Kabul 1900 sitar restoration – Pt1
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,…
Sarod Guitar / mod II
Ever fallen in love with a sarod but you couldn’t find one? Personally I love the sound of sarod very much but can’t play it. That’s pretty the same problem. Here’s a way out: A simple solution is to convert an existing old guitar into a Sarod guitar. In…
Dieter Zarnitz website
Dear friends, this year (06/2024) we sadly lost a very special and warm person, Dieter Zarnitz. He was a very talented and inventive musical instrument maker. Passionate about Indian musical instruments, he devoted his time to searching for alternatives to find a better construction and sound for the sitar…
Tom Thumb sitar
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…
Intonation blocks
Intonation on the sitar (& surbahar) is a very complex aspect for players to master due to its unique structure and intricate tuning system. Unlike Western stringed instruments with standardized frets, the sitar’s pardas (frets) are movable, allowing players to adjust the intervals between notes to suit different ragas…
Lost Paloma
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…
New Narka series
I made a new set of narkas, this time from the wood of an old broomstick (aspen wood). They are done in different colours and a new SiTAR FAcToRY logo is burnt on them. My dear neighbour girl Felien Swillen is very handy with a small wood burner. She…
Rikhi Ram necklace 75′ restoration
Here then is a photo report of the work carried out: More neck bend repair can be found here.
Hemen tumba repair with K&K Big Twin internal mount
Yet another Hemen sitar crosses my path. This time with a seriously broken tumba and damaged lacquer. There is a big hole in the tumba and fortunately all the pieces are still in it. It will be “puzzling” again. Because the hole is so big, it seems like an…
K&K Big Twin external mount
I mounted a K&K sound Big Twin internal transducer on a Raj Musicals sitar by Joël Van Roode (Alpacas Collective – Flugzeug Music Art Design). Since it is not always obvious to open a tabli, we chose to do an external mount. That is, the transducers are mounted on…
Slimbucker on Studiositar
I mounted a Kent Armstrong Slimbucker™ Jazz guitar pickup on a beautiful new Waseem Maner vintage style studiositar. The sitar sounds very natural, with an extra warmth due to enhanced low frequency response typical for this kind of humbucker electro-magnetic pickups. The pickup is tilted to meet the cikaris…
Ustad Ilyas Khan’s HR sitar restoration – Pt2
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…