Zolghadr

Mohammad Zolghadr is an Iranian luthier based in Tehran, building handcrafted Persian setars and tanboors in the long-necked lute tradition. Each instrument leaves his workshop stamped with the Zolghadr maker’s seal — the traditional mohr grading by which Iranian makers mark the quality of a finished piece.

Working in aged mulberry and walnut, the Zolghadr workshop follows centuries of regional practice while offering a wide range of builds — from plain (sade) and ebony setars to mother-of-pearl inlay (sadaf-kari), marquetry (moaragh), five-string, and three-quarter-size instruments. A higher mohr count reflects the maker’s own confidence in the tonewood, construction, and voice of a particular instrument; Zolghadr instruments are made to order and have become a recognised name among Persian string players.

At Tapadum, Zolghadr’s setars and tanboors are curated by our string instruments specialist Sertan Sarioglu, each instrument independently inspected for tuning stability, fret positioning, and string response before shipping from our Brisighella, Italy showroom. Zolghadr is an independent master maker whose instruments Tapadum is proud to carry.