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Category Archives: curiosity

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Kabul 1900 sitar restoration – Pt2

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Monday, 12 May 2025 by AnandaMonday, 23 June 2025

In a first part, you can learn about this particular ancient instrument, baptised the Kabul sitar, and read a description of how to check and repair the body and make the missing wooden parts.

Kabul sitar restored

At that time, it was already clear that other important parts were also missing: at least 4 frets had disappeared and, since the intention was to make this a playable instrument again, new bridges also had to be built.

The type of frets used on this old instrument is almost impossible to find anymore. They are flat metal (bronze or brass) strips with a rounded top and 2 gutters on either side of the rounded top. The fixing wires can run into those.

Kabul sitar restored

I don’t know a thing about metalworking. So it was thought to outsource this job to someone else. After some research, Matyas found a German goldsmith who was willing to make 4. This job took a very long time (-1 year) and the result was very disappointing. The material used was very different from the originals and the gutters for attaching the strings were simply unusable. Very unfortunate but back to square one!!!

Around that time, I happened to get to know Kees Verbeek from Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He builds a nice surbahar himself and had a few questions about it. I note on his business card that he is actually also a bronze caster. Assuming that these old frets were made of bronze, I presented Kees with the project and asked him if he could take a look at recreating such frets for us.

Kees was very enthusiastic and I sent him 2 original ones. He immediately set to work. The material eventually turned out to be brass, not bronze, and Kees managed to recreate 4 new ones in no time.

He had a sheet of brass lying around at the right thickness, cut strips out of it and rolled the shape into it. Then he filed in the gutters with fine needle files and finished them seamlessly.

Apart from the fact that they were made recently and thus still have a noticeable new metal sheen, they are barely distinguishable from the originals.

Wonderful work by Kees Verbeek! (keesv @ hccnet.nl)

Meanwhile, I made 2 new bridges from first-class quality bone. Or rather bridges, as the instrument does seem quite a bit smaller than an ordinary modern sitar. Although remarkably: the length and the scale have remained almost the same. And, the instrument weighs only 1.32 Kg, which is very little compared to a present-day sitar that easily weighs over 2.34 Kg.

This brings us steadily to the finishing touches. Matyas wants to play it and, as the instrument is very lightly built, we choose a light, thin stringing in a rather low tuning C. For details, see the overview of the Kabul 1900 sitar string set / tuning chart.

Once we agree on these details, I can start fitting the frets. First, I put on a baj string and a jora string. That’s enough to start setting and binding the frets. The position of the frets is determined by the tuning. Little adjustment to the height and position of the bridge is needed to achieve a workable fret distribution. Since this old type of sitar has only 17 frets, the positions for Komal RE, Komal GA and Komal DHA initially remain empty. Even the high Komal NI is not provided permanently.

Once all the frets are in position I check everything again. Finally, the rest of the strings go on. The new Kabul sitar sounds soft and very lively. Matyas will be pleased…

If you would like to see, hear and read more, take a look at the marvellous report on this sitar, which you can find on Matyas’ outstanding website: Antique Kabuli sitar.

Kabul 1900 sitar string set / tuning chart :

1. Baj – steel wire 0,28mm / N°2 tuned to F3
2. Jora – bronze wire 0,37mm / N°28 tuned to C3
3. Jora – bronze wire 0,37mm / N°28 tuned to C3
4. Laraj – bronze wire 0,46mm / N°26 tuned to G3
5. Pancham – steel wire 0,25mm / N°0  tuned to G4
6. Cikari – steel wire 0,19mm / N°000 tuned to C5
7. Cikari – steel wire 0,19mm / N°000 tuned to C6
0. Taravs – steel wire 0,19mm / N°000

Posted in curiosity, repair | Tagged ghoraj, parda, Restoration, varisitari | 1 Reply

Kabul 1900 sitar restoration – Pt1

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Thursday, 1 May 2025 by AnandaMonday, 12 May 2025

In April 2020, Matyas Wolter stumbled upon some very old Indian musical instruments for sale on ebay in southern Germany. His eye fell on one of them. The description indicated that the instrument was bought in Kabul, Afghanistan, in the mid-1970s. At that time it was already considered old, the seller told him. It was a part of a small local museum in southern Germany from 1985-2017.

