i got mine from Ireland builder J. Foley in 1997. word of advice: tune the bouzouki a step down from standard A440: you will not break the high e string trying reach standard pitch so easily, ( I broke my share of them) I TRY to use string gauges .012, 018 .016, .032 and .018, .045. using .016 on E can break. if you live in dry climate get a hole humidifier so that the top won"t crack. I have made some repairs on mine at the tail piece bridge and the headstock. my advice is Preventive in nature. the scale of mine is 25 1/2 I am noticing you have had it 3 years. hope it is still behaving okay. i sometimes use GDAD or GDAE and I octave the bottom strings. Its a fun thing to play and its a trick to go through airport security with it. they think its a weapon I stop now.. happy" charunnnnnnnging". if your bouzouki made in Romania? not familiar with humidity levels there BUT I recommend a sound hole humidifier for when it is in the case that you insert the humidifier in sound hole...My own bouzouki top cracked ( I lived in rather dry colorado springs at time) and the fret ends extended over the edge of fretboard (which i filed to flush) .. live and learn. the Hora is Pretty. enjoy , ( damn i posted alot didn't I?) i enjoy mine in a Celt setting. backing fiddlers and pipers ..when they let me.
after she opened the first box i was asking myself if she was sure the thing came from romania and not russia. nice instrument, adequately priced. made by skilful cheap labour in romania and to be available to the people who are not rich.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 Some do but i've rarely seen fiddle tuning used for backing on a Bouzouki. It loses the drone which is one of the joys of a Bouzouki imho.
@@MusicalMollyKhan I hope you didn't think I was criticizing you. I love the way those open-headstock style tuners look, and once had a Takamine Bruno-copy guitar like that. But the first time I went to change the strings, I realized that looks aren't everything! My own octave mandolin has regular guitar type tuners, for which I am grateful.
![Seungmin "그렇게, 천천히, 우리(As we are)" | [Stray Kids : SKZ-PLAYER]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kAzmhLHePqU/mqdefault.jpg)
This was super helpful! I've been thinking about this for years, and this may have just made my decision for me.
Thank you for unboxing and review!
Very helpful video, thank you this video helped me make my mind up on which one to buy ☺️
I'm so glad it helped 😊
Thanks for your review Molly. Like you, I bought a Hora Irish Bouzouki from eBay, but it was around 15 years ago. Mine came tuned GDAE with octave tuning. Since then, I have tried unison tuning which also sounds good, but I prefer octave. I have also switched over to GDAD tuning as I like that sound more. Hope you enjoy playing yours.
It is so much fun! Good to hear it's going strong after 15 years. Thank you 😊
Picking one of these up later on today.. looking forward to getting started with it, it's branded Ozark but I'm pretty sure it's from the same Romanian makers
I hope you love it!
@@MusicalMollyKhan I do! I had to do a bit of setting up on it but I love the instrument itself.. very intuitive to get around on and it sounds great. I can see it sticking around!
What's the string action like from the factory? I'm looking at buying their "concert" model, just because it's got that nice rosette design.
It's not too high, but I did file the nut a bit to make it more comfortable for myself 😊
Hás It thrusrod ?
Where do i get this traditional instrument?.plz suggest
I need a Thoman Portugess Mandolin. Please let me know how to order for it and the website to which ordered.
Excellent finishing.
The sound of it also be so melidious.
Does each pair of strings come in the same gauge so you can tune it in unison? I saw another video from a few years ago where the gauges in each pair were different for octave tuning. Thanks for the video!
I just checked, and the strings in each course are the same gauge! Mine came tuned in unison, which I really like the sound of, so I'm keeping it for now :)
@@MusicalMollyKhan thank you so much Molly!
Molly the Bouzouki aka Octave Mandolin is actually tuned like a Fiddle. The Zero fret lowers the action which makes it easier to fret.
@Jean Claude Peeters A Solid Body Electric version has an even lower action so it's much easier to play, & also the strings are much lighter gauge.
