Anybody got a sitar?

Interesting instrument. I have a lot of Indian colleagues and I think you can have one built, better from the experts and cheaper than you can build it yourself. But I do think it is an interesting instrument.
 
Build a really small one - you know, a baby sitar.... :)


Sorry, had to do that before bubba po came along and said it.:laughings:
 
I have one...nothing super fancy/expensive, but it sounds/plays like a sitar....not that I can play.
Mostly...it just gets in the way...it's a big fucker.

Way back when I first got it, I added some sitar ear candy for a song, but then, I ended up never finishing that song, and since then I've yet to do something where I would want some sitar. It's not something you can add to a lot of Pop/Rock tunes...and once you do, you don't want to use it again any time soon, unless you're into the '60s Psychedelic Pop.
 
I watched a youtube video of some Indian dude making one. Everything looked so primitive and imprecise as he was doing it, but as he refined things, it looked just awesome.
I don't want to buy or build one for any other reason than I just want one.
 
Other cool things to make your neighbors love you

I always kinda liked these.
fulls.jpg
 
fat_fleet said:
just for kicks-
ritw pt.3
Click to expand...

Is that you playing?
Pretty good.

I never got my sitar to play Indian music with...rather to use it in Pop/Rock music as ear candy, which is why I haven't quite found the right song(s) to use it in.
You can't just toss some sitar into Pop/Rock without changing the flavor too obviously...the sitar has that power...and next thing you know, it sounds like '60s Psychedelic Pop. :D

I want to add it more subtly in some way.
 
miroslav said:
Is that you playing?
Pretty good.

I never got my sitar to play Indian music with...rather to use it in Pop/Rock music as ear candy, which is why I haven't quite found the right song(s) to use it in.
You can't just toss some sitar into Pop/Rock without changing the flavor too obviously...the sitar has that power...and next thing you know, it sounds like '60s Psychedelic Pop. :D

I want to add it more subtly in some way.
Click to expand...

That recording is pretty old now. For the sitar I used an AKG c411 contact mic paired with an AT4050 condenser about a foot away, and I phase-aligned the two tracks. Since then, I've pretty much abandoned the AKG for just about everything and I feel like if I tracked the tune again I could get a fuller, more rich sound out of it.

One thing I didn't realize before I got the sitar was how quiet it is when compared to acoustic instruments with soundholes.
How did you track yours Miro? Got any samples?
 
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Like I said earlier...I tracked it one time, a few years ago for a tune...then I abandoned that song, and never found another Pop/Rock tune where I thought the sitar would work.
I can't remember what mic combination I used.
 
I was given a Sitar by my brother-in-law (two years ago for X-mas) - he bought it in India back in the 60's - never played it, just a decoration.

It is basically a "student" model - but it plays and sound like a Sitar. I pluck at it now and then - I've learned the obligatory Beatles and Stones tunes (it's amazing that with all those strings only a couple are actually used to play melodies). It does not hold a tune - I can almost hear it detuning as it sits in the corner. The good news is, with a Sitar it doesn't really matter if it's in tune:eek:

I keep thinking I will write a tune that I can use Sitar on - but it ain't happened yet. It looks cool in my studio but it does take up a lot of real estate.

Perhaps a self build would be "easier" than trying to build an acoustic guitar (since the accuracy of tuning may be more "forgiving"), but I know I would not want to try.

If you do try a build - I wish you much success!
 
I might just buy a cheap one.I would like to try to use it as it's intended, rather than incorporate it into a pop format.Much of the stuff I write features guitar trying to mimic exotic instruments, which is a nice exercise in versatility, but it would be cool to have the real deal. I don't know if I need one enough to buy one, but from past experience, an itch this bad has to be scratched. :D
 
Scored a cheapo used one on Ebay for a bit under $200.Hopefully that will pacify my neurosis...for a time.:D
 

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