mjbee
New member
Hi folks,
I'm a new member here (a jug band, mandolin player who loves banjo-ukes tuned in fifths) I'm selling a charango that I purchased from a dealer of high-quality charangos on a trip to Chile. This is a professional-quality instrument by Bolivian luthier Pedro Quispe Torrez carved from acacia wood. Spruce top, ebony fingerboard, really nice shell inlays. Comes with gig bag and strap. I'm selling it because I've simply got too many instruments at the moment: need to offload! I'm asking $425, CONUS only, buyer pays shipping, 48 hour review period.
Here's what the late Bob Brozman, who described charangos as "ukes on steroids", wrote about the instrument:
THE CHARANGO GIVES YOU GREAT SOUNDING MUSIC IN A FEW MINUTES.The charango has 5 pairs of strings, tuned G C E A E. The G string (5th string) is the one closest to your head when playing. If you momentarily ignore the first high E string, you will see that what remains is a ukulele, which is the highest four strings of the standard-tuned guitar capoed at the fifth fret. Another way to think of it is that all of the chord shapes on the guitar's highest four strings will work on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th charango strings. Using your ears and fretting with your pinky, you can quickly figure out how to add the highest string to these chords. A ukulele chord book will have ALL of the possible four-string chords, then you add the extra string. The charango can be played as a picking instrument and have a charming harp-like quality, and then it can be very strong and rhythmic as a strumming instrument, for accompanying singing or other instruments.
Thanks for looking. Michael
I'm a new member here (a jug band, mandolin player who loves banjo-ukes tuned in fifths) I'm selling a charango that I purchased from a dealer of high-quality charangos on a trip to Chile. This is a professional-quality instrument by Bolivian luthier Pedro Quispe Torrez carved from acacia wood. Spruce top, ebony fingerboard, really nice shell inlays. Comes with gig bag and strap. I'm selling it because I've simply got too many instruments at the moment: need to offload! I'm asking $425, CONUS only, buyer pays shipping, 48 hour review period.
Here's what the late Bob Brozman, who described charangos as "ukes on steroids", wrote about the instrument:
THE CHARANGO GIVES YOU GREAT SOUNDING MUSIC IN A FEW MINUTES.The charango has 5 pairs of strings, tuned G C E A E. The G string (5th string) is the one closest to your head when playing. If you momentarily ignore the first high E string, you will see that what remains is a ukulele, which is the highest four strings of the standard-tuned guitar capoed at the fifth fret. Another way to think of it is that all of the chord shapes on the guitar's highest four strings will work on the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, & 5th charango strings. Using your ears and fretting with your pinky, you can quickly figure out how to add the highest string to these chords. A ukulele chord book will have ALL of the possible four-string chords, then you add the extra string. The charango can be played as a picking instrument and have a charming harp-like quality, and then it can be very strong and rhythmic as a strumming instrument, for accompanying singing or other instruments.
Thanks for looking. Michael