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I built one before from an octagon shaped Quality street tin. It was a fretless banjo (because I didn't know how to install frets), and the neck was the central section from a mahogany saddle board. Worked fine, sounded pretty good. Here's the tin I used: (They're on special in Sainsbury's...

...for very little money (25 bucks) in a local antique/junk shop. http://www.thinkmusic.co.uk/product.asp?P_ID=8009 I know, I know, cheap violins are terrible, but with that in mind... For just messing around on, did I make a big mistake?

Mshilarious and Harvey Gerst for moderators of the mic forum! Muttley for moderator of the guitars and basses forum!

Around 750 - 800 dollars.

By all accounts, SX are good. The few I've played, however, would need some work to make them gig-worthy (pots and pickups). In contrast, I'd gig a Yamaha Pacifica right out of the box. The main selling point for me is the fretwork - simply excellent. Tremelo is perfect, too.

Your momma should write her own damn music or quit. For real.

That's some badass guitar playing, I have to say. Nice job.

Thanks for the comments! Yep, we got new equipment. The insurance covered nearly all of it, which was great. I hear you regarding more dirt in the mix, and I agree with you about the vocals - I don't like my voice at all.

Muttley, on my balalaika (as on all balalaikas), the bridge is very long. The 3 strings passing over it in the middle take up about an inch, but the bridge itself is about 6 inches long. Does this give it a characteristic sound? In other words, with a shorter bridge, would it sound different...

Could be nice to turn some of it on a lathe. 8 or 9 inches could get you a series of nice small bowls.

Yep, but they're hard to find. I'd urge you to try one out if you can - I think these are the best kept secrets of the guitar world. So cheap, but so good. If I'd tried one before I bought my American Strat....well, put it this way, I might be seven hundred bucks richer today. :)

Pacificas are excellent guitars - not just for the money, but in general. Simply excellent quality. The 112 is the most popular model, but the range has many models, going from 199 bucks to well over 1,000. TelePaul has a nice 412; it's a couple of steps up from the entry level one, but still...

I'm far slower than you - on scales probably around 250 notes per min cleanly. Crap, I'm the tortoise in the race with the hare :( (Then again, when I flatpick reels I can speed things up quite a bit)

Have wanted one of these for such a long time, and I got one as a present. A cheap, simple machine, but it's cool as hell.

Whaddya know? Seems I'm not totally useless 'round here. :D

Nice review of the Pignose amp. Seems like a hell of a deal for very little cash.

Emmm, don't shoot me for saying this, but given that it's a cheap guitar and everything.... Guitarist magazine had a suggestion about rattling bridges a a year or two ago. They said that clear nail varnish will lock saddles in place firmly enough to stop them rattling. Significantly, the bond...

Thanks for the info... The pic above is the same model, but not my actual instrument, no.

Great links, thank you. The virtuoso guy sounds great...

Sounds cool. What kind of music do you play for dancing? Is it bluegrass and stuff like that? Ideally, I'd like to use the balalaika for traditional Irish dance music - jigs/reels, etc.