Mayur sitar with K&K transducer
This new Mayur sitar, made by Waseem Maner, Miraj 2022, belongs to Visjal Auwerx.
K&K Sound make natural-sounding acoustic amplification products and affordable pickups.
Their Pure Pickup for acoustic guitars, installed on the guitar’s bridge plate, is a very good choice for achieving a rich, natural guitar sound — even without a preamp. It’s one of the best passive pickup on the market, for the musician who wants a warm, full-range signal without worrying about cluttering up their instrument, adjusting onboard electronics, or having to remember to change the battery.
I chose the Pure 12-String: 3-head transducer for 12-string acoustic guitar. The larger pickup heads produce an extra strong bass response and pronounced midrange that sounds great in 12-string guitars. I installed it befor inside a surbahar, which sounds perfect!
The work begins by removing the tabli.
First, the celluloid decorations are removed and then the tumba is separated from the tabli.
A wooden reinforcement with a hole in it is then glued to the inside of the tumba. The jack connector is later mounted there.
Then the transducers are glued to the tabli just below where the legs of the bridge are. That is the most efficient place (according to K&K’s instructions) and it is quite convenient that there are 3 separate transducers.
Finally the jack connector is mounted and the tabli is glued back onto the tumba.
Because the original fragile decorations were damaged too much during removal, I place a new binding of celluloid plastic mother-of-pearl imitation. It fits best with the rest of the sitar’s copious decorations.
Done!
Sound samples played by Visjal Auwerx:
K&K transducer only
K&K transducer + EQ
K&K transducer + external mic mix
K&K transducer + external mic + tanpura mix
K&K transducer = Pure Pickup™ 12-String
external mic = AKG C2000B
Having played the surbahar where you installed that system earlier I feel that the system sounded much better on that surbahar. The samples here do not sound too convincing whereas I was totally stunned by your surbahar sound through the AER amp. Would you agree on that or is it a problem of recording vs. testing live?
No, I agree with you. This system sounds impressive on that surbahar. It balances a lot of deep low with a bright mid. But this is also noticeable on this sitar, though perhaps a bit more high presence is missing here. I think the owner has now improved this with a modified preamp.
Great Work and process¡¡ A bit of sound should be amazing to listen the transducer in action¡¡
Congrats.
x.
Thank you for your comments and kind words.
I would like to provide a sound sample, but the problem is that I can’t play sitar very well. I am a luthier and can handle chisels, saws and files well but my sitar playing rather dishonours the instruments. But I will try to convince the owner of this sitar to provide me with a sample….