octavina? what in the world is that?

i was looking for an octavina at ebay and i was surprised to see one for $152. i nearly fainted. that's 7,297.52 in philippine peso and that doesn't even include the shipping fee ($88 *gasp*).

here's where i found it

octavina is a special philippine instrument. it looked like a small guitar but it has 16 strings. and you play it like you do with a piano. per note.

i used to play banduria and octavina when i was in highschool until i graduated college and had my first job. i was part of the rondalla group in don bosco makati and we usually play for the children's morning mass. i kinda missed playing octavina so i thought of buying one. the normal price of an octavina is around Php1,000 - 1500 and there's no way i'll buy that 7,000 worth of octavina.

so i guess i'll just have to wait until someone is patient enough to carry along this instrument from the philippines to the u.s. eherm. alve? LOL

for the curious, here's a video of how it sounds and how it's played --> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBv9yezkCcQ

and here's a sample of how you can incorporate the banduria/octavina in a band--> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJLa-U8Eo5M