Quote:
Originally Posted by Wade Hampton
Anyway, most of the Russian balalaikas, domras and seven string guitars I saw at that time appeared to be made with birch backs and sides and either spruce (possibly pine) or larch tops. But all were of Soviet era manufacture.
The fit and finish of those Soviet era instruments I had a chance to play were fairly crude by Western standards, but a lot of them had a really sweet tone.
|
Possibly, some artisans in the regions still use birch in their instruments, but factory-made domras and balalaikas use maple. This is the largest manufacturer in Russia --
https://doffguitar.com/product-categ...aikas/?lang=en
https://doffguitar.com/product-category/domra/?lang=en
They would probably produce the birch versions as well, for tradition sake, but as I see no one is offering birch as tonewood.