Professional Turkish Qanun MK-404

The Professional Turkish Qanun MK-404 is a Turkish kanun built in Mustafa Sağlam's Ankara workshop — walnut body with spruce soundboard, ebony pegs, alpaca mandals, PVF strings, tuned to the standard Turkish A-A' makam scale. It shares the same maker, the same workshop hours, and the same quality standard as its sibling the MK-123; the two models differ only in the wood used for the body and soundboard, which gives each a distinct color and a slightly different visual character.

Sound demo

MK-404 vs MK-123 — same quality, different wood

Both the MK-404 and MK-123 come out of the same Ankara workshop, made by the same luthier (Mustafa Sağlam), held to the same build and finishing standard, and priced identically. There is no quality hierarchy between them. The only meaningful difference is the wood: the MK-404 uses a walnut body with a spruce soundboard (warmer, darker tone in appearance), while the MK-123 uses plane wood / chinar (lighter, paler tone in appearance). Pick whichever wood you find more attractive — both will serve the same Turkish makam repertoire equally well.

Best for

• Turkish makam soloists working Ottoman fasıl, Mevlevî music, and modern Turkish art music
• Conservatory students at Hacettepe (Ankara), Istanbul Technical University, or comparable Turkish music programs
• Recording artists wanting a professional-grade Sağlam build with the walnut/spruce wood combination
• Players who prefer the darker, warmer visual tone of walnut over the lighter plane wood
• Anyone choosing a current-stock professional Turkish kanun at the $1,299 price point

Not best for

• Players who specifically want the lighter plane-wood (chinar) build — buy the MK-123 instead (same price, same maker, same quality)
• Arabic maqam repertoire — choose the MKA-4
• Armenian repertoire — choose the MKE-5
• Stage performance with amplification — no built-in pickup; see Miras MSK-4

Specifications

MK-404 vs other Sala kanuns

FAQ