Dieter Zarnitz surbahar repair – Part 2

Restoring a Unique Dieter Zarnitz Surbahar – Part 2: Reassembly, Reinforcement and Setup

In Part 1 of this Dieter Zarnitz surbahar repair, I opened the instrument, investigated the failed neck joint and replaced it with a new, longer mahogany connection.

Now that the structural heart of the repair is complete, it is time to close the instrument again, reinforce some vulnerable areas, reinstall the hardware and finally find out how this unique Dieter Zarnitz surbahar sounds.

Closing the surbahar

Once the new joint had dried thoroughly and the glue had fully cured, the tabli and the upper plate of the neck could be glued back into position.

First, however, all gluing surfaces had to be perfectly clean and flat.

For the body, I used a large sanding board to carefully level the entire rim. The two sections of the neck were prepared in the same way using a smaller sanding board.

Before closing the body, I took the opportunity to add two small mahogany blocks to its interior.

A surbahar usually has a small supporting foot underneath the body. The screws holding this foot need sufficient wood to grip into. The maple ribs of this particular instrument are relatively thin and were never intended to hold screws securely.

The additional mahogany provides a much stronger fixing point.

Gluing the pta and tabli

The pta (the upper plate of the neck) was glued first and firmly held in position with rope.

A strong, perfectly straight wooden beam placed over the first layer of rope ensured that the neck remained straight while the glue cured.

Immediately afterwards, the tabli could be glued back onto the body.

Again, rope provided even pressure around the body.

The critical connection between the tabli and pta required a little more ingenuity. I used a lever system pulling strongly on two small nails, with the pressure adjusted by means of a wooden wedge at the top of the construction. (click on the picture beside to see in detail)

Then it was time to wait again while everything dried and cured.

Meanwhile, I could start preparing some of the hardware.

Adjusting the bridge

Because I had given the neck a 3° tilt, I expected the bridge to need some additional height in order to obtain the correct playing action.

I therefore glued two small pieces of maple underneath the existing bridge feet. This would provide the extra height needed later during the final setup.

Repairing the taar daan

While removing the taar daan – the upper nut supporting the strings – I noticed another unusual detail in Dieter’s construction.

He had glued a piece of ebony underneath the actual bone nut to hold the assembly securely in position. Unfortunately, this ebony section had broken.

I repaired it and reinforced the construction by inserting two steel pins through the ebony and deep into the bone.

Back to bamboo

The decorative strips would soon have to go back onto the instrument. This time I decided to use bamboo nails instead of the small brass nails Dieter had originally used. Making a supply of tiny bamboo nails is actually a rather peaceful job.

The strips themselves are glued into position with ordinary woodworking glue and then mechanically secured with the bamboo nails.

Additional reinforcement of the neck joint

At this point the body of the surbahar was once again completely closed. Still, something kept bothering me. This is a large instrument carrying considerable string tension, yet the construction around the neck-to-body joint is relatively thin.

Although I had already replaced the original joint with a stronger and longer mahogany one, I started wondering whether the entire area could be reinforced further. After another night of thinking about it, I decided that it could.

I made an additional reinforcement from a piece of first-class ebony and fitted it into the underside of the neck, directly across the joint.

To accommodate it, I removed wood to the same depth as the surrounding decorative strips and cut a 76° angle into the body section.

This geometry is important.

The upward force acting on the reinforcement is mechanically resisted by the body of the instrument itself. The ebony piece therefore cannot simply pull away from the body.

Only the neck side relies on a long, flat glued surface.

Once finished, the reinforcement looked both clean and reassuringly solid.

And, fortunately, I remembered just in time that two frets also have to sit in this area of the neck. Their binding wires need to be able to slide freely over the reinforcement.

Reinstalling the hardware

While the glue on the ebony reinforcement was curing, I continued reinstalling the decorative strips.

The tarav mogaras were also glued back into position. Thanks to the rosewood reinforcement installed underneath the pta during the first stage of the restoration, they now have a much stronger foundation.

Once everything was completely dry and the glue had hardened, the remaining hardware could finally return.

The taar daans went back into position, the pardas – the frets – were tied onto the neck again, and the langot, or string attachment, was reinstalled.

Then came the kuntis: the tuning pegs.

Correcting the sympathetic-string pegs

The main-string tuning pegs fitted well immediately, but all of the tarav kuntis needed some adjustment.

Over time, the hard ebony pegs, with their gently tapered shafts, had gradually worked their way deeper into the neck. Eventually, some of them were gripping more strongly at the lower end than near the actual tuning knob. This creates considerable torsional forces in the wood. Apart from making precise tuning unnecessarily difficult, it also increases the risk of the peg breaking.

Fortunately, the solution is straightforward. By carefully removing a little material from the lower part of the peg, the unwanted grip can be reduced and the peg can once again seat correctly.

Strings, jawari and the first sound

Finally, we reached the last stage: fitting the strings and doing the jawari.

Before stringing the instrument, I gave the soundboard a few taps with my knuckles.

There was clearly plenty of potential there. A strong resonance around C +30cts was immediately noticeable.

Play Listen to the tabli resonance

Because of the 3° neck angle, the bridge now sits higher than before in order to achieve the correct action – the distance between the strings and the fret surface.

A higher bridge, however, also means increased downward pressure on the soundboard. I therefore decided to be cautious and initially fit a slightly lighter string set.

For the laraj and kharaj I used nickel flatwound strings. With this type of string, the tension can easily be around 20% lower. It seemed wise to start there and see how the instrument responses.

String Setup and Tuning Specifications

Surbahar tuned to F +30cts, scale = 104,5cms

Baj tar: brass coated steel 0,38mm (N°5)
Jora tar: bronze 0,56mm (N°24)
Laraj: bronze 0,72mm (N°22)
Kharaj: brass 0,90mm (N°20)
Gandhar: steel 0,36mm (N°5)
Pancham: steel 0,32mm (N°4)
Cikari 1: steel 0,30mm (N°3)
Cikari 2: steel 0,28mm (N°2)
Taravs: steel 0,28mm (N°2)

Playing the restored surbahar

Then came the moment all this work had been leading towards.
The surbahar was tuned and played for the first time. The initial result was very promising.

The instrument sounded balanced, very warm deep tones, the overall response was good, and the sympathetic strings responded beautifully.

After a major structural repair, that is exactly what you hope to hear. Now it is up to Matyas Wolter to continue playing the instrument, getting to know it again and discovering what this unique surbahar can become.

Everyone has their own job, right?

Enjoy these pictures 😉 :

Go here for Part 1 of this repair.

Dieter Zarnitz joint Repair Surbahar