Hi,
Can someone help me identify this instrument? It has been hanging around my grandfathers shop for the last 30 years or more. He has no idea what it is or how to tune it. Any help would be great. Thank you!
http://img39.imageshack.us/slideshow/webplayer.php?id=whatisit7.jpg
Bandurria?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandurria
http://atlasofpluckedinstruments.com/europe.htm
The non-slotted headstock allows it to make use of stock mandolin tuners (sides) and (ukulele) friction pegs in the center, instead of the rarer 6 per side small tuners.
I would tend to agree. It appears the maker made use of available hardware. It doesn’t seem to be any common configuration I’ve seen, but I have seen re-purposed tuners used before. Five-string ‘tunnel’ banjos sometimes use a ukulele tuner in the center of the headstock; a similar application.
There are others out there with a similar setup apparently.
Thanks for the feedback. Grandpa is happy to finally know the name of this instrument.