I got my Cumbus Saz, complete with extra strings and a bunch of picks. It sounds and looks awesome. I've been playing around with some songs and I'm making progress with Uskadara, Fire Dance and another one I don't know the name of. I still call it the Kirsten solo song, it goes "d-d-dee, d-d-dee, dee dee dee dee...." and so forth. Those are technical terms, you wouldn't understand.

I'm very excited to enter the world of middle eastern melody. Maqamworld.com is one of the most user-friendly sites I've ever seen.

With the long straight neck it looks alot like a banjo, which makes me want to figure out how to play Rainbow Connection on it, with minor scales and quarter tones and stuff.