Kabul sitar origin

The sitar was nicknamed Kabul sitar. It is probably +/- 110 years old…

There was a small crack (about 7cm) in the neck and the strings would have to be replaced. ‘It is in an uncleaned and unrestored storage condition’ reads the description.

In May 2023, the Kabul sitar arrived here in my shop, along with the Ilyas Khan sitar I previously restored for Matyas .

It soon turned out that it did have more going on than the original description indicated.

Besides the small crack and the old worn strings, it also turned out that the neck was well bent. At least 4 frets were missing and most of the tuning pegs needed a lot of attention. The bridges also had to be renewed.

In this section, I describe the work on the body. Mainly woodwork, in other words. In the next part, the metal fittings, the bridges and finishing and tuning will be covered.

We start with the body. The neck is noticeably well warped. This is easy to see when all the hardware is removed. So it needs to be opened up and straightened again.


There was already a crack in the neck, just on the line of separation between the 2 parts of the neck, and so opening it up goes pretty smoothly. The glue is very old and breaks easily. Still, the job has to be done very carefully. It is a very fragile instrument.

And yes, once opened there are a few striking things to see. The neck is made extremely thin, and the lower, round, part has an unusual thickness gradient. The front, which holds the tuning knobs, has a thickness of 5 to 6 mm and tapers to a thin 2.2 to 3 mm on the other side. The top flat plate is only 3 to 4 mm thick.

I also note that there are very small holes in the wood of the neck, most likely cavities of woodworms. There is no trace of the worms themselves, fortunately, and the damage does not seem to be too bad.

I also notice an additional crack in the side of the neck. This could not be seen on the outside, but it has certainly weakened the neck well. Now that the neck is open, this is an excellent time to repair this crack properly.

Then the time has come to close the lid again. I leave a small signature and after a final look at the nevertheless finely flowing and evenly finished inside, the pieces go back together. Everything still fits perfectly.

After a few days of good drying, the heavy solid straight beam and ropes can come off and we get a perfectly straight neck again. The kabul sitar is on its way of return.

Kabul sitar return

Then it’s the pegs’ turn. There are 8 main pegs on it for the main strings and 11 tarav pegs for the sympathetic strings. Of the 5 main pegs present, only 3 seem usable and 1 is missing. Of the 2 cikari pegs, only 1 is usable. We then start combining the good and usable pieces and use the head of the too-short one to make a new fitting one.


Then I dive into my box of old (discarded?) specimens and find 2 similar pieces whose head I can update. In this way, I put together a full, fitting set of large pegs. In the meantime, that looks good.

1 cikari peg I then have to replicate myself. I start again from an old scrapped peg, taken from a very old sitar from Bangladesh. After some sawing, filing and sanding, a nice new one emerges. I give it some dents and bumps and finish it so that it is indistinguishable from the others.


This is followed by checking the tarav pegs. It becomes a real puzzle because most of them are so worn that they keep coming loose and no longer fit. I then decide to combine these pegs with new internal bushings. See the previously demonstrated method here. All in all, it’s not too bad. I only need to replicate 1 new tarav peg. For that, see the same procedure as for the cikari pegs. The cikari pegs and tarav pegs are very similar, and in fact almost interchangeable. The only difference is the location of the hole where to attach the string. On the cikari pegs, it is outside the neck, and on the tarav pegs, that hole is on the area that is inside the neck.


So much for the first part. All wooden parts are complete and checked for proper functioning. The instrument is ready for the finishing phase. See part two on this Kabul sitar restoration soon.

Posted in curiosity, repair | Tagged Kunti, neck, Restoration, varisitari | 1 Reply

Tom Thumb sitar

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Wednesday, 18 December 2024 by AnandaSaturday, 15 March 2025

A person encounters all sorts of things in life, and so too in the sitar world. I knew that there are children’s sitars (mini sitar or baby sitar) that can also be played, but I had never seen such a gem before. What would you call it? A tiny toy sitar? But it seems more then only a toy designed to me, which you can then actually play on (if you want to). Calling it a “Tom Thumb sitar” sounds good, I guess…. 😉

Anyway, the little instrument did need some cleaning and repair work before anything could be done with it. The bridge was missing and a few tuning pegs were broken. Other than that, it wasn’t too bad. So, I made a new bridge out of a tarav bridge and found some old matching tarav kuntis.

