2010s Trinity College TM-375 Irish Bouzouki

December 15, 2020

2010s Trinity College TM-375 Irish Bouzouki

I love bouzoukis -- Irish or Greek! This one came in here for consignment from a friend up in Burlington. The owner has decided to stick just with guitar and so this basically-brand-new fella is here to scoop-up. It's a good instrument with a professional feel and sound that easily matches a number of boutique-make zouks that have come through the shop over the years. It's got the long sustain, clean chime, and chordal meshing that you want from a zouk for backup-work and runs. It's pretty loud, too.

Most Trinity College zouks that are in the shop are here for setups and they're not the fancier models like this one. These sell new a little under a grand at "street" prices and you get a lot for that. It's solid-wood throughout, has upscaled trim, and the build quality is up there.

I like that the neck on this guy isn't as tiny-skinny front to back as the average import zouks, too. I usually prefer a traditional medium-sized C/D profile and this has it -- the slight extra depth means that you can brace your hand on the back of it to make sliding chords up and down the neck a little more comfortable.

Repairs included: minor setup and a few new strings.

Made by: Trinity College

Model: TM-375

Made in: Korea

Serial number: 17010402 (2017 manufacture?)

Top wood: solid spruce

Back & sides wood: solid maple

Bracing type: x

Bridge: rosewood

Fretboard: ebony

Neck wood: maple

Tone: clean, bright, rich, sustained