Worldwide Balalaika Forums

Just found this site and wanting to say hello...dobroy dyen! I play guitar and mandolin and want to follow my Russian roots and learn balalaika. I will be asking many questions as to selection of instrument, tuning, strings etc.

Privet !

welcome in the wonderful world of Balalaika

don't hesitate to send any question about, i'll try to answer

poka

blagdar-you za privet Poka.........I don't even know where to start. Firstly, what should one pay for an intermediate instrument. My experience with guitars and mandos, I learnt the hard way...do not bother to spend too little and then end up with something that you cannot unload. I would rather start with a little better instrument which then I do not have to upgrade for a long time. I'm in Canada and you're in France. Where did you purchase your instrument? Probably my best would be to try some Canadian dealers for warranty etc. Anyway, if you would like to share some thoughts I would appreciate. Spasseebo, dasvedanye......Stepan Petrovitch

Privet

Good question

I'll tell you about my own experience & , i'll start by apologizing because i'll speak in Euros & not in Dollars

So...

when i suddenly decided to learn to play balalaika, i first searched on eBay & eBay-like websites... because i didn't had so much money to put... & so i was about to buy one when i was saved by my futur teatcher

his first lesson was that there's several kind of balalaikas

first the ones used to hang on a wall in your house as decoration (99% of what you can find on eBay are) : you can recognize them with 2 points : frets are going only up to the body & not to the sound hole & there's no protection on the soundboard

& second, the ones used to play with

& inside that second categorie, there's also 2 differents kind : factory made & handmade by a luthier

today, in europe, the lowest price for a factory made balalaika is 300 Euros... for that money, you'll get an instrument same quality as a 100 Euros Guitar...

sound is... they are not easy to play & start to go into pieces after few time (bad glue used to make them)

Also, today, if you want an handmade one, you'll have to pay 3000 Euros

... so i used the possibility to buy a second hand one : i bought a balalaika made from the factory Lounatcharsky in Leningrad in 1958 (old lady ) & it cost me 600 Euros (ouch )
but according to my teatcher, it's the best factory made ever...

about handmade ones, second hand ones start at something like 900 Euros

But we are talking on imperskaya forum & as far as i remember, their main business is to sell balalaikas you could call them to see if they can something for you : i asked them advise for an hardcase for my instrument & they can send it to France, so why not to Canada ?

some picts :

what you shouldn't buy :



this is better :



i hope you see the differences with the frets & the black protection over the soundboard

both are important :

for example, let's say that i couldn't play the 5th song (& most of followings ones) i learnt because of the lack of frets ! : you are very quickly reaching the limits of instrument like balalaika for decoration

more details :

good :



not good, you loose nearly one octave !!! :

Hey mouzik..............vi panemayte po rooske? Ya zhnayou chto vi v fransee' no moget bit vi ponumayete po rooske.....Otleechno chto vi perselalee o balalaike, Eto mne ochen xorosho znat.......Yab kypeel to chto vi govoreele da veeset na stenkee. Noo teper ya znayou osobo. Pojaloosta peesheeta do nas....po rooski...ali...po angleeske....kak vam lutche....Mne 60 godov.......ya archeetector.....reesooyou plani domov e zdaneyev..Mo-ee predkee pereeshlee v kanadu 1899 g. Ya emeyou ruskoy yazik....ochen trudno peesat po ryskee po angleeskeem alfabetom.....dobroy dyen tovarischt......stepan petrovitch

Privet Stepan,

I understood most of your words (i learnt russian a couple of years in university) even if it was a little hard because you're writing it "po angliski" while i would write it "po fransouski" (sounds & letters are differents)

I'm a pure 100% french guy (no russian roots at all) but my wife is from Sibir (Irkutsk, okolo ozira Baikal)

I think we'll talk in english, it will be more easy for me

about me, mne 37 godov i ya yourist

To come back to our topic, yes, it's very difficult to find a balalaika...

If you go to a music shop, you'll find tons of guitars & around you, you'll find tons of players & teatchers...

Same for other instruments like mandolins... I'm living something like 100 km from Italian border, so there's lot of Italian in my area (one of my grandfather is ) & it's easy to find mandolinists & teatchers...

but about balalaika...

it was a nightmare for me to find an instrument & a teatcher... i did but i had to travel 600 km to find both

the problem is that about guitar you have a great choice, lot of gradus between guitars...

About balalaika, nothing ! : there's a great hole between factory first price ones (300 Euros) & handmade ones (3000 Euros)
& even today, if i was putting 3000 Euros on the table, asking for an handmade balalaika, it will be very difficult to get it : i'll have to go in Germany or even directly in Russia in Moscow : there's nowhere else to find one

Second hand is the only solution to find a balalaika at every prices...
but it's also hard to find a regular source... here we are lucky : my teatcher have a website about balalaika & is dealing a little with second hand balalaikas

but about Canada, i can't help you : i have no good adress there...

but you should contact Imperskaya : they are selling Chinese handmade balalaika (i don't know if they are good or not) & as far as i undestood, they are also importing some from russia or making some themselves... : in France we even don't have such kind of shop

Hey Mouzik.......Its been a while since you posted and I must get back to you. Firstly...what is a "yourist" " yah nee paneemayou." I will be putting the purchase of a balalaika on hold for a while. My health is the problem. I had a stroke a while back and it affected my coordination. I had to sell off my standard guitars and replace with the parlor size. Now even those are a bit hard to play. I do have mandolins, push button accordian, concertina, mouth organs. So before I buy any more instruments I should perfect the playing of what I have. What do you think....that would be a real good challenge. I play all of them but not as good as I should or want to.
You are very lucky man...every man should be married to a girl from Sibir. I know first hand, cause my "predkee" great grand parents were exiled there, and then moved to Canada. What is your wife's maiden name? Mine is Chernov. If interested I will reply with my great grand parents names that emigrated in 1899. stepan petrovitch

Privet Stepan

about my job, let's say i'm working in a lawyer office.

about music, sure, it's not a bad idea to focus on instruments you already own & play... as for me : i would like to do tons of differents things or play differents instruments but i had to make a choice & i choose balalaika

but when you'll decide to start balalaika, i'll be there to give advises if you need

about my wife, as you said in another post, we should find a more private way to communicate