#9160  by pharewellphish
 
i ireally like the sound of sitars and wanna buy one... does anyone know anything about them? no stores really have them so does anyone know any good places to get one? one store does have an electric sitar... anybody know anything about these?


thanks

 #9162  by phreaker
 
a store over here in lawrence has a few i think. i dont know anything about the prices or quality, but i always see a couple when im in there.

its called richards music. downtown lawrence, only about a 30 minute drive from kc.

you might wanna double check...maybe call 'em or something.

 #9166  by spilly
 
the set up is completely different. it doesn't work like western music with half steps and such, it's more of a 1/3 step type deal. you'll have to learn a whole new type of theory, but it may indeed open your eyes to new possibilities. notes between notes.

George Harrison tried for years, he even studied under the great Robbi Shankar, but he could never get ahold of the fundamentals, he was too hooked into western music. It's not easy to forget everything you know. My brother and I refer to the instrument as "Harrison's Bain"

I was looking into buying one myself, but now I think I'm going to get a petal steel.

I would love to learn the theory though, 11 notes just isn't enough sometimes

 #9179  by eyeprod
 
I'm a collector of world instruments, and though I don't own a sitar, I see them cheap on ebay. Go for cheap and from some seller with good feedback.

As for learning curve, yes there is one. There's also a tuning curve. Sitars have sympathetic strings that all have to be tuned like the playing strings. If you're after a plucky string instrument with a nice 'ethnic' sound you might try finding a music store that sells that kind of thing and try some stuff out. There are cool african banjo-like things that are cool. There are also other, simpler folk instruments from India and near there that have sound and playablity you may prefer over a big sitar. Oh, one other choice is there is this guy who makes small, custom type sitars over on maui i think it is. A friend of mine has one of them, it's backpack-able and sounds and plays like a real sitar for the most part. They aren't too cheap, but might be worth checking out.

 #16353  by jck_strw
 
mutant_dan wrote:I would suggest checking out Lark in the Morning.

http://larkinthemorning.com

They have just about any instrument you can think of..
I like their stuff. I get a catalog of theirs every so often. But holy shit, are they expensive. I'm sure all their stuff is top quality, but man, pricey.

 #16362  by confusions_prince
 
Great service, all the instruments and clothing are handmade.

http://www.sitarsetc.com/

 #16381  by BigJilm
 
hav ne of u guys ever checked out daussamers? (sp?) Some guy at the fair up here made them n sold them, theyre these folk instruments that have a real cool sound. They look kinda tricky to learnhow to play, but its a western instrument so i dont think u really have to relearn all music theory. Neways, they kinda reminded me a little bit of sitars, so i thought id throw it out there. I think during the Dark Star on Keller William's Crazy Fingers im pretty sure he has a guy playing one with him.

 #16382  by BigJilm
 
its dulcimer
 #71605  by jdsmodulus
 
pharewellphish wrote:i ireally like the sound of sitars and wanna buy one... does anyone know anything about them? no stores really have them so does anyone know any good places to get one? one store does have an electric sitar... anybody know anything about these?


thanks
Hey now, funny you bring Sitar up, I saw one used yesterday at a store near me. It looked to be in decent shape and the store offers online pay and shipping. Im not affiliated with this place at all, in fact I wouldnt endorse them I just happen to see it when I stopped in for a minute. If you would like details pm me, I just wouldnt want to post about this place. :shock:

Re:

 #71613  by Highballin'
 
spilly wrote:the set up is completely different. it doesn't work like western music with half steps and such, it's more of a 1/3 step type deal. you'll have to learn a whole new type of theory, but it may indeed open your eyes to new possibilities. notes between notes.

George Harrison tried for years, he even studied under the great Robbi Shankar, but he could never get ahold of the fundamentals, he was too hooked into western music. It's not easy to forget everything you know. My brother and I refer to the instrument as "Harrison's Bain"

I was looking into buying one myself, but now I think I'm going to get a petal steel.

I would love to learn the theory though, 11 notes just isn't enough sometimes
Hey my friend, that's Ravi Shankar.
Incidentally there is a album by Ravi Shankar, kind of like a greatest hits. I had the cassette when I was young. On it he does alot of talking, and jamming. He gives the basics of the scales, and the techniques. He jams on that thing like no tomorrow.
 #71618  by Pete B.
 
Fareed Hauque came thru town with a great Sitar player a while back.
I should try one sometime (i wonder if there is a local instructor in my area).
The move-able frets look cool.
My wife and I saw a guy playing one on TV, and she looked at me and said "Pete, you should have taken up Sitar instead of Banjo... I think I could stand to hear Sitar around the house".
 #71621  by Rusty the Scoob
 
I personally wouldn't even look at it as learning the sitar. The sitar usually has two lead strings and the technique is not all that different from guitar - you pluck the strings to make notes. The main difference is that there's no wood right behind the frets so you can do bends just by pressing harder on the strings. It's learning indian music that's the challenge!