Rain City Music sitar and tabla reviews

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A few unsolicited customer reviews (full names omitted usually).....DVD reviews are here

I'd really like to thank everyone for taking the time to send me these, it makes it all worthwhile!

If you are wondering where to get a good quality sitar, this is exactly the place. I cannot explain in words how much Lars has helped me throughout this whole process! I can only say that I am very pleased with the Gandhar Pancham I received, and 45 minutes after opening the box I actually feasted my eyes on the sitar! The lengths Lars goes to ensure the sitar is in tip top shape when it arrives is phenomenal, as he meticulously packs the instrument in such a secure and ingenious manner. Lars received and answered all my questions so well, and I do sure ask a lot of questions! I cannot thank you enough Lars for all the help!

-Shazain, MA

I received the tanpura yesterday and it is absolutely incredible! Thank you for all your help. I hope to do business with you again soon!

Sincerely,

Mike O'Neill

Hey Lars!

I hope you are well. I just want to say that the Sitar is developing very well and it sounds and feels amazing. I manage, with proper lubrification, the cracking sounds and it goes well. i really like it and I am really satisfied with the sitar and your management! I might be difficult to satisfy with lots of insecurities and questions but now I own a dream sitar like I would never dreamed of before. Thank you very much Sir! And thanks Rajesh too!

Happy Hollidays

Mathieu

Lars,

I want to personally thank you immensely for the incredible service, amazing info, quick work, and above all absolutely fantastic instrument in pristine quality with great accessories. Honestly, I felt like a little kid at Christmas again. It was marvelous.

I love the instrument, I love your company and work ethic, and will definitely be doing business in the very near future with you. I'll be saving up for a sarangi next hopefully, if you still have some!

Thanks so much again, and I'll let you know if I need to any help in the future with anything with the sitar. I will recommend you to all my musician friends, and will spread the good word.

Thanks again (again),

L. Davila

Freaking Fantastic!!!

Well, you've got another committed customer Lars.

Your attention to the detail of the instrument(s), business ethics, & the ethos of Indian music, means so much to me.

I'm sure I'll find reason to want another sitar in the not-so-distant future and I have no desire to work with anyone else.

Talk to ya soon and much peace - Christopher

Hi Lars -

Happy to report that I finally received your (incredibly) well packed shipment today. Everything made it intact - no problems at all. The sitar is absolutely wonderful!

Thanks for all of your help and attention. It was a pleasure and I look forward to ordering from you again!

Best regards,

Bogdan

Hi, Lars!

Just want you to know that the sitar and everything arrived today safe and sound.

You did an amazing packing job, my friend.

And, I wasn’t expecting such a cool case!

I am very happy.

Thank you for all your help.

Best,

Dan

This thing is so amazing!, lightyears better than what I’m used to

The setup is impeccable sir

Sounding better & better with every hour I put on it

Please tell Suman he is cherished and appreciated next time you talk to him

Thank you Lars, it’s always a pleasure

- John

Hi Lars,

I received the tanpura today. For its size, wow, it totally blows my mind.

Thanks for importing such an amazing instrument.

Best,

Hyun

Hi Lars.

I have just placed a second order having been very impressed with the first

I mentioned a review so here goes...

Many thanks to Lars for a fantastic, super quick delivery to the UK. The items are first class. I am so impressed and in fact have placed a second order straight away. So glad to have found the Rain City Music website !

Thanks again.

Steve

UK.

Hi Lars,

Thank you once again for providing us with such beautiful instruments that will be enjoyed by our students.

John Ho-Joon Lee

Manager, Department of Ethnomusicology/Musicology

The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music

2525 Schoenberg Music Building, Los Angeles, CA 90095

Lars,

BIG thanks for the quick shipping and care to ensure everything arrived in good working order. Good quality and great service! Everything I could ever want or need for my sitar.

Marc S.

Lars,

I love it. It’s fantastic.

The feel of it in my hands immediately rejuvenated my playing and riyaz. It’s not news to you - but Rajesh Sharma is exquisitely talented and I’m an immediate fan of his work

I love the feel and sound. This will be just the first of sitars that I purchase from you both.

Thank you so much and my compliments to you both,

Clay

From Australia:

Hi there Lars. I wanted to thank you again for arranging such a beautiful Sitar for me. After playing her daily for the last 2 weeks, I can say that she is the most lovely instrument with a very smooth action all the way up the fretboard to that high pancham fret.beautiful sound and so easy to play. Please pass on my happiness to Rajesh Lal for his expert crafting of a beautiful instrument.

Regards pd🙏

Lars,

Just a compliment... your RCM strings are the best in my opinion.

I have jumped around with various sets and the others I have found to be very unreliable... I had a set of Karunas that snapped even while tying a knot... they had a texture like pasta.

Thank you for your quick response also.

Dennis

What a beautiful set of drums. It's actually kind of hard to believe. Thanks for everything Lars. Best Wishes, Dan

To the those of you considering purchasing from this website:

Congratulations! You've found the best online instrument store!

I have been ordering from/bothering Lars (Rain City Music) for a few years now. The instruments on this site are meticulously and thoroughly set up to near perfection by him personally. Instruments are NOT cargo container shipped. That should matter to you as it adds great value to and quality control of these instruments. I own and play one of the sitars from this store and have been studying from the dvds for a couple years. The sitar is a treasure, great resonance, sustain with a considerable quality heft to it. Came standard with a nice fiberglass case for both sitar and toomba. Less important it is beautiful and visually impressive. The dvds are an invaluable, boundless source of practical knowledge. Plus they're quite enjoyable. Thank you Indrajit! The books are the best written resources you will find anywhere, some limited avail and rare so procrastinate and they are gone. Oh also the India gifts page! If you like incense and neat useful stuff then do check it out. Way long unsoliceted review but I can't say enough great things about this site/store and Lars.

I can not say enough good things about my experience with Rain City Music and my Custom Studio Sitar . A few years ago I purchased a cheap Sitar online from a company in India. I got what I paid for. Cheaply made, bad intonation and sympathetic strings that would not tune or resonate. The best thing that happened was a feeling that I could reasonably play the instrument if I had a good one. Thus, began my tireless search a few weeks ago for a quality instrument. I knew of the fine reputation of Rikhi Ram Sitars and came close to ordering one until I discovered the cost of having it shipped from India. I continued to search for US distributors, but found nothing but used instruments and other brands. After endless searches, I came across a Sitar forum that mentioned Rain City Music and a man named Lars that was quite helpful. I found the website and sent a detailed email to Lars. He replied in less than a day. After answering several of my questions, and a few more emails, I decided on the Custom Studio Sitar. Payment was made and Lars said he wanted to take it home for the weekend to make sure everything was in good working condition. He contacted me on Monday saying shipping would be a day later because he found a couple tuners that he did not like and wanted to replace them. WOW! Talk about great service! I have been playing the Sitar for a week now and am very happy that I found Rain City Music. The intonation is divine and the sympathetic strings resonate beautifully. So glad that I found Rain City Music. In a world full of bad service and people who just want to take your money, it is refreshing to deal with a business that takes the time to truly service their customers. Thanks again Lars!

Mike G.

Lars,

My new pride and joy just arrived. It is beautiful. It is standing next to my desk, acclimating and I will tune it in a few hours. You outdid yourself on the packaging. I am very impressed with the carrying case. I like the new mizrabs and have already fallen love with the large coated one. It is a real pleasure to do business with some one with a professional attitude. Being from the Boston area, I really appreciate this as it is sorely lacking in the way things are done here in FL. I plan to buy some accessories down the road and will buy everything sitar related from you. Thanks for a job well done. Give yourself a double helping of milk and cookies tonight. LOL. Have a blessed day.

