Moondog:

Can anyone help me with learning GBS tunes on the bouzouki?  I am a good guitar player, and I hope that playing this new instrument won't be a long, hard, slog of a steep learning curve for me. Basically, I would like to know what tuning Alan and Bob use.

 Any ideas would be appreciated, [like the tunings they use] and some basic chord structures; perhaps.  "Consequence Free" might be a good starting point.

Alan uses a standard tuning of GDAE, an octave below the mandolin.  I'm not sure whether Bob uses the same tuning, but he usually picks individual notes while Alan more often plays rhythm.  If you learn the following basic chords and get a capo, you'll be able to play hundreds of folk songs!

G  0023

C  0230

D  2002

Em 0220

Am 2230

FYI, I don't own a bouzouki but I do own a mandolin. You can find a playable mandolin for under $100, but a decent Irish bouzouki starts at over $500.  Since the two instruments are generally tuned the same but an octave apart, you can start on mandolin before deciding whether to commit to the more expensive bouzouki.

Hope this helps!