I have a prima. The back is flat. The top is flat. I think the Yugo folk instuments are flat back. They are derivative from bowl backed instruments but are flat backed, maybe a slight arch in the large ones.
Mine was of... Soviet Bloc era quality (so I did some work on it) from one if the former Yugo republics - probably Croatia
Body
Width 5.5"
Length 8.75"
Rim 1 5/16" - no taper stem to stern
Spruce top
Pear or Cherry back and sides
White binding
Floating arch top style bridge
5 strings (1&2 are tuned in unison)
Scale length 15" (They can vary there are at least 3 sizes of prima, not counting the other larger Yugo folk instuments, maybe D, E, or G tuning, I can't remember. I think ~15" is the shorter scale/highest pitch.
Nut width 1 1/8"
FB width at the body joint 1 7/16"
Headstock angle appears to be ~ 10 degrees maybe a little less.
The neck is usually fruit wood. Mine is maple with a fruitwood fb that was dyed black and I laid a slab of mahogany over it when refretting to try to mellow the tone bit... It may have worked
It originally had nails to hang the strings and a copper plate on the rim to keep them from digging into the top. I added a mando tail piece, and use mando loop end strings.
They usually fret them way up into the body. I stopped at the body joint when I refretted since my fingers are too big to play up there, but that is not traditional. Usually they would go up the fb extension.
The ~flower/tulip inlay on the top is (I think) traditionally walnut.
Regards,
GS
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