Dana

Good evening Lars,

I just wanted to let you know that I received the veena & it’s wonderful! Thank you so much. It sounds incredible, it survived shipping without damage... I love it. I’ll let you know if I decide to get anything else. I currently play the esraj, but have been very interested in a sarangi. If I decide to take that leap, I will let you know.

Thanks again,

Eric

Hi Lars,

Thanks for your excellent work on the jawari.

Sambarta

Hi Lars,

My sitar arrived on Thursday 11/30, solid and all in one piece, well maintained by FedEx,
due to your packaging. While it took me a half hour to unpack, I appreciated the care
and detail you took in packing it up for safe passage.

The sitar is beautiful, and sounds wonderful. I very much appreciate your assistance
in not only choosing a fine instrument, but in describing it for me, playing a 2:00 minute
sound clip and being available whenever I had a question.

Thank you for all that you did to make this a fun and educational purchase.

PK

Dear Sir,

I would like to express my gratitude for the sitar instructional dvd's i recently purchased from Rain City.

Although i am a beginner to sitar and indian classical music, i very much would like to thank Mr. Bannerji for developing a very methodical and detailed set of instructional videos. These are easy to follow and are helping my sitar practice immensely. Perhaps one day i may become good enough to visit the sitar maestro to thank him in person and perhaps to become a student of his.

Best Regards,
Pradeep

Hi Lars, just wanted to send you some thoughts on the sitar experience (up to you if you want to use for review).

Just wanted to say how happy I am with my Naeem Studio Sitar. I have been playing (with lessons) for about three years. My teacher picked out my first sitar (a Kanai Lal and Bros. full sized, kharaj pancham). I ordered a tarib string tuner, chalk, mizrab, etc. from rain city (Lars) previously, and was pleased with the quality. Since I live in NYC, and take a bus and subway to go to lessons I really wanted to get a smaller studio for travel, and since I am a big Nikhil Banerjee and Shahid Parvez fan I was hoping also for a jawari with more sustain (more closed). I asked Lars (via email) about his stock, given my preferences. He told me of every available option - listing different features - tone, portability, maker's background, etc. Really giving me a lot of personal attention. We even emailed back and forth 7-8 times before I decided on the Naeem Studio. Since it was about a week before being finished Lars and Naeem even were willing and able to fit my jawari to my hopes. He then kept me in the loop about shipping dates, and the package arrived just when I was told it would. And what a package. Perfectly protected for shipping, including a special fitted case (mine being a really cool splatter paint design), the promised extras, and the sitar, a real thing of beauty. The Naeem sitar is decoratively tremendous (the pictures only get you half way there), and Lars has all the stings very close to set up when it arrives. After a week I can say the sympathetics sing (echo even, fantastic), the sustain is wonderful, the electric plug is very sensitive (cool extra option), the overall feel is solid and well-built, it really is a treasure. I was nervous about my first independent (and online) purchase of a sitar, but I can't imagine having anything else. I only feel bad for my first sitar (not getting played as much now). Thank you Naeem Sitarmaker and Lars.

Sincerely,
MH.

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

Be well!

JF

Dear Lars,

Thank you so much for the fantastic sitar instruction DVD's by Indrajit
Banerjee. I have been working my way through Yaman, vol 1 and 2, and am
wondering which one to get next. Is there an order in which students
will learn best? What is the order in which they were made? I notice
the most recent seem to date from 2013. Have you made any since, or
have any plans to make more?

Besides the Yaman dvds I already have Sitar Basics and Intro to Sitar
Technique Vol. 1. I'm planning on buying Vol 2 soon--I assume it has
more "stuff", but am looking for another raga as well.

Thanks so much!

A delighted customer,
SM

The sitar came and wow! Honestly I don't believe I've ever heard an instrument with such a beautiful sound. Thank you so much! It's just great!

Greg

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

Lars,
Received my order of wire this afternoon, could not be happier with the level of quality, thoughtfulness, and efficiency your store has displayed on this and my one pervious order. Thank you. Do not see myself purchasing wire anywhere else in the future.

Cheers
JP

Hi Lars,

I am writing to you after a long time, to express my heartfelt joy and gratitude.
The Bhimpalasi DVD teaching material of Pt. Indrajeet Banerjee has been really useful to me
and the tans especially are so catchy that I just can't seem get it off my mind, even while @ work.

As such there has been a dearth of top grade sitar players/teachers in Bangalore (especially of the Beenkar/Maihar Gharana style)
and after my Guru (student of Pt. Ravi Shankar) expired, I had been self learning for a long time now,
listening to legacy CDs/recordings of popular artists such as Pt. Ravi shankar etc.
and more recently I was focusing on trying to adapt all that I've learnt over the years into
playing with Tabla (with the help of a Tabla Guru) and developing tans for various talas and compositions.

Indrajeet's presentation of Tans (both in the Vilambit and Drut sections) as well as Tihayis have given me fresh
ideas and new direction to work on development of tans. They are simple to grasp, easy to understand and replicate,
and nice to listen as well. It helped me immensely in making tans of my own - using the same mathematical
calculations implicit in the tans presented by Pt. Indrajeet.

I am looking forward to more advanced versions, which would treat this important aspect of Sitar playing
in a more detailed manner - keeping intermediate/advanced players in mind.

That would be a real enabler -
to do full justice both the Raga as well as exploit and showcase the full range of techniques/capabilities of Sitar playing.

Please convey my regards to Pt. Indrajeet Banerjee.
This is a wonderful series of learning material that you guys have brought out.
Keep up the good work !

Regards,
Manu

The sitar is great and everything I could have wanted for any instrument. Even my family, who take no interest in Indian classical music, noticed the difference immediately. In fact, they insist I only play the Naeem Sitar I bought from Rain City Music. That's how good the sitars are from here.

I wanted a sitar that for once that was made to play and last. Rather than the mass produced sitar I had that was good, if you like to tune every five minutes and love to constantly fix pegs and tuning knobs, this sitar is beyond words.

Really, it's changed my outlook on Hindustani music completely. I've went from I would play a raga but.. to why can't I learn anything I want?
And Lars, is great as a sitar maestro. My sitar had to be customized as there were none in stock and I really wanted a dedication to a late friend on it and geared tuning knobs. Not only did he come through on the design but also had pictures texted from India during the whole process, every step of the way.

I remember when I first opened the sitar, I tuned it up a bit and played a little Kalyan my Girlfriend literally said 'I didn't know you could play.' That is the difference between Rain City Music and the other sitar sellers.

Thank you and I look forward to dealing with you in the future.
JB

Hello Lars,

I received my P and Bro. instrumental tanpuri. It is a wonderful instrument! Wish I could have had it for a concert last week where I played bansuri with a guy who plays Mohan veena. His instrument is not particularly loud and we were playing with a full size tanpura in D that my wife played. We had to move her about a yard and a half away so we could hear each other better!

Thanks for all your correspondence and information and the extra goodies you sent.

I want to see how things go, but if the R. R. Tanpura stays there, I might have to buy it.

Thanks again.

NC

Hi Lars,
Sorry for the delay but life/work got in the way. I just wanted to follow up and say that the sitar that I received has been an absolute dream. It played so well out of the box and has been an absolute joy. I can hardly put it down.

