The second life of a tamburitza
We return the voice to instruments that have survived a century.
A tamburitza more than a hundred years old, after a complete restoration.
Tamburitzas built a hundred or more years ago arrive in our workshop with cracks, unglued joints, missing parts and wood that took decades to return to a stable state. Our task is not to make them new — our task is to make them able to sing again.
Every restoration begins with documentation. We photograph the instrument from every angle, measure every dimension, identify the original maker where possible. We talk to the owner about the sentimental history — a tamburitza may have survived a war, a displacement, generations of the same family.
The philosophy is simple: respect the original maker. We use original materials wherever possible — old shellac, wood that matches the original, hand-made parts instead of modern replacements. We never change the character of the instrument. What is missing is built to original measurements; what is damaged is repaired reversibly.
A restoration takes as long as it needs. One instrument may deserve six months, another only a few weeks. When it leaves the workshop, it must play the way it would have played a century ago — perhaps even better, because the wood has matured.