The cura and the kopuz sit at the two extremes of the saz family timeline. The cura is the youngest and smallest member — a short, bright, mandolin-sized instrument used for sharp accompaniment in Aegean and Western Anatolian folk music. The kopuz is the oldest — the 1,500-year-old Central Asian ancestor from which every modern baglama, divan, and tanbur eventually descended. Today, players still buy the kopuz to study Turkic musical roots, perform Alevi cemevi repertoire on the ceremonial Dede Balta, or add a deep, archaic voice to folk fusion projects.
Every cura and kopuz at Sala Muzik is built in our Istanbul workshop network by makers who have specialised in the saz family for decades. We handle final setup, dressing, and tuning before shipment so the instrument arrives playable anywhere in the world.
Quick recommendation
Want the smallest, brightest saz for fast accompaniment or kids? Start with the Cura ASC-302 ($249.99). Want to play the ancient ancestor of the saz family? The Kopuz OSB-307 ($499) is the practical entry point. For Alevi cemevi musicians, the Dede Balta MSD-107 ($599) is the ceremonial choice.
Quick picks
Cura vs Kopuz — which is which?
They share a family, a bowl-back silhouette, and a perdesiz or perdeli fretted neck — but they live in very different musical worlds.
| Cura | Kopuz | |
|---|---|---|
| Role in the family | Smallest, highest-pitched member | The 1,500+ year-old ancestor of the entire saz family |
| Size | Short scale, mandolin-sized body | Mid to large body, between a short-neck baglama and a long-neck saz |
| Pitch & voice | Bright, percussive, sharp | Deeper, archaic, woody — closer to the original Central Asian sound |
| Tradition | Aegean and Western Anatolian folk; rhythmic accompaniment | Alevi cemevi ritual (Dede Balta), Turkic roots music, ethnomusicology |
| Best for | Kids, smaller hands, fast strumming, second instrument for saz players | Asik repertoire, devotional Alevi music, players exploring the roots of Turkish folk |
| Typical price range | $249 — $599 | $499 — $699 |
What makes a quality cura or kopuz
One-piece carved mulberry vs glued bowl
The biggest single quality jump in both cura and kopuz construction is the bowl. A standard saz bowl is built from many thin staves glued together. A carved bowl is hollowed out of one solid block of mulberry — this is what you see in the MSC-107 cura, OSC-404 cura, MSD-107 Dede Balta, and MSK-107 kopuz. Carved bowls are more resonant, more uniform in tone across the strings, and prized by professional and recording players. They also cost more because they require a large, well-aged block of mulberry and many extra hours of work.
Soundboard wood
Solid spruce is the standard, prized for tight even grain and warm projection. Premium and concert-grade models sometimes use Canadian cedar instead — a slightly softer wood with a darker, more complex tonal character favoured by some concert players. We look for tight, even grain and a balanced thickness — too thick kills the response, too thin can crack under string tension. On both cura and kopuz, the soundboard is what defines the attack and projection.
Fret precision (perdeli models)
Cura and most modern kopuz use a tied perdeli (fretted) fingerboard with movable nylon frets. Precision matters: poorly placed frets make microtonal Turkish music sound wrong even when the player is correct. Every instrument we ship has its frets set and checked against a tuner.
Peg quality
Friction pegs on traditional kopuz and cura are pressure-fit into the pegbox and must be perfectly tapered to hold tuning under string tension. Cheap pegs slip; the pegs we use are seasoned ebony or rosewood, fitted by hand.
Skin head vs wood soundboard on kopuz
The original Central Asian kopuz used a goat-skin head stretched over a gourd or wooden bowl — closer to a banjo or rebab than to a modern saz. Almost every kopuz sold today, including ours, uses a wooden soundboard for stability, durability, and consistent tuning. If you specifically need a skin-headed reconstruction for early-music or museum work, contact us before ordering.
A short history
The kopuz is one of the oldest stringed instruments documented in the Turkic world. Written and visual sources place it among the Oguz, Kipchak, and other Central Asian peoples from at least the 6th century, and probably earlier. As Turkic populations moved westward into Anatolia, the kopuz traveled with them and slowly evolved — the gourd body became a wooden bowl, the skin head became a wooden soundboard, the neck grew longer and gained tied frets — and the result, after several centuries, is the family we now call the saz or baglama.
In Alevi devotional practice the kopuz never disappeared. The large ceremonial kopuz known as the Dede Balta (literally “Grandfather’s Axe”) is still played in cemevi worship to accompany nefes and deyis — the spiritual poetry of the Alevi tradition. The instrument’s deep, archaic voice is considered closer to the original sound of the asik bards than any modern long-neck saz.
