Hi, I'm a beginner and i purchased a 2nd hand prima (https://www.musikalia.it/it/italiano2.htm?https://www.musikalia.it/it/catalogo/scheda_strumento.asp?ID=176). It's made to be mounted with steel strings and I was wondering If it was possible to put two nylon strings for the E tuned chords. Or should I keep the steel one ?

The balalaika has two cracks on the soundboard that need a repair and I thought that nylon strings could relieve stress on it.

Hey folks!

My neighbor gifted me a balalaika (I love learning how to play new instruments!!!)

But I cannot figure out what tessitura it is! Does anybody have any idea?

And hey, if you have any tips, links, audios, I am all ears!

Have a wonderful day! (Also I refuse to use ChatGpt...)

Does anybody know where I could purchase a contrabass balalaika? I play bass and balalaika which has driven my interest towards them greatly. I’m located in the eastern USA.

I bought it for $40 off fb marketplace and the guy I bought it from made it sound like it was worth a lot more but he was just looking to get rid of stuff and sold it for cheap. Looking into it, though, it seems like it was a mass produced variety during Soviet times and maybe not actually worth that much. Is it good for playing or do you guys think it’s just decorative? I’ve never played before and was hoping to give it as a gift. Thanks!

I recently acquired a good, academic style balalaika and now my old, folk style one is a bit outdated. nonetheless, I would like to have a use for it outside of being a wall ornament.

I was thinking of tuning it to CEG just to mess around with that tuning some when my left thumb is getting massacred by learning to play the balalaika in the academic style. I can’t currently be bothered to purchase all steel strings for it - would it sound fine in that tuning with two nylon one steel?

I found ones of these balalaikas for $90CAD in a pawn shop in seemingly good condition and was curious if anyone who owned them could tell me if they’re worth buying (i am interested in acquiring some weirder instruments throughout my life) and if they’re really worth that much, because all of the ones I seen online are more than $90. Any advice helps!
EDIT: I’d also like to mention that I don’t at all plan on becoming a balalaika player, I already play bass and guitar so this would just be a fun additional instrument to have handy, and maybe record with every once in a while

I started practicing the balalaika about six months ago, and I made a web app to visualize tones and scales on the fretboard.
I hope it helps me understand the instrument better.
It runs entirely in JavaScript, and no login is required.
I’d be happy to hear any feedback or advice!

i obtained this today and would love any information about where/when this instrument came from!

Hey everyone!

Let me know if anyone is selling their instrument - balalaika.

Willing to buy - call at 360-356-5055

I recently bought a second balalaika but I’ve been having problems with resonance. Whenever I play anything below the 8th fret the notes become short and stubby. I thought it might be a string issue but new strings didn’t help, and my bridge placement shouldn’t be an issue either. There is a crack in the body but I would like to rule out any other possibilities before returning it. Does anyone have any ideas?

The first balalaika is the one thats having issues and the crack is shown in the video

Just picked this up. Share any knowledge with me! Thanks

First off I recently as yall have seen obtained my first balalaika and it’s a prima
I have been experimenting with alt tunings since I don’t really plan on using it for traditional music I’m at the core an experimental musician so I settled on A one octave below the highest string E for the middle string and A as the highest string I want to keep a correct amount of tension on the instrument so I want to put a wound string on the low A so first question is what gauge should I use for the low string and second question is can I just use mandolin strings since I can’t find balalaika strings on Amazon that have the wound string on the low A

I am having a lot of trouble tuning the 3 strings balalaika prima I just purchased.

I was able to tune the top and bottom strings with no problems using the nut to 12th fret distance to place the bridge. However, with this bridge placement, the middle string is significantly out of tune when the other two strings are in tune. I am trying to tune to EEA, but every fret on the middle string plays around a quarter tone sharp when the other 2 strings are tuned.

I then tried tuning the middle string first. I was able to get the 12th fret note matching the open string by placing the bridge significantly further down than before, but then the top and bottom string are way out of tune.

