The saw u (Thai: ซออู้, RTGS: so u, pronounced[sɔːʔûː]; also spelled saw ou) is a Thai bowed string instrument. It has a lower pitch than the saw duang and is the lowest sounding of the saw family.[1]
Reliable evidence shows that pattern of the Saw U was probably taken from the Chinese instrument and it is very similar to a two stringed Chinese instrument called the hu hu. The saw U was invented since the age of the present Bangkok period (c. 1782) or perhaps from the end of the preceding in the age of Ayudya (c.1700 - 1767). By the end of the 19th century, the Saw U was added to the pi-phat-mai nuam ensemble which uses padded playing sticks and the pi phat derk dam ban which is a special pi phat ensemble in a particular form of theater. From the past Saw U was generally played in
pi phat ensemble with other accompanying instruments. Thai people call it “Saw U” because of the characteristic sound that Thai people heard from it.[2]
