Thomann Irish Concert Bouzouki

I bought this while training as an actor to use as a stage instrument for Shakespeare productions and the like. For this function it worked extremely well, although it took some time to figure out the tuning as compared to a guitar.

The sound is truly lovely, very warm and ancient, with a huge natural sustain. It can be played melodically, or as a rhythm instrument. When strummed quickly it is very jangly and happy, whereas when plucked slowly it can become a very reflective, mysterious, even medieval instrument.

My only issue was the very high action out of the box, which makes playing above the octave pretty much impossible, as the tuning goes and holding the strings down is a real effort. I'm still getting round to lowering it, which (hopefully) won't be too much of a challenge.

The instrument looks great, with a gorgeous rossette over the soundhole, which looks handmade. The gold machine heads match the coverplate at the bottom of the bridge, which really works looks-wise.

To conclude, a great investment for anybody interested in dabbling in alternative and folk instruments, I know I have a lot more to discover with this lovely bouzouki.

Excellent service from Thomann.

When this Bouzouki arrived I was very very pleased with the overall quality .The sound is excellent and the finish is well done .Everything about this instrument has amassed me from the gold tuners to the rose inlay centre hole which is made beautifully. The frets are good well crafted the beading around the edge is excellent .The F S E -3 band equaliser appears to do the trick and I have no complaints .It comes with a bag that is made of good quality material as is the whole instrument. I can honestly say I have not been able to fault it . If I hade to be really picky I think the action is a bit high but I am having mine adjusted, having said that I think everyone has there own preferences and this should not put you off choosing this Bouzouki.Execellent,price .Well made ,Superb .

I have to be honest that there were a number of quality control issues from Hora that needed addressing. I contacted Thomann and I am confident that these issues will be resolved. I might have been unlucky and got a rogue example. Please don't be put off, there is a happy ending.
I am a qualified repairer so I was able to correct the issues myself without having to return the instrument for replacement. I bought the version without the pickup and with the rosewood fingerboard. I changed the really poorly fitted wooden saddle which was way too high and rather shoddy. I made one from a suitably sized Tusq blank which I would recommend doing anyway because bone or Tusq sounds so much better than a wooden saddle. The bridge itself is made from maple which is sprayed with a dark lacquer and is fitted very well to the front with no gaps. Don't be put off by the finish on the bridge, it looks OK and maple is a really good choice for this type of bridge. I adjusted the truss rod with the supplied allen key which was taped inside the cardboard shipping box. I had to clean the fingerboard and polish the frets. Like another reviewer I also added side dots to the fingerboard . I'm surprised they are left off but it is obviously a cost cutting exercise, like the saddle . I replaced the strings because one broke when tuning up. The problem was sharp edges on the pressed tailpiece. I sorted that out with a needle file and some fine emery paper. Once any sharp edges are dealt with there is no need to change the tailpiece; it works well. The polyester finish is relatively thin and applied very well on my example which is good because it gives a better tone than one with a thick layer of poly which would stifle the movement of the soundboard resulting in poor tone. For purely cosmetic reasons I changed the rather large reddish coloured machine buttons for some smaller white perloid ones. The machine heads themselves are good and hold tuning well so there is no need to change them. It came with a soft cover with thin padding which is OK for around the house but not if you have kids or pets who may knock into it. Likewise no good if you want to transport it anywhere, so I bought the recommended Thomann banjo case which is a perfect fit - see separate review.

So , was it worth it? A definite YES. Even if you have to pay for a setup, once everything is in playing condition this instrument sounds wonderful and is still great value. I have a 40yr old MIJ Ozark octave mandolin/manadola which cost considerably more and which sounds great in it's own right, but this Irish Concert Bouzouki knocks it out of the ball park for tone and volume. I think you would have to pay a great deal more for an instrument that sounds this good. I definitely wouldn't buy cheaper. This instrument has a solid soundboard i.e. not ply, so the tone is better and will improve further with playing. The rest of the wood is maple which gives it stability and a clear tone with good projection. If still available opt for the rosewood fingerboard when buying. Thomann's customer service and value is excellent and I will continue to be a customer.

This instrument works nicely if you are looking to play Irish folk or medieval-style music.
It is a good value for money for a beginner player (like myself). It sounds really crisp and rich. The build quality is okay given the price, however there are some very minor flaws in the finish which maybe one would not notice at the first look.
The major issue is the high action which makes the playability really hard and throws the intonation off. I had to sand down the bridge a few mm to bring the action down for better playability. That could be done easily as the bridge is not glued to the body but only hanging by the tension of the strings. However if you don't feel like doing that yourself, any local guitar technician can do that for you.
Overall, it is a nice sounding instrument for a fair price, only that a little effort has to be done to make it play nicely.