I ordered a Bouzouki from Dave Freshwater- one of the accord range, with pick-up. You can read Dave’s info on this instrument here. I have now had the instrument a few months, and thought it was time to commit myself to a review.

I have a Freshwater mandolin- a beautiful thing, and loved the idea that I would be ordering something handmade in Scotland.

I had also considered Moon, Buchanan and Fylde. However, all of these wonderful luthiers turn out instruments that command prices of double the cost that Dave charges for his accord range.

What you are buying is a handmade instrument at roughly the same cost of many factory produced Korean bouzoukis. This is remarkable.

So- how was it?

Quality and workmanship… 7/10

Well, both are good. The instrument looks great, is well finished, and made from fine tone woods. The pick up is of low quality, but works well- there is some ‘live’ noise from the body of the instrument as you play, but I quite like the percussive effect that this gives to what is after all a rhythm instrument.

The floating bridge is set up at an acute angle (when aligned with the marks placed by Dave on the soundboard) and I questioned this at first, but Dave assures me that this is correct.

The sound board marks very easily. Already it has scratches from my plectrum.

The stick-on freshwater logo’s are a bit low rent, but look better on this than on my mandolin. Machine heads smooth and decent, tailpiece will work with ball and loop strings. Frets dressed OK.

Playability… 5/10

Dave telephoned to ask what kind of set up I required- based on whether it would be played hard or more sensitively. I can be hard on my guitar at times so opted for the same. He gave instructions as to how to change the set up if required.

However, when the instrument arrived, it was unplayable for any length of time because the action was very high. The intonation was also affected, and I spent some time trying to compensate for this with different bridge settings.

A phone call to Dave was not very helpful- he told me that the instrument had been checked by a musician prior to being sent, and was fine. I am not sure what kind of musician. I also wonder whether Dave has a good understanding of how best to set up his instruments.

I have now lowered the bridge significantly. THERE IS NO TRUSS ROD, so this is the only way you can change the action of the instrument. (I knew this before ordering- so no complaints there…) The instrument now plays much better- although I will still lower it further I think.

The other thing that takes some getting used to is the neck- it is very thick and round. Perhaps it needs this bulk to remain stable without a truss rod? I am used to playing a Taylor profiled guitar, and this is very different. However- it is something I find myself warming to, as it shapes the hands for slide chords nicely.

I use doubled strings, tuned to DADG. I have not tried octaves yet.

Sound 7/10

This is a small bodied instrument, and so played acoustically, it projects thinly- but it has warmth and sustain.

Plugged in it has some power. If you are used to guitar playing, this will make a sound that you will easily appreciate as providing something different and useable.

Experience of buying from Freshwater 3/10

I am afraid things did not go very well here. I ordered the instrument online around my birthday in February. The estimate of delivery time was 6 weeks. It took much longer- about 6 months. I made several calls to chase it up, and even considered canceling my order. Dave described waiting for machine heads- this for a number of weeks.

The original payment (made by card) did not go through. I checked if all was in order, but although Dave had the order, it later transpired he had no money- all a bit confusing, and I wonder if he thought I was trying to rip him off.

When the instrument was delivered, it was entrusted to a courier who could not find our address. Dave made several calls about this, appearing to be very irritated with us for living in such a difficult place to find.

I ordered a case for the instrument- paying quite a lot extra. When it came it was a cheap guitar case that did not fit at all. I sent it back- again this involved some terse e-mails. There then followed a few phone calls to make sure that the money was returned- including some rather bad tempered answering machine messages.

To do Dave credit- he did try to ring me persistently to resolve any issues. However, this amounted to several calls a day at one point- and it felt quite intimidating.

I have no clear idea of the size of Dave’s operation, but suspect that it could do with some fine tuning- both in terms of logistics and customer relations!

Overall conclusion

This instrument is a significant improvement on the mass produced Korean imports. It has character and if you get the set up right, is fun to play.

If you are a guitar player looking to diversify, or want to move up from some of those awful Ozarks, it is well worth a try. You may need some patience, but hopefully it will be rewarded!