Thanks for all the hardwork you do,
SB

Mr. Jacobsen,

I received the sitar (it was wonderfully packed) and couldn't be happier. While it may be your student model, it exceeds my expectations. I have newly callused fingers to prove it!

Thank you,

KP

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
Lars,

These DVDs are an absolute godsend. I am on the path. Thank you for making them.

Best wishes,
Jamie

Hi Lars,

I have never seen such a careful and exquisite packing job, thank you so much!

The sarangi made it with no problem at all, all the accessories and everything are perfect. It took me a number of hours to tune it up, but I think I finally have it!

I can tell already I am going to really like this instrument and am once again just amazed at the Indian concept of what a musical instrument can be! They are such crazy music machines and the craft that goes into these instruments, as well as the level of imagination and skill that must be required to execute making them well... just mind blowing.

I was poking around the website a bit and saw that surbrahar that Hemen Sen made that you had up on your site a while back. I don't know if I have ever seen a more beautiful instrument than that! Just amazing.

Now the hard work begins, making the thing sound good. Thanks for everything, Lars, and I will talk to you soon.

Best Regards, David

Hi Lars,

Sorry for the late reply. Received the DVDs in excellent condition! It only took 8 days for the parcel to arrive J

The DVDs were a very good investment for my sitar learning experience. The DVD content lessons are really worth the money and more that what I had expected. The lessons were very well explained and demonstrated by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Looking forward to get more DVDs!

Thanks

Regards,
Prajindra SK

Hey Lars,

I just wanted to let you know that the surbahar arrived here safely today. It sounds absolutely incredible. I never imagined it would sound this good! Unbelievable sustain, sympathetics, overtones. It's just great!

Thank you very much!
Bryan

Hi Lars,
I wanted to let you know (I'm sure you already know) that I received the Sitar on Monday and it's perfect! It took me 20 minutes to get it out of the box. You weren't kidding when you said it will be packed pretty well.
It's beautiful! Alex is going to really enjoy it. I'm sure he will be calling you for advice and a few Skype sessions.
Thanks for everything, Lars. You Rock!!!
Talk to you soon.
Glen
My shrishti sitar is awesome Lars!
What a world of difference from the other "sitars" I've encountered here in upstate ny. I can't thank you enough for having stuff of better quality available!   The sitar is awesome. I've been playing it non stop since I recieved it and boy do my fingers hurt hahaha. A lot different from guitars and banjos hahaha but I'm totally smitten. I'll certainly be ordering more from you as sitars will be a part of my life now, thanks again for offering a decent product, and for all the info!
                          Thanks again!
                       Matt K

Lars,

Please pass on to Rajesh that I am blown away with my sitar. Played last night before bed and enjoyed it but didn't tune the sympathetics or drones. Did today and all I can say is, WOW, what a sound. I never really heard them with my other one but they just come out and shine on this one. The drones are also really nice so the entire instrument is just awesome. Also all frets in tune which is nice. I usually play with a Radel Milan tanpura/tabla machine so the entire "group" is just wonderful. I look forward to learning this instrument for the rest of my playing life.

Thanks for the excellent sitar and let Rajesh know the owner absolutely loves it!

Dwight J

Hi Lars,

I just wanted to let you know that my Sitar safely arrived a couple weeks ago, and I have been playing it nonstop since. Sounds wonderful and looks beautiful! Thanks so much for all your help!

Best,

Emeric

Hello Rain Music,

I recently ordered a mizrab and chalk from your online store, and I was so happy to receive my order so promptly! Also, the included incense was very surprising and a very nice gift, and that made me think great things of your company and overall customer service, so I thank you again!
I will definitely be ordering from you guys for all my sitar and other instrument needs in the future!
By the way, do you guys sell Soundlabz portable accompaniment machines?

Thanks again you guys!!!

Austin Thomas

Hi Lars,

I received the last package about a week ago. Everything looks beautiful and very high-quality. Thank you so much! I especially appreciate your great communication and working with me to make sure everything arrived.

Happy Friday,
Zoe

Dear Sir,

I am glad to receive the package sent by you "Performance Sitar Series" intact today i.e. 23rd Feb.2015. I wish to plunge into sitar technique and the One to One coaching by Guruji :Pt.Indrajit Banerjee which is now be possible only because of your endevour Raincity Music. Thanks Mr.Lars !

As I said, I learnt sitar by my uncle in the childhood and uptil now my condition was like "Jal Bin Machali" means a fish taken out of the water. Now I can quench my thirst of sitar by following the sitar techniques religiously. Though there are some good teachers here in Pune it is very difficult to be in their group suddenly because of age and my little knowledge. I am able to play two -three basic ragas with Gat and Taans and thats all !. As I am overwhelmed with emotions I expressed my self.

Many thanks again,

Regards.

TP

Lars,

I was going to call you to extend a verbal thanks for by far the most thorough,complete,and extensive packaging for any item that I have receive over my half century plus of existence,and I have received quite a number items over the years so I know of which I speak(write).

You are the shaman of the sitar,but by far a more important role based on my experiences, you are the passer of the flame by transitioning instruments of a scared beauty to persons that are reaching for world beyond their current knowing.

I hope that all your customers recognize the reverence,and respect you have for the instruments you ship, it makes me want to continue , and learn the respect that is evident in the mode of how you pass on the instruments that you have temporarily provided a home for.

Thank You.

This will probably sound off the wall (or my e-mail already does) ,but I am willing to ship back to you at my own expense,all of the packing material that you used for shipping. I don't know if you need to purchase this material,but it seems to be a little somewhat customize for the items you ship.

Just let me know and I will get it out to you within the next week.

Thanks again Lars,and have a safe journey to your friends upcoming wedding.

I plan on being a repeat customer in the near future.

Peace,
Paul *ed note: The Shaman of sitar? I like it, thanks! ~ Lars*

Lars.
Hey Lars just wanted to let you know that the sitar arrived in perfect condition...I really like the flatter frets.... and the action is very smooth...I really like this sitar!!
Thanks again.
RRamaekers………

I may marry one day, if I'm lucky. I'm sure that would be a great day. But you and I will secretly know that it could only be the second happiest day of my life. Cheers!

*ed note: I'm really glad you loved your instrument from us, I left your initials out to keep you out of trouble when you do get married, ha ha! ~ Lars

Hi Lars,

Thanks so much for the sitar strings and the mizrabs. I got them yesterday and used the mizrabs. They are good as they are more gentle on the finger. I've also fixed my sting no. 4 which was broken.

After about a month I played the sitar and it feels good to be able to start practising it once more...

Today I also received the 2 nails yo sent me in an envelope - I wished to thank you for sending me these. Just wanted to say that yo are so wonderful to deal with and I will always choose to remain with you for my musical instruments in the future.

Hope you have a nice day.

Thanking you earnestly.
Mahendra K.

Hi Lars,
The Tambura arrived and it is terrific. The sound is great. Thanks so much for helping to arrange things so smoothly.

I might be reaching out to you in the next few months as we may want to purchase another for the middle of next year.

