New Ukrainian Trembita Russian Balalaika 3 Strings Prima (389)

It is beautiful and the sound is great! It has some small marks as if it was used before, mainly on the neck. Other than that, it is perfect!

This balalaika came well-packed, with the bridge carefully taped to the fingerboard, thus protecting the body from damage in travel. Installing it is simple: measure distance from the the "Nut" at first fret to the twelve fret and place the bridge slightly past that distance from the 12 fret. Tune lower two strings (closest to the player) to a guitar's high-E string. TUne the remaining sting to "A" above the two E strings. Check the octave at twelve fret by prossing down on the strings, comparing the sounds with a harmonic at that point. Adjust the bridge up and down SLIGHTLY and turn a little to compensate. Presto! I NEVER had played one of these before, but as a competent casual guitarist, played a recognizable version of "Meadowland" after an hour's effort. Enjoy!

Bridge falls right off

Beautifully crafted, excellent sound! I am so very pleased with this instrument. It was extraordinarily carefully packaged, and arrived much sooner than I expected. Fantastic!

Arrived super quickly, looks great, but the sound is way poorer than I expected. Much of this instrument is made of plastic, and it sounds just like it. Much worse than my old <then> cheap Leningrad balalaika.

Arrived much fast than I expected, so that's awesome. Was packed very securely and safely, with the only downside being that the instrument still has a strong smell of painters tape and what could be described as a "drywall smell". However, it arrived intact and ahead of schedule, so who cares, right? The instrument itself is exactly what you see in the picture(s) provided. Though I've never played the balalaika before, and am learning on this one, I have played guitar for several years, so I'll just say that you get what you pay for when you order this instrument. It's clear that this isn't the Cadillac of balalaikas, and it definitely wasn't crafted by the good folks at the Gibson custom shop, but it works, stays in tune, has no major intonation issues (yet!), and looks authentic. Just be aware that it will arrive with pretty garbage metal strings, which should be replaced with two nylons for the low strings, and one metal for the high 3rd string. All in all, I'm happy with my purchase cause I love learning new instruments, and I think this model is a great beginner balalaika. TL;DR IN UKRAINE, BALALAIKA IS NOT WEAK!

Packaged well. Placed bridge as instructed and tuned. Get a tuner and and tune open string, then adjust bridge in small movements toward/away from sound hole as needed to achieve proper 5th fret tuning.

I'm sure this is helpful if you already know how to play any other instrument. In my case, I am starting from nothing and the book doesn't define terms leading to frustration and confusion. Additionally the photos that show proper hand placement convey exactly zero useful information, making troubleshooting technique basically impossible. Save your money and find a tutor.