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NOTE: images sized for ease of viewing, instruments not to scale with one another.

Yayli Banza – designed by yours truly and built by Jeffrey Menzies of Toronto, Ontario in August/September 2005.  “Yayli” from the Turkish yayli (“bowed”) tanbur and “banza” from one of the earliest documented names for the banjo in America. It is made from a 14” kettle gourd with a goatskin head attached with brass tacks. Black Walnut neck, Bubinga fingerboard, Boxwood pegs. The idea was to cross a bass viola da gamba with a Persian/Azeri kemanche (link).

Strung with gut and silverwound gut strings it is tuned: C2G2D3A3E4