Tom Thumb has 10 pardas, 5 taravs and possibly up to 7 main strings. The scale is only 36cms, the body is 55cms long and the tabli 14cms wide. The neck is only 5.4cms wide. The ‘tumba’ is probably all wood, with a good bit of plastering to get it nice and round. Otherwise complete with simple decoration on celluloid, just like its big brothers & sisters!

Tom Thumb sitar string set / tuning chart (example):

1. steel wire 0,28mm / N°2 tuned to A#4
2. bronze wire 0,37mm / N°28 tuned to C#3
3. bronze wire 0,46mm / N°26 tuned to G#3
4. steel wire 0,23mm / N°0  tuned to G#4
5. steel wire 0,19mm / N°000 tuned to C#5
6. steel wire 0,19mm / N°000 tuned to C#6
Taravs: steel wire 0,19mm / N°000

Posted in curiosity, repair | Tagged SitarRepair, varisitari | 1 Reply

Lost Paloma

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Thursday, 19 September 2024 by AnandaMonday, 9 June 2025

This old Paloma sitar had been found in an attic. How long it stood there is not clear, but it may have been a while…. Paloma is a registered brand of Haribhau Vishwanath Diwane who distributed sitars from various builders under it. They are rather somewhat cheaper mid-range sitars for everyone. But there are also hidden gems among them. Who eventually made this sitar I don’t know, but it is definitely well made, and fitted with full decoration.

She has undergone a full restoration and is ready to please another sitar player. She is also very suitable for the committed beginner.

Now for sale on this site (click here).

Posted in curiosity, repair | Tagged Paloma, Restoration | 2 Replies

Ustad Ilyas Khan’s HR sitar restoration – Pt2

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Saturday, 16 December 2023 by AnandaMonday, 9 June 2025

Foto from left to right: Idris Khan – sitar, Ustad Ilyas Khan – sitar, Tadahiro Wakabayashi – tanpura.
Foto © T. Wakabayashi 

This is the follow-up report to a project on the restoration of a special Hiren Roy sitar. Click here for the  first part. Below is the second part concerning the result:

The original second tumba is missing. This is very unfortunate for a sitar that is around 60 years old. It is easy to see from the photos that this is a fairly large second tumba. Not surprising for sitar of this class. I myself do not have any tumbas in stock, nor can I make them just like that. But for some time now, I have been working regularly with Mohammad Waseem Maner, a young and talented sitar maker from Miraj. I asked him if he could then make a replica of this missing second tumba for us. “Yes. Sir I will do the needful” was his prompt reply and so it happened.

The new second tumba arrived just in time to still be mounted on the fully repaired instrument. And, Waseem did a sterling job. The cut-outs in the woodwork match those of the original perfectly.

Following are some photos of the finished instrument.

Time to dwell for a moment on the unusual bridge on the head of the neck.

It is widely known that traditionally built sitars do easily suffer from anomalous intonation. This is especially noticeable with the Laraj Kharaj strings. Modern western instruments are often equipped with options to adjust the length of each string separately so that one can achieve quasi-perfect intonation. But that is not easy to achieve on a simple construction like a sitar.

Many sitar maestros started experimenting with an extra bridge added to the bridge at the head of the neck. The construction found on this instrument takes the crown. At first, only the length of the Laraj Kharaj string was adjusted. In principle, that should have sufficed, but apparently it could have been even better. An extra bridge was added later. This time, the Jora string was included in the adjustment.

The result is impressive, though. The intonation of this sitar is one of the cleanest I have ever heard. Once the new strings were fitted and the instrument was given a first tuning, it was noticeable that all the strings can be played quasi right on the fret. Very special, especially then with the Laraj Kharaj….

