Giannis Tsoulogiannis sent me this picture with the following info:

Karabas was a Spartan luthier in New York from 1895-?. This instrument dates from 1918 and has a scale length of 715 mm. It has all original parts and is influenced by the “tampoura” as opposed to the mandola. It was Karabas’ least expensive model.

Hopefully Mr. Tsoulogiannis will be able to provide us with more pics and measurements at some point.

Glenn started the first professional gig bag company, Reunion Blues, but is now solo. He uses top quality materials and makes bags for everything from unusual percussion items to full size harps, with 2000 patterns on file. But, this was his first bouzouki case! If you have an old bouzouki I highly recommend contacting Glenn, if yours fits the dimensions of mine you will save the cost of having a new pattern made.

Contact Glenn directly, or email me if you have any questions.

http://www.glenncronkhite.com/

Scale Length: 645 mm

Nut Width: 31mm

12th Fret Width: 38 mm

Body Width: 245 mm

Body Length: 355 mm

Body Depth: 150 mm

Original String setup: 8, converted to 6

This bouzouki is a bit of a mystery, hopefully someone can help solve.

The label inside said “867 Forest Ave. New York, NY. 1951″. The maker’s name was handwritten but seems to say “Alexandros Politis” followed by “Professional Violin Maker”. If anyone has heard of a New York luthier with a name that might match, please let me know!

It’s hard to believe that this was built in 1951 as this type of instrument had been out of style for at least 20 or more years. I like to speculate that Politis did some repairs or modifications to an older bouzouki in 1951. We’ll probably never know!

When I got the instrument it was set up for 8 strings, I’m not sure if that was original or if it had been modified. Paul Hostetter (Santa Cruz, Ca) built a new bridge, nut and installed new tuners (and was kind enough to disassemble them and soak in ferric acid to make them look older!) and made some other repairs and adjustments….it sounds great!

Scale Length, nut to bridge: 635 mm
Neck width at the nut: 28 mm
Neck width at the 12th fret: 39 mm
Body length: 375 mm
Body depth: 16o mm
Body width: 225 mm

The instrument was restored by luthier Nikos Fronimopoulos. His site has photos of the restoration process HERE.

Length, nut to bridge: 630 mm

Body length: 349mm

Body depth: 140 mm

Body width: 230 mm

Current owner unknown. It was found in Sparta.

Body : Brazilian rosewood 15 staves,Curly maple

Neck : Maple with brazilian rosewood  veneer

Top: low quality spruce

Decoration: Tortoise Shell and mother of pear

Sounds great!

Length, nut to bridge: 64o mm
Neck width at the nut: 31 mm
Neck width at the 12th fret: 37 mm
Body length: 35o mm
Body depth: 14o mm
Body width: 235 mm

Pre-restoration pics from Ebay (thanks to Paul Hostetter for saving these!)

A few pics from the Sparta conference, courtesy of Giannis Tsoulogiannis:

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This one appears to be undated….link here.

Anastasios Stathopoulo was the son of a Greek timber merchant, born in Sparta Greece in 1863. At the age of 10 he became interested in building musical instruments. Under the influence of his father he had acquired a natural sense and feel for wood and wood working. According to the family literature created in the 1930’s, Anastasios built lutes, violins and traditional Greek Lioutos supporting the local music of the time. He was good at it and his interest grew as he aged and chose not to follow in his father’s business.

There were limited opportunities for the growth of his father’s business in Sparta and apparently better options in Smyrna, Turkey. The Strathopoulo family moved to Smyrna in 1877 when Anastasios was 14. They adapted well to their new surroundings and the family appears to have been successful. By 1890, at age 17, Anastasios struck out on his own and established a musical instrument manufacturing business building mandolins, lutes, violins and traditional Lioutos. Anastasios was also busy building a family: he married Marianthe in 1892 and had his first son Epimanondas (Epi) in 1893. Sons: Alex and Orpheus (Orphie) and daughter: Alkminie (Minnie) soon followed.

The political situation in Turkey in the 1890’s was devolving as ethnic tensions increased. Greek immigrants were under steady persecution and this pressure on the Stathopoulo family plus the promise of greater opportunity in the United States led to their decision to try a new life once more in America. They arrived in 1903 – just about the same time that the Gibson Company was being formed. 
1907 – America

The family took some time to reestablish itself but by 1907 they had taken up residence at 121 West 28th Street in Manhattan. They lived upstairs and operated a shop at street level. They remained there for about 5 years until 1912. During this time Epi and Orphie worked with their father in the shop learning the family business.

The timing was good. America had entered a mandolin craze. Mandolin Orchestras were formed from coast to coast. New York was at the heart of setting musical trends with Tin Pan Alley churning out musical scores and distribution networks that could reach Chicago and the Pacific shores within days. There was no TV or radio yet and every house had a music room. Every child had some degree of musical training usually including sight reading as a primary form of social interaction and entertainment. This meant there was heavy demand for good quality and sweet sounding mandolins, violins and banjos. The Stathopoulo family arrived at the right time. Strathopoulo family instruments labels stated: “A.  Stathopoulo, Manufacturer-Repairer of all kinds of Musical Instruments”. The instruments caught on and business flourished. The House of Stathopoulo expanded into a new shop / warehouse on 247 West 42nd Street. The family enjoyed the fruits of a successful business and the children received a good education were raised in the trappings of privilege.

Unfortunately, in July 1915 Anastasios died at the age of 52 from cancer.

Used with permission from www.AcousticMusic.Org

Length, nut to bridge: 648 mm
Neck width at the nut: 31.75 mm
Neck width at the 12th fret: 38 mm
Body width: 235 mm
Body length: 368 mm
Body depth: 178 mm
# of strings: 6 total (3 courses of double strings)
Wood: looks like alternating Cherry and Maple staves, but I can’t verify
Date: 1910, New York
Maker: A. Stathopoulo
Place of purchase: Ebay, from an estate sale (in Philadelphia, I think)
Playability: excellent

Joan says: I had fantasized about getting my hands on an early bouzouki ever since seeing photos of them in the Fivos Anoyanakis musical instruments book. I never thought I would find one outside of a museum. Then one day I happened to find this one while browsing on Ebay. I put in a bid, and then got totally caught up in the excitement of the auction. I ultimately went way past the limit I had set, but I won the bouzouki away from one other bidder, after other bidders had dropped out.

The bouzouki’s face was unattached from the body and needed repair work, so I took it into Marina Music, in Culver City, a shop owned by Aleko Sioris. He took a look at it and finally asked me, “Did you get this on Ebay?” I told him yes. “Ah, so you’re the one!” He had been the other bidder. Aleko is at least a thousand times better player than I am, so I feel privileged to have this bouzouki in my possession.