Sitar and Indian instrument repair and jawari

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SITAR AND INDIAN INSTRUMENT REPAIR

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Repair services specializing in Sitar jawari and general repairs covering instruments as Surbahar, Tanpura, Dilruba, Esraj, Sarangi and others.

History/Bio: I have been involved with Indian instruments in one form or another for over 40 years. Due to the nature of the business with importing from India I've dealt with many instruments, all of which have required setup to be finished. In the past I have not offered these services except to customers who have purchased instruments from us but am now extending to all who need it due to the influx of instruments via ebay and elsewhere that are in need of setup and repair.

There are no one size fits all rates since each instrument is unique and I don't want to overcharge or undercharge, I have given general estimates for some services below.

Most of the work I do is done exactly as I learned in India with the same methods and tools they use there.

All work done at my shop in Ocean Shores, WA unless traveling. Travel schedules when available are posted on the Rain City Music Facebook page.

Also, qualified people who do repairs on Indian instruments are quite scarce this side of the world but if I feel you'll be better served locally near you I won't hesitate to recommend someone.

Repair services are $60/hr. plus materials and return shipping, etc. If you bought your instrument from me originally the shop rate is $50/hr.

Here's how it works:

Send me an email or text/WhatsApp with photos of what you need done along with detailed descriptions of any problems in playing, hardware, etc..

I will give you a rough estimate of what's involved time-wise to repair it. This will include a packing charge of 1/2 hour @ $30 per for packing plus any materials. The estimate will be accurate to within an hour if your description of what's needed is correct.

After confirming the estimate we'll arrange for you to bring or ship your instrument to us, I will also assist with packing instructions which are quite specific. If you're bringing your instrument then we'll work out the details once we figure out what's needed. For simple problems you can usually wait while I repair it.

You will be kept up to date as much as possible during the whole process, your instrument is safe with us!

What to expect for common repairs:

SITAR, SURBAHAR & TANPURA:

Jawari cleanup: 1/2 hour ($30). For regular jawari wear, the bridge is filed to the original shape of the maker. You can send just your bridge. For open jawari cleanup the grooves should just be barely present otherwise it's better to have the whole instrument since it's much more difficult to do than closed.

Full Jawari: Anything that involves shaping, action height change, opening, closing, etc. is by the hour. Expect around 2 hours or so. To do an accurate jawari it's necessary to sit and play as you're working. It is best to send the whole instrument in but in some cases if you own an instrument purchased from Rain City Music you can send the bridge only as usually I will have another instrument from the same maker which I can use. This requires about an extra hour but well worth it.

Full string change: 1 1/2 hours ($90 includes strings)

Other services by the hour including: Full jawari, sympathetic jawari, fret setting (for buzzing frets), retie frets, raise or lower action, fix pegs, new pegs, "chasing the buzz" for phantom buzzing sounds, chikari posts, broken langot posts, replace nuts, regroove nuts and bridges, french polish gourd (polish only), recolor gourd, gourd cracks, & more.

ESRAJ, DILRUBA, & SARANGI:

Full string change: 2 hours ($120 includes strings) Other services by the hours include: Regroove and bridge and nut jawari, Dilruba sympathetic bridge jawari, refit pegs, replace pegs, french polish, etc. Some parts on these instrument will have to be ordered for replacement if not in stock.

Skin replacement: Varies per type of instrument, I can just do the skin/head if instrument is here without the hardware or combine it with a full setup.

If you have an aptitude and willingness to do basic repairs you can also consider a Skype session and I will walk you through it. 1/2 hour minimum and basic tools will be required. Skype sessions do not cover jawari services however as it's a little more specialized, sorry.

For more info please feel free to call 253-678-2605 or email.

A few things to consider: Indian instruments are hand-made and will never be factory perfect. Even the very best makers tend to leave things at 95% sometimes, if something isn't working right there's no need to panic though. If you've gotten a quality instrument from an established maker most fixes are relatively minor. A new instrument often has to settle in and can get a few quirks especially if they haven't set the neck bend in (we do this on our own instruments).

Be realistic in your expectations. Many instrument makers in India actually have nothing to do with the structure of your instrument as it's made elsewhere. So they don't really know how to get the best sound. The problem for someone here is that you want a super-charged Ravi Shankar open sound but you've got an instrument with the thickness of a plank. Or you want a 5 minute sustain but got a booming loud boutique sitar from Delhi with a paper thin tabli. Neither situation is optimal and may require sacrifices in volume or sustain. I will do my best!

And also to minimize repairs the most important thing is to get a good instrument!

Lars,
Thanks so much for your work on the dilruba, it sings like new! Looks great with the new cloth, shiny frets, even pegs.

Thanks again,
Michael

Hi Lars,

How are you?

My frets arrived safe and sound a week or so ago, and I have put them all my Sitar. Working wonderfully! The hooks are absolutely perfect as well. Thank you so much! It is a dream come true :)

I looked over the knot tutorials on your website and found them to be very helpful. I was wondering if you had any advice for getting a really tight knot? All of mine are a little loose.. I was thinking perhaps to just glue them into place as I won't be moving any of them.. What do you think?

Many thanks,

Tommy :)

Hey Lars
The tumba arrived safe. It's good as new! Actually had a hard time finding repair, had to look inside. Finish is perfect. Tone unnafected. No picture necessary. Great job!
Thank you
Justin

Lars,
The bridge is a vast improvement. The jawari is exactly what I had in mind. I'm amazed you were able to do that without the sitar being there.
Thank you!!
Also please tell me about the resin bridges... advantages, etc..

Pete

Lars, thanks again for the fine work you did on the sitar, really nice to have it all squared away now.
 
Regards, Chris

Hey Lars,

I received the bridge a few days ago, and set it to my sitar. Absolutely loving it! Sustain is great, projection is awesome, and the timbre is exactly as I like it! So much louder too, probably because of the one piece design (?). Thank you! It feels like money well spent!

Had to reduce its height by about a cm which I managed.

Is there a model number/ID I can reference if I want to buy another of the same bridge again? This one is perfect, and works great on my sitar.

Best,
Jay

Thank you so much, Lars! I just played the bina, and it is sounding lovely!
We appreciate your work so much.

Be well!

JF

hi Lars hope all is well. i put ur SG jawari on a few days ago. it is beautiful. probably needs to break in a bit, but the sound is very good. thank you. i love it.
as always thanks for all your help.

best regards,
IS

Hi Lars!
Just wanted to give some feed-back. The bridge arrived more than a week ago. I mounted it this friday. It just needed a few strokes with the sandpaper to fit perfectly. Just like you said the first string was more "round" than my previous bridge. The other strings were more closed. After playing a few days I am very happy with the sound. The symp. strings sings more than ever and the sound is louder than before. I am surprised and happy that it worked out so well. Good job, Lars!!

Stefan