Thanks.
Suresh

Hey Lars,
                 I received my Srishti Fancy Tanpura yesterday. The instrument sounded and looked Divine. I'm so pleased. I'm especially thankful to you for the care and time you took to protect my instrument from any shipping damage. From the inside out, every detail was considered. My instrument arrived intact completely protected, thank you. I also loved that you took the extra step in providing the perks that came with my Tanpura. The fiberglass case instead of the rexine. The extra Pyramid string set for my Tanpura was very generous, and the beautiful colorful calendar featuring the Goddess Saraswati is a true delight. It's the care you give your customers that brings me back to Rain City Music for all my musical needs.
                                                  Many blessings to you Lars and your staff at Rain City,
                                                          John M

*no staff John! Just me and 2 labradors although my wife helps out a lot when I'm in India ~ Lars

Hi Lars,

Thank you so much for making the instructional DVDs with Indrajit! I just got the Rag Jog one, and I'm learning so much from it already! Besides helping me improve my playing, I think I appreciate the subtle beauty of the rag more now that I can see an example of it being broken down to manageable pieces.

(I also love the little gifts you send with the main order.)

Hope all is well..Namaste!
Sarah

Hi Lars, Thank you for everything!!! I love the way my new sitar sounds and looks, what a beautiful instrument! I think all those dvd's are going to keep me busy for a very long time too... Those DVD's are fantastic, what an excellent teacher! The way you packed my order was fantastic too, thank you for all the time and effort you put in to getting my sitar ready to ship to me, I really appreciate it! Once again, Thank You for everything and I'll definitely be ordering again as I get my accessory box filled up with things I might need in the future, you definitely have an excellent selection to choose from. Take Care, Richard
They are awesome. I haven't had so much joy from playing drums since my last shyamal dayan was sold (without my consent :-). They baya is also far better than my old one.

Rock on Lars. You really do have awesome stuff. I totally owe you. If there's ever a chance for us to get together when you in the santa barbara or LA area let me know.

Nasir will most certainly also be happy to have some first rate drums accompanying him.

Cheers,
Peter

Hi Lars, and Hi readers !

If you are reading this section of Lars' website, then you are quite interested in purchasing something from Raincity Music but you are probably not sure if you can trust this guy. The answer is simple. Yes you can! Lars is a very honest and trustworthy person. Besides anything else its simple. He just loves Sitars. Consider him to be your quality controller.He goes and purchases the right Sitar for you and avoids any mishaps or traps which you and I may easily fall for. He knows Sitars really well, at least surely more than I do. I trusted him in choosing the right Sitar for me.I bombarded him with tonnes of long e mails to which he patiently answered (thanks Lars for being so patient with me). He thought me a lot about Sitars and now finally thanks to him I own a beautiful looking and sounding Hiren Roy (Barun Ray) that leaves nothing to desire.It is a jewel of a Sitar that I always dreamt of owning. Lars will not sell you anything without pin pointing out the pros and cons of the product you might choose. Also you might have already heard that he packs Sitars well before shipping. That is not true enough, he doesn't only pack them but the package I received seemed to be bomb proof. I still insured my package but it was a waste of money. Also if you are from Europe just like me, and are worried about our bureaucratic paperwork, no worries at all. Lars and I worked together on this, and he knows exactly what to do. If I had no problems, neither will you. In other words you have found the best place from where to buy selected Sitars from. If you do not want any mishaps that is. Fine, you pay a little extra here, but for a lot more. I am a fully satisfied Raincity Music customer, bless every penny I spent here, and have no more words to thank Lars for the service he is offering us.

One last note for everybody... if you like the Sitars you see on pictures, you wait and see the real thing after 15 - 30 minutes of unpacking. Unbelievable !!

And if you are still in doubt ask Lars to give you my email address and I will be more than happy to confirm all you I have written. I'm not even sure if I gave him and his services enough credit actually.

Anyway big hug Lars, you have offered me something I never thought I would ever own, and I will be forever grateful for everything you have done for me. Thanks!

Anthony Curmi
Malta (Europe)

Hello Lars,

I just got the sitar just now and opened it up Wow! Yep everything is awesome (and it was almost all the way in tune - go figure). Thanks for the great packing job and for all of your help and support through this purchase. I greatly appreciate your being very attentive to all of my questions and concerns. You've made buying a sitar a total joy and you definitely made it stress and worry free. Thanks again for all your help and advice! Take care and all the best, Lawrence

Lars,

We are very happy with our sitar purchase from Rain City Music; in my opinion: you’re providing a great service.

The case that protected my sitar in shipment was very well-made, and your efforts to protect it {with the outer box and packing materials } were very well-done…. in short: that case was well worth the money.…

Thanks again… Looking forward to making the order---

Jim R.

Hey Lars everything arrived and is great thank you again !!!! Great service, best sitars and sitar equipment, High quality!!!

Cam H.

Hey Lars,

I just wanted to let you know how much I am enjoying the Radhey Shyam Sharma...The action is so much easier than I am used to...I've had to lighten up my touch...the sympathetics are starting to sing, and I can already hear improvement in the sound. I received it Saturday and of course played until my fingers wouldn't take any more :) Also the upper tumba case was a pleasant surprise. Although my old sitar was sounding pretty good after a couple of years, I think it was holding back my progress...anyway thanks for all of your help. I will be playing a kirtan next month and definitely look forward to the new sound.

Peace

Tom

Hi Lars,

Received my sitar today and I am so impressed with the packing and above all, the sitar itself! It was nearly tuned and I had already learned to fine tune it through youtube. For over several years I have come to know the instrument enough on a mental level to be able to immediately play "Norwegian wood," which I have played and sang numerous times with the guitar. Thank you so much, and I hope you have a great time in India.

Best regards, Namaste,

Walter.

Hi Lars

.....Could not be happier. The sustain overtones sweetness

are beautiful!!!!! I love this sitar

Thanks for your patience with

me. This sitar is a great pleasure

To play

In Appreciation

Elliot

Sorry this has taken awhile. LOVE the Mohan Veena & the pick-up arrived today. Will order an extra extra set of strings & hopefully other instruments in the future. Sorry for my slow response – my music has been released on iTunes, my girlfriend visited & my new phone message box wasn’t working. Those are my excuses and I guess I’m stuck with them. Namaste! Scott

Lars,

The order arrive early, packed expertly, and ahead of schedule! The sitar sounds absolutely amazing! It makes my old one sitting in the corner barely sound like an instrument at all. I want to thank you for all of the advice and attention that you supplied me with during my purchase; it's a small community and finding somebody that provides good advice and great products is rare.

The sitar is absolutely beautiful, the case is an astounding inclusion for free, the DVD is super conducive to learned, and every accessory ordered is wonderful!

I would recommend rain city music to any musician! Thank you again.

Alex S.

Lars, you are the Man! The Naeem Teak arrived today. It is everything I hoped it would be, and more! With these two fine sitars, I ought to be set for a while.

Thank you!

Best regards,

Carl Anderson

Hi Lars,

Everything arrived & the Sitar is beautiful! I couldn't be happier with it. Thanks for the correspondence and take care,

Jeremiah

Hi Lars,

Great news! My sitar arrived this morning on a cold windy “spring” day here in Maine. I am totally impressed with your superb packing job! I unpacked everything and opened the case (man that thing is tough!) and when first looked at the instrument, well if looks could kill!! She is a beauty, workmanship is excellent.

I didn’t have time to tune or even attach the upper gourd, will do so tonight when I have time to sit and enjoy the experience.

Thanks much for all your great service and time spent working with me. I am a loyal customer from here on.

Best regards,

Peter

Hi Lars,

I received the sitar this afternoon. It was so carefully and beautifully packed! Thank you so much! The sitar itself is stunning and I look forward to playing it once it is tuned. Thanks also for the accessories, and I'll keep in touch to let you know how it sounds once I start to play! Once again thank you and I am so glad it arrived on a Friday!

