Handmade Pre-war 3-String Bouzouki – Stathopoulos Type

If you are looking for a 3-string bouzouki with premium build quality and striking acoustics, this instrument is designed for you. Ideal for professional musicians seeking a traditional, yet high-energy sound.

Wood Selection & Construction

• • Bowl (Body): A combination of rosewood and maple to deliver the necessary sound clarity while strictly adhering to the pre-war specifications of the renowned luthier An. Stathopoulos.
  • Top: aged spruce high quality with a bend behind the bridge (like the italian mandolin) that gives a very different sound vibration and performance. It also defines the pre-war bouzouki sound color.

The Stathopoulos Design Philosophy

• • A Brief Tribute to An. Stathopoulos
  • 1863: Ο Αναστάσιος Σταθόπουλος γεννιέται στην Σπάρτη. Ο πατέρας του Νικόλαος Σταθόπουλος ήταν έμπορος ξυλείας.1873: Ο Αναστάσιος (σύμφωνα με τα φυλλάδια της Epiphone του 1930) σε ηλικία 10 ετών κατασκευάζει το πρώτο του όργανο.1877: Η οικογένεια Σταθόπουλου μετακομίζει στη Σμύρνη της Μ. Ασίας.1890: Ο Αναστάσιος Σταθόπουλος εγκαθιστά ένα μεγάλο εργοστάσιο μουσικών οργάνων στην Σμύρνη και κατασκευάζει βιολιά, μαντολίνα, λαούτα (και πιθανώς μπουζούκια).1893: Γεννιέται ο γυιός του Αναστάσιου και της Μαριάνθης, Επαμεινώνδας Σταθόπουλος. Παίρνει το όνομα του αρχαίου Στρατηγού Επαμεινώνδα.

     

    1903: Amidst the persecution of Greeks by the Turks, Anastasios moves his family to New York. Along with Epameinondas, the family includes two more sons, Alex and Orphie, and a daughter, Alkmene. During the immigration process, the final “s” is dropped from their surname, meaning future labels on Anastasios’s instruments would read “A. Stathopoulo”. Two more children, a son named Frixo and a daughter named Elly, are later born in New York.

     

    1915: Anastasios Stathopoulos passes away, leaving Epameinondas (affectionately nicknamed “Epi”) at the helm of the business, with Orphie as second in command. From this point onward, a new, modernized enterprise begins—later renamed Epiphone—which would rise to worldwide fame as one of the largest musical instrument manufacturers in history.

Pre war style Trihordo bouzouki based on An. Stathopoulos bouzouki with a rosewood-maple bowl and very bright and sweet sound. Excellent playability with the following specs:

• Body: Rosewood – maple
• Top: Engelman spruce
• Pickguard: Rosewood and maple (on the top)
• Fretboard: ebony with mother of pearl markers
• Tuners: Grover 1:18
• Neck: torrefied linded and ebony
• Bowl staves: 17
• speaker size (body) : medium

Sound combination

Top A

Speaker A