this is one of a series of bouzouki's I owned over the years - the last being a quite expensive electro-acoustic one which I used to play live but never really bonded with and have sold recently.
I wanted one to play aboyt the house, record with, and potentially play live at some point again.
I went for this model as I reckoned the dark finish was perhaps hiding wood that was cosmetically poor, but structurally and sonically equivalent to the more expensive clear finish versions.
The big pro - this bouzouki sounds great. bright and loud without being overly thin. Onboard electronics work fine also.
I had to adjust the intonation, but there is enough play on the bridge to do so relatively easily.
the finish is nice, the tuners... well with this form of tuners unless you're spending big money they are all equally limited. These work better than I feared they might, fine in fact.
The big problem for most people would be that the action isn't great (fine up to about the 10th fret) - this can be remedied by sanding the bridge saddled (which is a removable separate piece) - not every play might feel comfortable doing this, but its a relatively easy mod.
the takeaway - great value for money for a beginner or someone more experienced who is happy to do a few simple mods or adjustments