Warm Regards,
Shridevi

Yo Lars it's cam, the sitar arrived and is unbelievable. Thank you soo much man sounds amazing crazy good

Lars,

Survived in great shape. Excellent packing job, etc. But then, I played it ....

Action is fine, tone quality is great, sustain is exceptional, pianissimo is perfect! I can't say enough about this harmonium. Better than my 1970s Paul scale changer EVER was! I love this instrument.

You've done a great service .... Many, many thanks for getting this done.

Best regards,

Hank

Hey Lars I'm just letting you know that I got my sitar this morning and its awesome! It has great sound and it's beautiful. Keep up the good work!

-John

Hey Lars,

This Sitar is amazing...It's like going from a cheap Chinese Stratocaster out of tune and set up poorly, to a Fender American Strat set up for Clapton!

Thanks again. I plan on starting the DVD's shortly.

John

Hey Lars,

I received the sitar yesterday in great shape. I have to say I was beyond impressed with how well and thorough you packed it! I had so much fun unwrapping it just knowing how snug and safe it was on its travels.

And the instrument itself...Wow! It is incredible! It sounds great, plays like silk, and is just a gorgeous instrument. And I love the mizrab that has the wound wire. It fits perfectly.

Thank you so much for all the help along the way. You have a very happy customer!

David

Hey Lars,

This is Sarah. I bought the Srishti Student sitar from you back in October and finally got to have it on Christmas morning. I just wanted to say thank you, and let you know that I'm totally in love with the instrument! It sounds wonderful, and it feels great to play! I'm so excited! I got Ravi Shankar's book at your recommendation, I've got the sitar all nicely tuned (which wasn't as hard as I thought!) and I'm working on scales and meend.

You were such a pleasure to do business with. I hope you and your family are enjoying the holiday season :)

-Sarah

Hi Lars,

Firstly please accept my apology for taking so long to write this email, but please know that it is important to me for you to know how happy I am with both my tanpura and the quality of service that you provided!

The tanpura arrived with no problems and in perfect condition. And I just love the way this tanpura sounds - so thank you for taking the time to play the instruments and make your recommendation (and answer my numerous questions)!

I love learning this beautiful instrument and am so excited about this musical journey that you helped me embark upon..

Heartfelt thanks,

Deidre.

Attn. Lars Jacobson; Michael R****, I got my stuff on Monday morning just like you said and with something a little extra and I THANK YOU VERY VERY MUCH! You will hear form me in the near future for I will be dealing with you anytime I need something that you can provide. I truly appreciate your taking care of me, it's nice to find a store that really cares about their clientele. Thanks

Dear Lars,
I have to admit that I was a little ticked off when I didn't get multiple emails with order confirmations, tracking numbers, etc. a'la amazon, and the multitude of other Internet businesses. I was all set to send you an email, when lo and behold there was a package on my steps in nj two days later with my beautiful sitar gig bag--AND you undercharged me for postage! I was also surprised to find the Padmini Dhoop which took me back to my first trip to India in '74--there were certain herbal smells that needed covering up in the buck a night hotels I was staying in!
Thanks Lars.
All the Best,
Ken

Lars,

Thank you so much. This instrument is a dream come true. Do you know anything about the electronics in it? Thanks for the OM and the calendar. I'm hanging it(the calendar) in the entrance to my music dungeon. This is officially my favorite instrument.

I am one happy little dude,

Greg

Hello Lars,

I am very pleased to say that my sitar has arrived in
excellent condition. Thank you so very much for helping me find such a
beautiful instrument.

Thank you,

Joe

Hello,
Santa Claus arrived today! I'm so happy that I don't find the correct word to explain what I feel...
As always the package was perfect, all was perfectly protected, no damages, all on the box seems to don't have move during the travel.
The bag for the tablas is great, thanks for your advice, and the fiberglass case is perfect for the sitar and the gourd.

Now here is my brief review after spending some minutes on the instruments:
-the sitar is like on my dream, firstly the decoration is beautiful, the sculptures are wonderful, it's a very well made instrument.
Secondly, the sound is incredible (even without being tuned, it sounded great), the sympathetic strings really resonate (the nail of my little finger will finally be useful) and vibrate with the main string.
No problems to bend the string, the string stay tuned, the pegs don't slip and can be precisely rotated and they turn easily.
And with the upper gourd, the sound is more powerful.
The color is great.
A million times better than my previous (very bad) sitar, a wondeful work of craftsmen!

-the tablas is like on my dream too!
The sound is powerful, no need to press hard on the skin, really pleasant. The skins are very well made, much thinner than my previous and more tense.
The dayan is heavy (compare to my previous which was very light), the dayan too, the set shine in the light.
And the shyahi is better better quality by far than on my awful set, very nice buzz like I love.
It's so simple to produce sound on the two tabla, the skin seems to answer to my fingers.
The color of the dayan is great.
A million times better too!

I really find a great pleasure to try it a few minutes, I think I will seriously restart to play on these two instruments without thinking on the defects and the bad sound like on my previous instruments.
Your calendars are beautiful, thanks......
......Thanks a lot for your help and for selling great quality indian instruments, your work is fantastic, if I could I would do the same job as you.
It's just strange to find great quality indian instruments far away from me and France, I know there are some shops in the UK, but maybe not as good as your.
Hope you will do that a long time yet and your shop works great.
You preserve the tradition of indian instruments; in this world,at this time, it's a great project.
Thanks

David

Hi Lars,
Just wanted to send you a follow up email about the WONDERFUL g-p sitar I ordered from you a few months back. I have been absolutely loving it! I also appreciate getting the chance to 'hear' the proof in the pudding....I'd been reading about the high quality of sitars you deal, but hadn't had a chance to hear one until my purchase. I am a total believer and am thankful for the fine work on your part and the srishti team. The sympathetic string response is out of this world, and it is indeed a meend machine (5 note pulls are a breeze relative to other sitars I've played). I love the loudness and that has opened up some new possibilities musically for me....hold back when I want, let it rip when I want, it's all there in the sitar. I love the jawari on the main string.....I am a happy customer and just wanted to let you know.
Hope all is well on your end.
Best Wishes,
N.

Hey Lars, I just received my new Bashir and all I can say is AAAWWWEEESSSOOOMMMEEE!!! I love it! The meend is off the map. Thanks for all the important work you do in selecting and bringing these great instruments to the States. thanks again ....Tom

Hi Lars,

I just tried the tabla. I am pleased to say that it produces a great tone and I am very happy with what your team was able to deliver..... You can expect more orders from me in the future. Keep up the quality!

Deepak

Hi Lars,

I'm sorry for the delay.
The sitar arrived safely here in Brazil, without obstacles.
It has a wonderful tone quality and I'm very happy with it!
Thank you once again for everything.

All the best,
Felipe

Hi Lars,
I've installed the pick up today.(McIntyre ST-08)
It sounds fantastic.
What a difference.
The K&K's sound pretty bad in comparison.

Thank you,
I will get a few more items soon.

Warm Namaste,
Govi

Got the pickup (McIntyre ST-08). Tried it out. Holy thousand heavens...it sounds great. Really great. Thanks so much.

Jake

You absolutely can't go wrong buying sitars, other ICM instruments and accessories, from Rain City. Even if you can't be lucky enough to live near here and "test-drive" what you want, Lars will take care of you personally to guarantee you your complete satisfaction.

What a relief it was to find a human on the other end of the phone, and not the usual, "comes with a case, set of strings, and a few mizrabs, and a book on how to play...." The service that I've come to expect, and always get, is far superior than that. Quality is what I'm paying for.

