1991 Ukrainian Kobza (6-String)

For all intents and purposes, this version of the Ukrainian kobza (the 6-string variety) is basically a flat-backed guitar-lute under a different name and with a more oud-like shape. It uses guitar tuning and classical guitar strings, has a pin-bridge setup, a scalloped fretboard (like German guitar lutes from the early 1900s), and fulfills the same role. It would hardly look out of place at your local renaissance faire.

That said, the historical kobza is a fraught thing, coming in many different shapes and sizes and tunings. This new version, like the "Celtic" cittern, seems to be an interpretation of an older idea put to more practical use rather than an antique-style instrument brought to the present.

At any rate, I wish I could read Cyrillic so I knew the maker's name, but the owner bought it in Ukraine in the early '90s and it has a '91 date in the soundhole. It's a gorgeous instrument -- well-built, kept in good shape, and featuring pretty wood and crazy attention to detail. Check out the headstock -- check out the hand-cut "rope" binding -- check-out the bridge carving. It's lush!

My work on it was just to bring it back into good form -- that included a level/dress of the frets, modification of the stringing/saddle at the bridge to bring the action down to classical-guitar-style 3/32" at the 12th fret, and setup adjustments. It's now playing beautifully and it's kind-of fun to get used to the scalloped board. It's not really very alien but it does make you play a little differently.