Only drawback Matyas quickly found was that the Kharaj, when played open, easily tended to go into an excessive buzz. This is not surprising given the actual width of this extra bridge on the headstock. The problem was remedied by turning in the accompanying screw a little deeper, though. But whether this will hold up in the longer term Matyas can tell us soon….
In any case, this sitar is ready for a new start with a promising young sitarist Matyas Wolter. And they lived happily ever after together…. 😉

Those who would like to hear this sitar in the hands of its master please visit Matyas playlist of Ustad Ilyas Khan’s music on his archival YouTube site:

Ustad ILYAS KHAN: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvP9MFDf6jaLLvf-4xvUVTsIEkpm3hOsL

Those who would like to hear this restored sitar in the hands of Matyas himself listen here:

Matyas Wolter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4SA9T4OYYrI

Posted in curiosity, repair, varia | Tagged Hiren Roy, neck, Restoration, SitarRepair, tumba, Waseem Maner | 3 Replies

Ustad Ilyas Khan’s HR sitar restoration – Pt1

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Thursday, 14 December 2023 by AnandaMonday, 18 December 2023

There is a very special sitar on my workbench. Special in many ways because it belonged to Ustad Ilyas Khan (1924-1989), a lesser known but highly skilled and deserving sitar player, born in Lucknow to a family of musicians. His father belonged to the Shahjahanpur gharana.

This unique Hiren Roy sitar now belongs to German sitarist Matyas Wolter. In spring 2023, he sent me for a list of problems:

A. Structural Issues:
> Open the tabli and neck plate and tighten all loose points
> If it is opened once anyways, maybe it could be tried to straighten the neck???!!!
B. Cosmetics:
> Spot repair of torn polish spot in front of lower bridge leg on the tabli
> Spot repair of gourd pimples
C. Setup:
> All obvious works: fret binding & setting, new strings etc
> Original Horn bridge adjustment, and (possibly after neck repair) heightening

Since this is a larger project, I have split the report into 2 parts. Below is the first part concerning basic repair:

The sitar almost fell apart by itself. It had once been glued with rohlam, a traditional wood glue made from a mixture of wheat flour, lime and copper sulphur. After a (long) time, it came apart easily.

So taking the instrument apart wasn’t too bad. The neck came off easily with a couple of scrapers inserted and almost immediately the whole tabli came off too.

Matyas had noted earlier that the tabli was probably loose, and that was no overstatement.
The joint on the other hand was still firmly attached, but once the 4 screws were loosened, it too came apart perfectly.

By special request from Matyas, I have put a message to the inside of the neck plate:

“This sitar was made by Hiren Roy of Calcutta in the early 1960’s for Ustad Ilyas Khan of Lucknow and was his main sitar until he passed away in 1989. Thereafter his son Idris Khan took care of it. After Idris’ demise in 2013 Ilyas Khan’s nephew Ustad Irfan Khan of Calcutta took over. He passed the instrument on to his German disciple Matyas Wolter in 2023. It was completely restored for a new life by Klaas Janssens at Sitarfactory / Belgium in 2023.”

The various parts were then well cleaned and cleared of rohlan residue. I then glued them back together with modern hide glue. First up was the neck as it was slightly warped. Then the tabli was put back on. Everything was fixed and held as per the traditional way, with rope…

After a few days of drying, the next step came: the tumba. Matyas had noticed strange bulges, gourd pimples, on the surface and now a little later I came to a peculiar discovery. There were screws under the surface. Due to the effect of rust, and probably also the metal expanding and contracting, slight bulges formed on them over time.

I had never experienced this construction before and still wonder about the purpose of these screws. I can only imagine that they served to help improve the natural shapes of the harvested pumpkin so that it could be made nice and round. The screws probably served to hold the various cuts firmly together again. This is no longer necessary with today’s modern wood glues, which make a good solid joint.

As you can see from the photos, quite a few adjustments were made. I then removed all the bulges, cleaned them well and then gave them a new coat of wood glue/wood dust mixture.

Finally, after this exceptional job, the finishing procedure follows: tumba colouring, body polishing, fitting frets and bridges and finally new strings on… Because the neck is now nicely straight again, the height of the strings changes and so the height of the bridge has to be adjusted as well.

A second report will come soon with more info and photos of the final result.

This sitar still has a mystery… click here for the second part.

Posted in curiosity, repair, varia | Tagged Hiren Roy, neck, Restoration, SitarRepair, tumba | 6 Replies

Staghorn Narka

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Monday, 21 August 2023 by AnandaSaturday, 24 August 2024

I made a narka out of Belgian stag horn. This is a tuning aid to comfortably and finely tune the taravs, the sympathetic strings on a sitar.