R.K.

Lars,

Got my Srishti standard sitar yesterday and I wanted to say thanks for everything! The sitar is beautiful, and it sounds as great as it looks!

Thanks,
M. H..

(Translated by us from Spanish)

Dear Lars:

I apologize, but this time I will write in Spanish, not to undermine my
message and will surely have you known someone who can translate.

On December 22 I traveled to Buenos Aires to meet with Dr. (omitted by us) and handed me the sitar at the airport. I took him where he was staying in those days and unpack.
Let me tell you (who, like Dr. (omitted)) I was very impressed how well it was
packed. Aldo not unpacked at home, that was the good work you did and
did not want to spoil it. All very carefully, with much experience on your part. The case
spotless, without a scratch or mark. After removing the casing and on the
accessories and gifts, I could open the fiberboard and continuing with the pleasant surprises
find the instrument wrapped in tissue paper. A delicacy. I let it rest, though
in my anxiety, after having checked that was in excellent condition after such
long journey. I could not tune in Buenos Aires, and I had to travel to Cordoba, so a
days later, at my home, I tuned it and let me tell you, Lars, who surpassed all my
expectations in sound and instrument quality. (If now it sounds like ... within
a few months will be even better!)
This is a very beautiful and really comfortable to play. I never had
a double toomba sitar and this is very balanced in their weight. As you said in your
mail, the sympathetic strings sound great, are sweet.
The case deserves a separate paragraph. It is very high quality and aesthetically
unbeatable. The instrument safe and comfortable trip in a case like this.

I do not know how to thank you, Lars, after so many turns and so many mails I sent (and
that you have responded so kindly and patiently, despite language barriers) You are
a great person and I will recommend to anyone who wants to buy a
instrument of India.
I must also thank the gifts and attention it has had on me,
since it had just enough money and you have been very friendly.

Lars, I am eternally grateful and hope to keep in touch with you. Now .... to
study!

Greetings!

Ernesto Audisio

PD. You can freely copy or use of this mail for recommendations on your site
Web .... if it helps.

Dear Lars,

Thankyou for all your help..... It was delivered on Tuesday, and we have now unpacked it. Thankyou, it is a beautiful instrument. I am really looking forward to using it. I would also like to thank you for your helpfulness in getting the sitar all the way from there to here. It is greatly appreciated. Thankyou very much!

Carolyn (Australia)

Hi Lars,
I wanted to thank you for all the beautiful instruments.
Everything came in perfect shape and every instrument is a state of art!
The only thing that happened and not sure why is that one cd called "morning splendor " is not wanting to play at all?
We played the "live indrrajit banerjee" and it's beautiful music
Also thanks for the incense and calendars as well.
Peace,
Maya

Hey Lars!

I am sorry I never wrote you back to thank you! The sitar arrived in perfect condition and everything went smoothly as planed. The new strings and the sitar itself are still breaking-in; the sound is slowly improving.

It is indeed an unique design and I am happy that I am able to hook the strings for different moods.

I am grateful for your service and for making this possible!

Best regards,

Bruno (Florida, US)

Hi Lars,
just wanted to folllow up re below and also let you know that I received the shipment and everything was great. THanks for the calendar and agar bathi. I can't say how much I enjoyed the Introduction to Yaman. It is far and away the best video lesson for sitar that I have seen. I am really excited about your next project along the same lines. There are so many areas that could be covered and I think Indrajit is a terrific teacher- it reminds me a lot of the lessons I used to take with Amit Adiecha and also with Amit Chatterjee later.

thanks very much,
Naren

Hey Rain city music. I recieved the tabla and they are amazing..thanks again. great product! -justin

Hi Lars, hope all is well. I think I have forgotten to write and tell how much fun it has been so far to play that new sitar. So thanks again, I'm sure I will need something sitar related soon, and I'll give you a call. Keep those beauties coming! bye, nick

Thanks a lot! it just got here and everything is beyond beautiful, thanks for all of your help'
Ryan J.

Hey Lars,

Just got the sitar and it sounds amazing.. It took me half a day to get it out of the box.. very well packed. Thank you for everything, you were very helpful with all of my questions and concerns.

Brian

Lars,

I just wanted to drop you a quick email to thank you
for a very satisfactory transaction. (Sorry if I talk like
an eBayer!!)

I couldn't be happier with the beautiful sitar I bought
from you. It plays and sounds like a dream!

Thanks also for the very careful job of packaging. I
feel like I got an excellent deal and you will definitely
get my business in the future and my highest recommend-
ation to those I know with an interest in Indian music.

One other thing: The intro to Raga Yaman DVD is awesome.
Definitely the next best thing to sitting in front of a live
teacher. This one should keep me busy for a few months
trying to absorb every nuance, but I look forward to the
next DVD. Keep em coming.

Sincerely,
Don D.

Hi Lars,
I received the sitar today! It is in perfect condition (very well wrapped). It is a beautiful instrument and I thank you for making this an easy and enjoyable process. Thanks also for the teacher recommendation, I will try to learn with him if my parents are up for the drive. My only question is what is the little cylindrical container for?
Thanks again!
Teryn C.

Mr. Lars,

I received the Shristi Calcutta Special on Saturday. I wanted to first thank you for your patients with my 50 or so emails before I placed an order and I also wanted to say thank you for the amazing packaging job. As for the Sitar, I am extremely happy with it, it really sounds great, after tuning it yesterday I played it for about 8 or 9 hours straight, in fact I played so long that I hurt myself for not sitting properly (my back and poor leg, fingers are good as ever as I already have calluses from guitar). I figured out the tuning fairly easy as I thought it would be a nightmare and the action is not bad. I would like to talk to you about intonation in the future as I know how to adjust for such on a guitar but I am not so sure on the Sitar and I could use a slight adjustment on the MA string. It is very slight and I am working around it without much of an issue. When all's said and done I am very happy with my purchase and I kick my self for not getting one many years ago, I even figured out a few Manila Nag riffs by ear during the first day. Of course I have plenty of new questions but I will let them pile up and write you some time next week. I just wanted to drop a quick letter and tell you how much I appreciate what you are doing.

Thanks,

Jeff

Hi Lars!

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all your beyond excellent customer service, advice, patience and dedication.
I can tell you truly went above and beyond of what is expected and I am truly appreciate this; especially a beginner like me for whom the world of Indian instruments appears a tad intimidating : ) I know that my next purchase will be from Rain City Music.
I will recommend you to anyone who asks me and I hope that you will post this in your customer reviews so that people will know just how great the service, advice, attention to detail and instruments are at Rain City Music.

Wish you all the best,

Grace.

Hey Lars!
I love my sitar! I had my first 2 hour lesson (which turned into
3 hours because we got so involved and lost track of time)
with David. It was great! I can tell he will be an
awesome teacher.

J.B.

Lars,

Everything arrived unharmed. I also already took the lesson with Indrajit. The sitar is beautiful and I am completely satisfied. Thank you very much.

Kevin

Hey Lars,

I wanted to let you know that the sitar arrived in good shape yesterday-- it was well packed and almost still in tune!.....This instrument is outstanding, and the tone is beautiful. It's very hard to stop playing and put it down (but still possible because I need some practice sitting correctly for long periods). :-)

Thank you for your attention to detail, customer service, and all your other recommendations. The Ravi book is very nice, and so helpful.....

Best,
T.H.