I’ve been trying shifting the bridge in many different positions and distances from the neck, but the middle string does not coordinate with the other strings at all. I am not sure what else I can try to get the middle string in tune. The best I can get it is 2/3 strings in tune and the middle string is tuned on the open string but every fret is completely out of tune.

Is there a way to maybe adjust the middle string from the end pin? Or rewinding the string around the tuning peg?

Please let me know if you have any suggestions. Thanks!

So I got this for 75 dollars today as an early birthday gift and it’s awesome but I have literally no clue about it and there’s a crack is the crack ok or should I fill it like a guitar repairman would fill a guitar crack also any info on the item itself would be appreciated apologies for the bad pictures I don’t have very good lighting or camera quality

I a beginner Balalaika player who has recently begun taking lessons in the U.S. My balalaika is okay, but is a folk style balalaika of lower quality, similar to the ones the USSR mass produced.

My instructor has informed me that it would be a good idea to start looking for concert quality balalaikas in the 200-400 dollar range (mostly left-over Soviet era ones). The problem I have run into is it is very difficult to source these in good condition. I found one the other day, which was purchased within two days. Sometimes Ukrainian sellers will post these on EBay but they are often overpriced, beat up and in need of repairs.

Sanctions resulting from the Russian invasion of Ukraine make it very difficult and possibly illegal to source them from Luthiers within Russia.

Does anyone on this sub have any suggestions of where to look? In particular I am searching for concert quality balalaikas in the $200-400 dollar range that are not b to hell, and can be purchased from the USA. I am mostly interested in old Soviet concert balalaikas still in good condition. Not a fan of Roosebeck or plastic-back Balalaikas.

Hi balalaika people,

What do you think is a recent price for mid-end custom orchestra balalaikas from the 1980s? I live in the U.S. and would be importing from Ukraine but it may come up to $400. I have been saving for a concert quality balalaika to replace my souvenirish one I currently play.

This post is about the famous tourist balalaika which has not much common with a real Balalaika... But at least it's an instrument which is fun to play. While it's not a real Balalaika how would you define and categorize it?

I thought that a three string cigar box guitar could be very close.

Hello, I recently acquired a balalaika from the Soviet era and it would appear some of the tubing gears are broken. Would anyone happen to know where I may be able to get a good replacement or are there any specialists who may be able to help restore to some degree the tuning cogs? I’ve got somewhat of a budget but would appreciate help or advice.

I'm looking to buy a new, more professional balalaika and have found one for a reasonable price but with 20 frets instead of 24. My current balalaika is a souvenir-style and doesn't quite cut it anymore, especially not when playing in an ensemble. My question for those who have played in ensemble is thus; How necessary are the 21st-24th frets?

Sidenote: Is anyone familiar with the factory московский производственный комбинат упп вхо?

So here are a couple of pictures of the 3 course Prim Balalaika that i built for my master luthier exam.

Thought you guys (and girls) would probably appreciate it.

The entire instrument is built from flamed maple and walnut, except for the top, which is made from austrian mountain spruce and the inlays made from abalone shell.

Feel free to ask any questions.

originally posted this in r/guitars thought yall might be interested too

Just had finish assembling my first proper balalaika. Surprisingly it is was more tricky than bowlback instrument building. Rosewood neck, walnut wedges, spruce soundboard, ebony fretboard. There is still no proper varnish on it, just securing primer. I will wait for summer to finish it, because humidity is unbearable now. Also it will be stability test. Soundboard as appeared had small defect from the start, I hope it won't become a crack. Bridge string spacing and other settings will be after finishing. Headplate is my pain, will be modified further, it is the reason for my previous post (although not that big modifications, just few cuts and smoothing). As for sound, it is too early for final results, but I can say it has balalaika sound.

What do you think about this disposition of tuning machines? Issue is, modern cheap chinese inline tuner plates are awful - backlash of long button shafts, buttons themselves are too close. Next step quality may cost more then all materials for entire instrument. Individual tuners are easy to find in any quality. Usual scheme of individual tuners position assumes terrible horizontal bend angle for middle string. But I am not confident about appearance on headplate itself. This specific plan is for compact quint instrument, but primas also have such problems.