No, the bouzouki especially It's not tuned like a fiddle. There are various tunings but by far the most common is GDAD and an octave lower than the fiddle
@@generalstoaschicken Actually it's the same tuning as a Fiddle but an Octave Lower. The zero fret helps with easier action.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 lol no. The vast majority of Irish bouzuouki players don't tune it like that 😂😂
@@generalstoaschicken That would be unless they're Classical Violinists who want to play Bouzouki
Nice sound.. Beautiful . positive. Personality added. God bless. Hope alls happy.
Would you mind if I ask you if that Bouzouki has a truss rod? I'm thinking of ordering one just like yours. Thanks!
Where did you buy it from?! Please send the site where you bought it
Is it electrified or ordinary?
Madam, Namaste🙏 What is the price of this Bazouki. It is so beautiful.
I would say the way it's strung would be mandochello. I have a Hora I bought on ebay over 15 years ago. I really like it. It is my go to. I don't have a good case for it. It came with a basically useless gig bag. I wrap it in a blanket when transporting. Mines tuned with octave strings on the lower two bouts. I also had to lower the bridge on mine.
That's fair, I actually don't know much about the difference between Bouzouki and mandocello as they seem quite similar.
what model is it?
I purchased mine from eBay and there was no listed model number, but I got the one without electronics.
@@MusicalMollyKhan You can add electronics & even a Pickup to it cause it'll make it easier to record.
What strings do you buy for it?
That song was Chicken Fried by Zack Brown.
I'd replace that tailpiece with a very special version of this tailpiece that has holes for the strings & even hooks.
I have the same instrument. I just put better Rubner tuners on it. I was worried about the box, too. They're putting less banjo-like bridges on the newer ones.
Oh interesting! I'd like to experiment with the new bridges 😊
Hello, I'm thinking or getting one of these and was hoping you may be able to tell me how much your entire shipping costs were (assuming you're in the US)? Did you have any additional fees that you had to pay (customs, etc.)??
How long did it take to come in after you ordered it??
Thanks!
This was a little while ago, so these are my best guesses, haha! I believe I paid about $160 and an additional $60 in shipping. There were no hidden customs fees or additional costs at all.
I can't remember the exact shipping time, but I purchased it near the beginning of April and made this video near the end, so I would estimate about 3-4 weeks to receive it :) I hope that's helpful!
@@MusicalMollyKhan
Awesome. Thanks very much for the quick response! Did you order directly from Hora, or was it via another company (they're also sold by "Thomann" out of Germany which is the site I found them on). How did you find the string action; I've heard it can be kind of high on these. Thanks again.
@@kavikv.d.hexenholtz3474 I actually purchased mine on ebay from a seller "digitalmediashop85". Everything went well for me but they do have a couple of negative reviews. Thomann is a good and trustworthy company though, if you want to go through them.
Personally, I find the action quite comfortable. Once you get above the 6th fret it becomes a bit high, but I have mostly been working with chords near the nut so it hasn't bothered me enough to try and fix it!
@@MusicalMollyKhan
Thanks - very helpful!
Mine came from a local dealer. USA anyway. No duty costs. I recomend having a good luthier set it up when you get it. I do enough setups I did mine myself. Everyone who sees and hears it falls in love.
Hora makes VERY AFFORDABLE but absolutely WONDERFULLY SOUNDING bouzouki / octave mandolins! Mine did arrive a bit damaged but due to US customs. This instrument is well made of decent wood and the sound far surpasses what the Chinese produce. Perfect for any guitar player who wants to try playing a mandolin. Really perfect for Irish, Celtic, modal Mountain music as well as Serbian and Arab music. Hora is NO beginner to luthiership. Check out their website and video. I wish they made mandolins. Ok, now for the versatility. You can tune the bass G and D strings in unison with wound strings OR you can tune them like a 12 string with one wound string and one bare steel string. And you can tune the bouzouki to standard violin / mandolin tuning OR to others like GDAD or ADAD. It is awkward to hold so I recommend having a luthier install a strap button in the neck heel (do NOT do it yourself unless you know what you're doing). My bouzouki arrived with some sharp fret edges which my luthier had to file down to keep my fingers from bleeding. The action was too high for me so I sanded down the bridge which was easy since the top is flat. I'd like to try a wider bridge to get even more vibration transmission. But anyways I really recommend this instrument. Just because it's made in Rumania and costs less than 300 bucks doesn't mean it's junk.