The cura took the opposite path. It is the youngest member of the family — a small, bright instrument that crystallised in Western Anatolian and Aegean folk music as a rhythmic and melodic complement to the larger baglama. In a typical ensemble the cura plays sharp, percussive lines an octave above the divan or short-neck baglama, the same way a mandolin sits above a guitar.
Today, the Turkish conservatory system teaches both: cura as part of the standard saz curriculum, and kopuz in ethnomusicology departments studying the historical instrumentarium and Central Asian Turkic music.
Saz family at a glance
All Saz & BaglamaThe full family
Long-Neck SazClassical, asik repertoire
Short-Neck BaglamaModern folk, ensemble
AccessoriesCases, strings, picks
FAQ
What is the difference between cura and kopuz?
The cura is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the modern saz family — a short, mandolin-sized instrument used for sharp accompaniment. The kopuz is the 1,500+ year-old ancestor instrument of that whole family, traced back to Central Asian Turkic peoples. They share a bowl-back shape and tied-fret neck, but the kopuz is larger, deeper-voiced, and tied to Alevi cemevi tradition and Turkic roots music, while the cura belongs to Aegean and Western Anatolian folk.
Is cura the smallest member of the saz family?
Yes. The cura is the smallest standard member of the saz family. Its short scale and small body push the tuning roughly an octave above a short-neck baglama, which is why players describe it as the “mandolin of the saz family.” That same small size also makes it the most practical entry point for children and adults with smaller hands.
What is a Dede Balta?
Dede Balta literally means “Grandfather’s Axe.” It is a large ceremonial kopuz used in Alevi cemevi worship to accompany devotional poetry. Our carved-mulberry MSD-107 is built to that traditional form — a deep, archaic voice suited to nefes and deyis repertoire rather than secular folk playing.
Can a kopuz be played by Alevi cemevi musicians today?
Yes — this is the living tradition the kopuz never left. Alevi dedes and zakirs still use ceremonial kopuz, especially the Dede Balta, in cemevi gatherings. Most of the kopuz we ship internationally go either to active cemevi musicians abroad or to ethnomusicology students studying that repertoire.
Is cura suitable for kids or beginners?
Yes — the cura is one of the best entry points to the saz family for children and players with smaller hands. The short scale length means less stretch between frets, the lighter strings are easier on the fingertips, and the small body sits comfortably for a younger player. The ASC-302 at $249.99 is our most popular starter cura.
What strings does a cura use?
A cura uses a dedicated cura string set — lighter gauges than baglama strings, designed for its short scale. We stock both our standard Cura Strings ($19) and the Premium ACS-6 set ($19.90). We strongly recommend keeping a spare set with the instrument — high-pitched strings break sooner than lower-tension baglama strings.
Carved mulberry vs glued bowl — which to buy?
A staved (glued) bowl is the standard construction and sounds excellent — the ASC-302, AC-204, OSB-307, and OSB-407 all use this build. A one-piece carved mulberry bowl (MSC-107, OSC-404, MSD-107, MSK-107, HSK-101) is a meaningful upgrade in resonance and tonal evenness, at a higher price. If you are a working performer, recording, or buying a ceremonial Dede Balta, choose carved. For learning and home practice, a quality staved bowl is more than enough.
What is the historical relationship between kopuz and modern saz?
The kopuz is the direct ancestor. Over roughly a thousand years, as Turkic peoples moved into Anatolia, the kopuz lost its gourd body and skin head, gained a wooden bowl and soundboard, grew a longer neck, and added tied frets. The result is the modern saz / baglama family — with the cura as the youngest small-form member. Playing both gives you the start and end of that timeline.
Do you ship cura and kopuz internationally?
Yes, worldwide. Sala Muzik has shipped instruments since 2009. Every saz is professionally packed in a hard or semi-hard case inside a double-walled outer carton, fully insured. Free standard shipping delivers in 3–5 weeks. Express shipping is available at extra cost and typically arrives in 3–5 business days. You choose the carrier (DHL Express, FedEx, or standard postal) at checkout.
Will my instrument arrive tuned?
We tune and dress every instrument before it leaves the workshop, but we slacken the strings for shipping to protect the neck. When the box arrives, let the instrument rest for a few hours to acclimate, then bring the strings up to pitch slowly. A short re-tune is normal and expected.
Istanbul workshopBuilt by saz specialists since 2009
Worldwide shippingTracked, insured, double-boxed
Setup before shippingFrets dressed, action set, tuned
After-sale supportReal humans, real instruments