Hello Lars,
I received the order today. Thanks for treating your customers like one would treat a good friend. I really appreciate the personal touches and I know all your customers feel the same way. Look forward to doing business in the near future.

Kind regards,
Ron

Hi Lars, got the Jaipur today, and it's more beautiful up close. Very
 nice feel to it as well. I haven't put it down for the past few hours.
 Everything was packed wonderfully and there was no problems with
 shipping. I'm a very happy camper. Thanks for the accessories as well, that
 rocks. Thanks for being so helpful the last few weeks, I'll be glad to
 recommend you for business and you'll be receiving more of mine. Thanks
 again

Peace

Istvan

Hi Lars!!

I just want to say thank you so much for a phenomenal tabla set! I couldn't have got a better set elsewhere!! I am so thrilled at the sight and sound of them! They look great and sound even better!

They came in perfect condition, which is a feat in and of itself coming all the way from India; as I know how damaged the packaging can be, many times including object of purchase. I loved the customer service you provided, and look to do business with you in the near future if I ever need to buy another instrument.

Another interesting fact that you may enjoy hearing is, by way of my Guru's instructions, I was informed to buy a tabla set to spread His Energy by way of a Grace Transmission through music. Being a drummer, I was told by Him to buy a "nice set of tablas from India," all the while knowing that playing tablas is like a "whole 'nother world"...... though I was up to the challenge.

Being naive, I figured I'd just get a good set of tablas, but at a store near me (not in India). They looked beautiful and built well, but sounded horrible. I thought I could just tune them up and they'd be fine. Didn't happen. Struggling to figure out who I should buy them from, I did some research and that led me to eventually wind up at your site and purchase through you. Worried about getting a shipment and product from india, I just trusted in the grace that all would be right, and you would help me out get "exactly what I needed." The universe directed me to follow my Guru's Guidance, and I ended up getting the perfect set! ... Beyond my imagination! So you didn't just help me get tablas, but you also helped me follow my Guru's Advice, and for that I am ever thankful!!

(sent by Brian in TX.)

After taking the new tabla downstairs where it is more resonant I  
realize that it is by far the very best tabla that I have ever owned.

Tor Dietrichson

Hi Lars,

I got the sitar today. It looks great. I'm so happy with it........

-Steve

Riverdale, NY

I just wanted to thank you very much again, the ordered book/ Cd´s and narka arrvided in perfect condition today, a little delay was caused by our customs which sometimes are a bit "special".... I allready listen to this wonderfull interpretation of Rag Nat Bhairav, just deeply touching, great playing! .............

All the best, the "old European"

Christian

Hello again Lars. I received the tabla set on Monday......I can safely say that I have never seen a more beautiful instrument. I have a lot of top class drum and percussion equipment but this my friend stands out in the crowd. I also have to say it was a pleasure dealing with such a professional as yourself. Your handling of the order to the updates on delivery couldn’t have been better. If you are ever in the west of Ireland drop me a line and we will have that pint.

James in Ireland

Barun's Sitar is unbelieveable.....This Sitar is most definitely alive! J.F. France

Hi Lars,

I wanted to let you know that all of the gear you sent is working nicely and I am very happy with it. Thank you for all the help. It is a pleasure to do business with you. All the best to you.

Peace & Blessings,

Greg

Hi Lars
I am very pleased with the sitar
The jawari is great, and the sound transfer to the sympathetics works well
It is inspiring

H.L. Kentucky, USA (ed. note Harry passed away recently, a pillar of the sitar community in Kentucky and one of the nicest guys you could know, we will all miss you Harry!)

Thanks for getting me this sitar. It really is the reward I promised myself years ago. Now I have to strive to play it as well as I can learn to.

J.M. New Mexico

Lars, first of all I would like to thank you for everything, for all the care and attention. I am quite satisfied to have at least a Surokar, which so many people talk about. It was important to be able to play and have one in my hands.....

M.B. Brazil

I dont even know what to say
I really appreciate it tell Shristi thanks for me too
if you get a chance their work is amazing and both you
and they are beyond appreciated!!

J.C. Pennsylvania

Hi Lars..... my son, absolutely loves it! He has it tuned with a tuner. Has not put it down since he got home from school. He said it sounds great and he is finding it rather easy to play. He will call you tomorrow to talk about it. I just wanted you to know how much we appreciate the case and how it was shipped!! We are very, very satisfied and very thankful to you. As I said, he will call you tomorrow and I thank you so very much for all your time and efforts! Sincerly, J S

DVD REVIEWS

Lars,

These DVDs are an absolute godsend. I am on the path. Thank you for making them.

Best wishes,
Jamie

The DVDs were a very good investment for my sitar learning experience. The DVD content lessons are really worth the money and more that what I had expected. The lessons were very well explained and demonstrated by Pandit Nikhil Banerjee. Looking forward to get more DVDs!

Thanks

Regards,
Prajindra SK

"I was and have been looking for sitar instruction DVDs for a long time and came across Indrajit by chance on Youtube. I ordered his "Introduction to the Sitar" from Lars at RainCity Music.com and received my DVDs promptly. I liked the first DVD so much that I bought ALL of Indrajit's amazing sitar instruction DVDs. I am learning more than from all of my former sitar teachers combined. Indrajit Banerjee is a very generous and intuitive teacher. In the age of vast volumes of online information,overinformation and disinformation, coming across this modern master's DVDs is like finding a golden meezrab in the Google hay stack!"

Bravo!

Steve Ford

Online English Teacher

Vancouver, Canada

Private English Portal

http://privateenglishportal.com

The instructional videos from Rain City are so much more than you pay for. I remember how valuable my first video (Raga Yaman vol 1) was when I was starting to learn. I've been playing sitar for several years now and I put in that first video after all this time and it was still full of great information and ideas I can use. I ordered volume 2 and it is just amazing how helpful it is as a learning tool. I think having a teacher and the videos are the best learning combination, but even without a teacher it is finally possible to learn sitar and enjoy the fantastic world of music the sitar has to offer. I can not imagine a better source for instruments and all things sitar. Thanks to Rain City Music for making available great instruments and instruction to everyone.

Randy H.

Hello Lars!

I'm (my name is Maja :)) buying those DVDs via my friend and I'am enjoying the instructions very much! (I've just practiced my sitar now :))

I think Indrajit is an awesome teacher and sitarist! I like that he explains lessons so good and with lot of patience.I hope I will learn as much as possible. Those DVDs are excellent -because in just a few minutes of DVD there are so many informations and exercises... so much more than could be hoped.

Please record eaven more DVDs with Indrajit –I promise I'll buy them all J.

I'm looking foward of package and thanx for the Jawari guard which you have given to me.

Best regards,

Maja and Ivo from Slovenija

Dear Sirs,

I'm really satisfied with the purchase of the sitar DVDs as they are very useful and as soon as I get a good practice of the techniques I'll order the next one.

In the meanwhile, I should want to know if there is any tutorial or video online to learn how to attach the clip Indrajit talks about, in order to get the chikari strings separated from the rest. I can not see it very well on the DVD and as I'm just a beginner I'm a little afraid to try to do it on my own.

Regards,

Mariolanda

Hey Lars,
Thank you for the Sitar teaching DVD's. I plan on getting every DVD to enhance my Sitar playing. I have the first DVD Raga Yaman. I just purchased the Introduction to Sitar Technique. Although I have been playing the Sitar for six years now ( I'm self taught )..... Thank you Lars and Mr. Banerjee for opening up Indian Classical Music to us in America.
Sincerely, J M

Hey Lars,

I am back again !

