Turkish Saz (Baglama)

[ohm-men]

I visited a friend who's moving to Bretange (France) and had some stuff he's not gonna take with him.
Among a nice guitar rack (for 5 guitars) there was a Turkish Saz (Baglama) long scale that I got for free.

It's an intersting instrument (I have the 7 string version) and some and afters some Googling I found it's tuned in GG DD AAA. (being the most common tuning)
At the moment I only have 6 strings on it, but it sounds great. The thing with this instrument is that the frets (wire all arround the neck) can be moved, thus being able to move the intonation of the' whole thing. It has a pretty weird location of the moveble frets, since it not only has full and halve notes, but also quater notes. I heven't figured out on how to play it but the You tube stuff on this instrument is great. (Look for Baglama or Saz) It has some resemblence with the European "Laud" but is very different.

So anyone else has any expirence with this instrument.

Oh and it seams my friend is not taking his Mini Disk recording gear as well (Tascam stuff) and a 4 track tape recorder as well, which he also offered to me for free!!!
I'm exited (Hoping to pick up this stuff later this week)

[Orang Goreng]

At the moment I only have 6 strings on it, but it sounds great.

Perhaps you're the Keith Richards of baglama?

[zezozeceglutz]

Congratulations!

You should check out Fatih Akin's Crossing the Bridge if you haven't seen it.  I've wanted a saz (particularly an electric one) since I saw the film.  It's a profile of Istanbul's music scene from the traditional to modern.


Two saz-filled clips:

Orhan Gencebay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2vdfvJku5o
Baba Zula with Alexander Hacke sitting in on bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HuK44CVneI

[In-Sound]

Congratulations!

You should check out Fatih Akin's Crossing the Bridge if you haven't seen it.  I've wanted a saz (particularly an electric one) since I saw the film.  It's a profile of Istanbul's music scene from the traditional to modern.


Two saz-filled clips:

Orhan Gencebay:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b2vdfvJku5o
Baba Zula with Alexander Hacke sitting in on bass:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HuK44CVneI

Good film, I've watched it afew times.

Congratulations on the Saz man.

[BlixaFan]

love that film, Hacke is great. as is Gencebay actually Hatasiz kul olmaz is a great song!

[mynameisjonas]

i ran across a semi-serious music shop in alanya last time i was there, and i played a few different baglama-type instruments (although they were all on the cheap side and sounded accordingly). the intonation is not what we westerners are used to, that's for sure. however, the old man running the shop was impressed with the sounds i made, so i guess i was doing something right

[yaksox]

I would like to see some pictures of your baglama, ohm-men.

[ohm-men]

I would like to see some pictures of your baglama, ohm-men.

I'll try to post a few soon.
It's an intersting instrument and the intonation is indeed not what we westerens are acustumed too....
But I really love how it sounds. It seams to be made of decent wood and sounds acourdingly (to my limeted knowledge that is )

[saxjag]

My wife plays the saz... she's the string player in the family, not me.  Long ago, when our son was a toddler, he went thru a lengthy phase of saz attraction/repulsion.  He was terribly afraid of the instrument, but would insist that his mama take it out of its drawstring bag, show it to him, play it, then hide it away again.  Over and over and over.

Years later he was able to clear up the mystery for us.  It seems he identified the SAZ with the SAWS that we kept out of reach in the garage... which he'd been told not to handle, 'cuz they were sharp and might hurt him.

Adding to the confusion, we kept the saz in a cloth SACK for lack of a case that would fit, and I played the SAX.

What with the moveable frets, I suppose a saz could be sharp...