Yes, I love my Hora Bouzouki! It's held up super well and sound great 😊
At this price, i prefer taking a ashbury.
I wishbu had watched this before I bought my Blue Moon bouzouki for about $150 more than the Hora. It looks as good as the Blue Moon. I had read/seen disparaging reviews of the Hora, but it looks and sounds good. I had to have my fret bars files dow and a buzz in the springs dealt with.
Internet bouzouki s are much easier to obtain now than when i got mine from Ireland builder J. Foley in 1997. word of advice: tune the bouzouki a step down from standard A440: you will not break the high e string trying reach standard pitch so easily, ( I broke my share of them) I TRY to use string gauges .012, 018 .016, .032 and .018, .045. using .016 on E can break. if you live in dry climate get a hole humidifier so that the top won"t crack. I have made some repairs on mine at the tail piece bridge and the headstock. my advice is Preventive in nature. the scale of mine is 25 1/2 I am noticing you have had it 3 years. hope it is still behaving okay. i sometimes use GDAD or GDAE and I octave the bottom strings. Its a fun thing to play and its a trick to go through airport security with it. they think its a weapon I stop now.. happy" charunnnnnnnging". if your bouzouki made in Romania? not familiar with humidity levels there BUT I recommend a sound hole humidifier for when it is in the case that you insert the humidifier in sound hole...My own bouzouki top cracked ( I lived in rather dry colorado springs at time) and the fret ends extended over the edge of fretboard (which i filed to flush) .. live and learn. the Hora is Pretty. enjoy , ( damn i posted alot didn't I?) i enjoy mine in a Celt setting. backing fiddlers and pipers ..when they let me.
... but why didn't you play anything?
after she opened the first box i was asking myself if she was sure the thing came from romania and not russia.
nice instrument, adequately priced. made by skilful cheap labour in romania and to be available to the people who are not rich.
It's tuned like a Fiddle
Most people tune them GDAD for accompaniment, GDAE for melody.
@@bealmor1963 Violin players would use GDAE tuning so they can play the same music on an Octave Mandolin.
@@RockStarOscarStern634 Some do but i've rarely seen fiddle tuning used for backing on a Bouzouki. It loses the drone which is one of the joys of a Bouzouki imho.
@@bealmor1963 Ok so it needs that Drone. But Violin players would have fun with this instrument.
"Tuners like a classical guitar, which is kind of fun". I would say not so much "fun" as tortuous in terms of string changing.
Haha, fair enough!
@@MusicalMollyKhan I hope you didn't think I was criticizing you. I love the way those open-headstock style tuners look, and once had a Takamine Bruno-copy guitar like that. But the first time I went to change the strings, I realized that looks aren't everything! My own octave mandolin has regular guitar type tuners, for which I am grateful.
@@c.a.t.732 oh no not at all! I do like the look better as well, and honestly after changing harp strings they seem like a breeze 😅
You could use Google translate...😊
Bouzouki is a Greek instrument....this is just a Chinese copy....
This is an Irish bouzouki, there are a few differences between the two instruments. Also, this isn't from China.
Ombra is correct, it's an Irish bouzouki made in Romania. It's certainly not a professional or historical instrument, but it does play quite well :)
Ombra Blu I know that it’s an Irish bouzouki....but it’s a “Chinese” copy of the Greek one
Musical Molly Khan god damn please understand when people are being ironic 😁😁
@@georgevatsos I thought you meant chinese as in literally "made in China", my bad