Must mention how helpful the Techniques DVD has been. Explained in small and easy steps ...... really quite a lot covered. I must say how kind and honest and generous Indrajit Banerjee has been to share all this with learners of Sitar. Yap, you were right when you explained that although the DVD seemed costly to buy, it is worth all that money.

Ravi (UK)

congratulations and thank you
and maestro indrajit and the team for producing this wonderful learning resource that invites raga reality to vibrate within all beings,simon

Hi
Hope yu are fine. Did I tell u that I have received the CDs, and they are beyond belief! I don't think I can thank you enough! you people have done a tremendous job. Indrajit is incredible! of course as a musician and also as a teacher......
it's not going to be easy to digest all that material in the other dvds! if one follows them painstakingly they will definitely take one a long way!
Anyway, thanks for everything!
Chandana C. (Oman)

Thanks for sending the DVD of Sitar lessons by Indrajit Banerjee
Must applaud you on your brilliant idea to produce this and help people around the world
Indrajit is a good teacher and I am able to follow his instructions well
He is calm and patient and clear so is the quality of the production
Do you know if he offers classes on Skype I will wait to hear from you

J.V. (yes Indrajit teaches via skype and we do also here for beginners)

Hi Lars,
Just to say the dvd's have arrived and so far i'm delighted with what i've seen. There is plenty in there for me to learn from so thanks very much to you and Indrajit for being bothered to make them. I hope they are a big success for you. I will certainly be interested in any new releases.

Cheers and thanks again.

Adam

Hi Lars,

The Bhimpalasi DVD arrived in plenty of time for the Labor Day holiday weekend..... What great lessons it is turning out to be. It has not been out of my DVD player since that Friday it arrived. I can’t tell you how much I have learned and still have much, much more to go. Spending the last year or so self teaching myself just from many available written resources, I have really learned a great deal, but your DVD is now acting as an actual teacher presenting me with new things and helping me pull everything together. There is, I believe, a chapter sequencing error where the taans for the vilambit gat chapter comes before the actual vilambit gat. That was a little confusing in the very beginning, but other than that small quirk, I can’t speak highly enough of the Bhimpalasi DVD, and no it doesn’t matter that it is really intended for sitar. Thanks so much for producing this disc..... thanks so much for your time and all you do.

Sincerely,

-richard

Hello Lars,

just let me thank you very, very much for getting me these absolutely great DVD´s! They arrived today in perfect shape, this time again with no customs hassle at all :-) ! From what I´ve seen during my first hours - but also from the online-trailers - I´m deeply impressed by the musical quality and vast amount of technical details offered. Indrajitji definitely is a great artist AND teacher! BTW: If ever he will be giving lessons in Germany could you please let me know?

So, let me thank you very much again for making these treasures accessible to us all!

All the best, the still "old European"

Christian

Hi Lars ,

Everything arrived today. I really love the DVD. If I did every type of meend , murke, ghamak , and krinten from every fret, every style, and just in one raag I would have to live to 100 just to get it all. I think it would be easier if I quite my job and move in with him for a few years! I wonder if that’s possible? (ed. note ~ well maybe it's possible? I can ask 8^)

Guy

Hi Lars,

Thanks for the DVD I got it last week. I really like it as there are a lot of new things for me........I watched it from the beginning to the end and now taking lessons from it. I learned new techniques of meend. Anyways I feel the money well spent....Keep up the good work. Let me know when the next DVD is ready. i am looking forward to it.

Kind regards

Vajira

The new performance sitar videos are fantastic! Indrajit pulls out the stops here and gives so many "trade secrets" in two hours that it makes my head spin. While nothing can replace a "live" teacher, these videos are an excellent source of valuable information. In my guru's absence (poor guy had to go back to Nepal..)... I can still continue on my journey. While I might not recommend these for some one who has never touched a musical instrument before (get some one who has for the beginning...), they are perfect supplemental material for intermediate beginners to even advanced players (the way the Ragas are literally dissected is incredible!) Nice low key style as well. More Lars (and Indrajit) , More! (ed. note ~ more? OK......)

John F.

Hey Lars,

Just a quick note of thank you. I watched only one dvd so far, Sitar Technique Vol 1. I have to say this is well made, straight forward and very useful. My thanks to you and Indrajit. Do you have plans for volume 2? Also some of the ragas that I would like to see instructions on - Hemant, Jhinjhoti, rageshree, Bhairavi etc.

regards,

Harsh

Thanks Lars!

.....I love your website by the way. I learned so much so quickly from
Inrajit Banerji's dvds! I have been playing for 4 years and had
instruction from some very accomplished teachers but the sitar dvd's
were a quantum leap in my understanding & growth as a sitarist. I'm
looking forward to going through them all.
with gratitude,
Matt
(Matura Sitar on FB)

Hi Lars,
Yes I went to the post office, but it never mind it spent only two minutes :)
Indrajit Banerjee's DVDs are excellent, all lessons are understandable! Because of absence of real sitar guru its are indispensable.
Thanks a lot!
All the best, Pavel

Indrajit Baneerjee's DVD 'Introduction to Sitar Technique Vol 1' is a treasure! In one week, I have learnt learnt more than what I have learnt in an year.

I would love to order more of your instructional series in the coming days.

Thank you,

Sindhu

Hey Lars,

I just received Yaman Volume 2 on DVD and I must say it is brilliant. Beautifully explained and perfectly structured developing each facet of the raga sequentially and at a tempo that is sympathetic to the student, but I guess you already know that.

Keep up the great work.

Kind Regards,

Troy W.

WOW!!!
Just watched the sitar technique video. Cant believe that there so detailed. I thought it was just going to be the basic stuff you get in books.

Kind regards
W Hussain

Yes, dear Lars-Ji, heard some of your DVDs and I am sure, they are TREASURES! Surely, it is helping me a lot - Thanks!

Will order the other CDs along with your new release; thanks for the info. Kindly, update us about the new releases and I am sure, we are with you. Of course, is there any outlet for these CDs in India? If not, can we help you in any way to distribute the same in India?

In the name of God, we wish you all success.

Regardfully and Sincerely,

Namboodiri

Thanks Lars,

I received the DVDs and started last evening with Bageshri. I have to say that if one has some familiarity with the raga...for an intermediate student like me...there is a whole lot in the CDs to work with.

Please keep up the good work. I cannot tell you how grateful I am...it has ended the drought that has been imposed by my back pain and impending surgery and being able to pick up on lessons is so deeply satisfying...

Thanks for the dhoopsticks...!

Best Regards

ulupi

'lo Lars,

Just thought you'd like to know, I found the DVDs to be just amazingly good, Debu was a joy, though I'll leave for his for a while, as he's tuned to D, which is a problem for me until my calluses build up. But the Sitar Technique Vol #1 by Indrajit has got me seriously practicing. It's great, and his treatment of rag Ahir Bhairav on the other DVD is so good I nearly cried. Absolutely what I was hoping for and even without a teacher I feel it will still enable me the opportunity to learn to play my favourite raga.

I'll certainly be ordering some more videos, especially Vol #2 of Sitar Technique.

Many thanks for producing these Lars. I'll be sure to put some feedback on your website, or feel free to quote this e-mail. Also please pass on my thanks to Indrajit and Debu for their great work.

Cheers mate,
Phil.

P.S. The delivery time was completely acceptable. About what I figured on, in fact.

Have a review? We'd love to see it and thanks so much to everyone for their support!

info@sitar-tabla.com

253-678-2605