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Hi, all,
I play several different types of flutes and have been interested in learning the kaval for years. I've finally got more spare time, & want to purchase a kaval as soon as I can to begin learning this amazing instrument! I can't seem to find a place to purchase one where I can trust that the quality will be professional, in tune, etc. though.
Where or from who would you recommend purchasing a very good quality kaval? Also, what is the price range for these instruments?
I've seen kavals for sale on Ebay, but not very much elsewhere, & I don't know how these instruments play. I definitely want to find something I can play for years to come! :)
Thanks so much!
I play several different types of flutes and have been interested in learning the kaval for years. I've finally got more spare time, & want to purchase a kaval as soon as I can to begin learning this amazing instrument! I can't seem to find a place to purchase one where I can trust that the quality will be professional, in tune, etc. though.
Where or from who would you recommend purchasing a very good quality kaval? Also, what is the price range for these instruments?
I've seen kavals for sale on Ebay, but not very much elsewhere, & I don't know how these instruments play. I definitely want to find something I can play for years to come! :)
Thanks so much!
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Tue, June 27, 2006 - 5:12 PMI sincerely do not believe that you will find a high quality Bulgarian kaval that you will treasure for years on eBay. I am not aware of any store in North America that carries quality kavals. It seriously helps to know someone who is currently in Bulgaria or is going there; it is also almost a necessity that THAT person know something about kavals, or they could be buying some souvenir junk.
That being said, there ARE fairly decent kavals on eBay and at pretty reasonable prices. I got mine from a vendor whose eBay tag is 'ak7' . It's a great beginner-to-intermediate kaval, and I only paid $60 or $70. Only problem was, it took FOREVER to ship from Sofia, BG, he didn't answer any emails, and his packaging job was criminally shoddy. There's another importer on eBay, a guy who's eBay name is 'bou' , based out of Columbia, SC, and I've bought a lot of gaida-related stuff from him. He's friendly and trustworthy and his stuff is reasonably priced and of good quality. I'm sure that his kavals would be every bit as good as those that ak7 sells. It WON'T be an instrument that you will run back into a burning house to retrieve, but it will get you through those first few years. -
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Tue, June 27, 2006 - 7:37 PMThanks so much for your reply.
Yeah, my plan isn't to necessarily purchase one on Ebay, definitely not if I can find one from a reputable seller, dealer or maker elsewhere, but I will look into the sellers you mentioned just to check things out.
Thank you again! -
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Tue, June 27, 2006 - 8:33 PMY'know, something else occured to me. Check the EEFC (Eastern European Folklife Center) discussion boards ... more often than not, there's some friendly and trustworthy person with similar interests and passions who is going to Bulgaria and has made the kind and open offer to bring back goodies for kaval-hungry North Americans. These are usually kaval players going to BG specifically for music and / or folk dance instruction, so they'll have pretty good eyes to discern the good stuff from the junk. One of these people once told me that $200 will buy you a professional quality kaval in BG.
Have you thought about making one? Compared to other flutes you've worked on, a kaval should be fairly simple, if not time-consuming.
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Fri, September 8, 2006 - 12:25 PMThe best place for all things Bulgarian (at least what I've found) is:
WWW.Bulgariana.com
High quality Kavals can be found here:
bulgariana.com/product_info.php
There are other places to get them. Just do a search on Froogle.google.com You can find dozens of companies selling any instruments you can think of. -
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Fri, September 8, 2006 - 4:30 PMDo you play kaval? What style ... Macedonian, Bulgarian or Turkish? -
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Sun, September 24, 2006 - 6:44 PMI don't play Kaval, but I am a music instrument seller and I make it a point to try things out.
I mainly sell various ethnic music instruments, like Celtic harps, bagpipes, zurnas, flutes, doumbeks, darbukas, frame drums. The important thing about ethnic music instruments is the materials they are made of, and the craftsmanship. I would never sell a flute made of bamboo, pine, or other soft woods. Turkish Zurnas should be made of Olive wood, Ash, or blackwood. A Kaval should be made of Ash, plum or Boxwood. Blackwood is a universally good wood to use for woodwind instruments. Bulgariana sells instruments made by world famous craftsmen, whom I've actually heard of (outside of Bulgariana.com). They are a reliable source for many Bulgarian instruments, and have a range of instruments from the inexpensive tourist models to professional.
I had a chance to hear someone playing one that they purchased from Bulgariana at a recent event I went to. I don't play transverse flutes, but we jammed, and the tone of her instrument was excellent. Granted, we didn't play bulgarian music -- we played Medieval European Folk music. I believe hers was crafted by Ivanov.
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Mon, September 25, 2006 - 3:13 AMDo you have a website? I'm always looking for a good zurna ..! -
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Mon, September 25, 2006 - 7:54 AMI don't have a website. I mainly sell at trade shows, ren faires, and SCA events -- strictly a small time operator in my spare time.
Check out Arthur Grigoriyan's Zurnas. I think he has a web page, but I don't have the bookmark, as I'm at work.
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Re: Purchasing a Kaval
Mon, September 25, 2006 - 11:48 AMI agree, but then I disagree with Geoff.
IN GENERAL, there is a lot of cheap crap on Ebay, and it blots out the occaisional good instrument. You can find, for example hundreds of identical low-priced instruments from horns to bagpipes, to guitars, and many of them are very tempting to the first time buyer (I speak from experience here -- I got burned).
Never let a cheap price tempt you. What you want to do is find out the brands of instruments are reguarded highly by professional musicians, then search for those names on Ebay. Always contact the seller to get details about the instrument offered If anything seems out of place, avoid it. Also, look at their ratings from other buyers. They can reveal hidden problems.
It's best to find a music store online that sells what you're looking for, and ask questions prior to purchase. If they have a money back guarantee, and a no-quesitons-asked return policy, it's reasonable to try getting the instrument from them.