A deer antler hung on the wall. You can find them at old flea markets, or nailed to the wall at hunters’ homes: deer horn antlers as hunting trophies. You can’t do much with them, but for a sitar player you can make a beautiful and useful tool with them.


First choose in a nice and fitting piece, and cut the end generously. Then I make a tapered slot corresponding to the width of the taravs to be operated. A hole is then drilled into it to fit the ornamental tip of the tuning knob, and then I also make the tapered slot suitably concave so that it fits nicely over the tuning knob.


At the end, the edges are gently rounded.

Posted in curiosity, varia | Tagged Kunti, narka, tarav, tuning | Leave a reply

Makhan Lal Roy sitar surbahar repair

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Wednesday, 2 February 2022 by AnandaMonday, 9 June 2025

Here is an old and worn Makhan Lal Roy & Son sitar with numerous defects coming to my shop. It is a very rare surbahar style sitar with very little decoration. I have no idea about the age of this sober beauty but she has clearly been through a lot.

View the main list of defects:

    • Neck plate is loose
    • Joint is loose
    • Pardas are worn
    • Pegs are worn & greasy
    • Tarav holes are broken
    • Tarav mount on tabli is broken
    • Lacquer on tumba is damaged

Additionally there are a few small things to do and finally new strings to be mounted & jawari done…

Unfortunately the owner decided not to have repaired everything at once. The cost is too high. The original tarav strings mount remains broken and the strings itself are attached to the main string mount as done on ordinary sitars, across the tabli. The lacquer has been cleaned thoroughly but remains as is. So I expect this sitar back sooner or later… but for now she is ready to be played on again.

Posted in curiosity, maintenance, repair | Tagged Makhan Lal, SitarRepair | Leave a reply

Rikhi Ram 70’s restoration

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Friday, 16 April 2021 by AnandaTuesday, 12 July 2022

Michel DumontEarly 1970, Michel Dumont (Musician, flutist, graduate of the conservatories of Brussels and Valencienne, who became a theatre and opera decorator at La Monnaie/De Munt) together with his wife Martine Mergeay (journalist and music reviewer at La Libre Belgique, Le Vif/L’Express and Musiq3) went to India to explore and learn about Indian Classical Music. They meet Ravi Shankar and purchase a sitar at the Rikhi Ram shop in New Delhi. They stay one year in Benares and face a profound study about raga in instrumental (Michel) as well as in vocal (Martine) techniques.

Last year (2020) unfortunately Michel passed away after suffering a long disease. His sitar remains alone…

It finally arrives on my table. It has clearly not been played on for a long time. The strings and pardas are rusted and there is a lot of dust on the body. The lacquer on the soundboard has been severely cracked and there is a dull and matte appearance to the whole instrument. The decorations are faded out.

Then I quickly started to remove all the worn parts and the pardas. The lacquer was well sanded and given a new layer of varnish. The decorations were then carefully and neatly scraped off. Then I cleaned and polished all the pardas and put them back on with new orange wires. The tuning pegs, too, were given a thorough cleaning and were given a good layer of fresh chalk. The original label was missing, so I copied it by hand as was common in those days. The sitar is also getting a new stagghorn jawari ghoraj and, of course, new strings. This extraordinary sitar is now ready for a new life…

And it is one of the best-sounding sitars I have ever held in my hands. The tarav response is exceptional and the tone is particularly well balanced. It is made of exquisite teak wood in an era when a new instrument was still built with great care and of course, by one of the most passionate and experienced builders in India…

See here the result:

  • front
  • front low
  • front tabli
  • deco
  • front top
  • label
  • tumba
  • tumba 2

Posted in curiosity, repair | Tagged Restoration, Rikhi Ram | 3 Replies

2 more Plexitar sitars

SiTAR FAcToRY Posted on Sunday, 6 December 2020 by AnandaMonday, 29 August 2022

This year I’ve completed 2 plexiglass sitars. They are 100% See-Tar cloned replicas according to the original Purbayan Chatterjee copy as seen here on this site.

Sound sample:
Play Plexitar on AER Compact 60 amp

Comes with a solid AUER CP 12416 Protective case Pro with locks & wheels in beautiful “blutorange” (vermilion) color.

Posted in curiosity, listen, making | Tagged electric, ForSale, fusion, plexiglass, See-Tar, SitarMaking, varisitari | 2 Replies

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