4-string rabeca, Mestre Zé de Nininha (2020, Ferreiros, Pernambuco) SOLD

ZÉ DE NININHA is a living master of rabeca construction from the Mata Norte sugar-cane growing region of Pernambuco, the hotbed of cavalo marinho and forró de rabeca.  Zé studied instrument making with Mané Pitunga, the most famous rabeca builder of the region, also from the small town of Ferreiros, Pernambuco.  Ze’s instruments are made in a humble shop with hand tools (machete, knives and hand saws);  thus, they are rustic in fit-and-finish, but of the highest quality in sound and playability.  His rabecas are in demand throughout Brazil and have been played by most every well-known rabequeiro over the past 30 years.  This rabeca is a rare model for Zé, made of caxeta wood, which is harder to come by now in Brazil’s northeast, but remains the best choice for sound.  This particular rabeca is the archetypal instrument for playing forró!

• top and back woods: caxeta (marupá)
• side wood: jenipapo
• neck: mulungú
• tailpiece and fingerboard woods: jenipapo & caxeta
• bow: original bow, with fishing line bow hair
• tuning: DAEB cavalo marinho (low to high)— or, can be set up in other tunings
• extras: professional setup with new bridge, Wittner fine tuners, and Rabeca São Paulo strings (DAEB aço liso)