Musical Instruments

We’re in this business for almost a century

Our workshop is in the business of manufacturing proffesional and non proffesional, both string and non-string instruments for 98 years.

Since 1922, when the Asia Minor disaster took place, my parents came from Izmir, Asia Minor, and my father, Agkop Tsakirian, was involved in the construction of stringed musical instruments.

The art of the manufacturing instruments was learned by the son-in-law of Aram Papazian, also Armenian from Izmir with a great musical education who was considered one of the best string-instruments manufacturers and had his workshop located at 7 Fokion street and Aligedou Street in Piraeus next to the power station lines.

My father was a student of Aram Papazian for a while. In 1924 my father opened up the first workshop in the port of Piraeus in Karaiskaki Square.

At one point Aram Papazian got sick, so my father went back to Aram Papazian’s store. With the brand converting to PAPAZIAN – TSAKIRIAN which was located near the power station in Piraeus at 7 Fokion Street.

When Papazian died in 1944, the workshop passed to Agkop Tsakirian and in honor of Aram Papazian they gave the name Aram to his young son, who was born in 1945. The eldest son was Onnik Tsakirian who also played an important role in the history of our family by opening his own workshop in Athens.

The art of instrument manufucturing is a family tradition that goes from father to children (Onnik and Aram Tsakirian).

The first workshop was set up in Piraeus near the power station on Fokion 7 and Aligedou Street. There we learned from our father (Agkop Tsakirian) the art of the organ manufacturer. Later my brother Onnik Tsakirian married and opened his own workshop in Athens and I (Aram Tsakirian) stayed with my father in the old workshop of 7 Fokion Street in Piraeus. Much later the workshop was demolished so myself and my father moved the workshop directly opposite Fokion 8 and Aligedou Street where it is still housed to this day.

Later, in addition to the constructions of the string instruments, we expanded our work to a commercial piece by importing high quality musical instruments from famous brands.

During the interwar period, almost all the famous rebetes – organist – were paraded by our workshop. Starting with the veterans of the era JOVAN TSAUS – GIORGOS BATIS – MARKOS BAMBAKARIS – KASILIS TSITSANIS – YANNIS PAPAIOANNOU – MICHALIS GENITSARIS – BAGIANTERAS – CHARIS LEMONOPOULOS – LAKIS CARNEZIS and then many other modern organists of that time.

Later the reputation of our laboratory reached the immigrants – organist of America, Australia, Germany, Belgium, Norway, etc. who made their artistic careers abroad there. In addition to the famous bouzoukis we make, we also manufacture oriental instruments, such as political lyre, ouds and so on. In particular, our ouds had gained a huge reputation as they were used by famous people of that time, such as the famous Armenian ex-Turkish soloist Udi Hrant whose all the ouds were made exclusively by our laboratory.

Our workshop is still housed up until this day at 8 Fokionos Street and Aligedou near the Piraeus power station, where you can find a wide range of high quality musical instruments and construction. Special orders are also made according to the wishes of each customer and we repair all kinds of string instruments for the amateur or professional musician. We import and represent in Greece musical instruments of the most recognized manufacturers in the world and offer them responsibly at the best price.