Everything we know about these instruments, written down. These pages are not marketing copy: they are what we tell people across the counter in Mumbai, what we explain on video calls to customers abroad, and what we wish more people knew before they spent their money. All of it is written by us, from our own workshop.
Harmonium
- Guide to buying a harmonium
What each budget actually buys in India, seven checks before you pay, and the Bhargavas, Bina, Paloma and Paul & Co. ranges compared model by model. - Harmonium FAQs
A440 and A432, temperament, student versus concert reeds, scale change mechanisms, fakes, and shipping a harmonium abroad. - How to tune a harmonium
Why filing the tip sharpens a reed and the base flattens it, how to open the reed board safely, and how often an instrument really needs tuning. - Harmonium repair
Stuck notes, heavy keys, drifting reeds and hissing bellows: what goes wrong, what you can fix at home and what should come to a workshop.
Sitar and stringed instruments
- Guide to buying a sitar
Choosing between the Ravi Shankar and Vilayat Khan styles, what to check on a new instrument, and how to buy a used sitar without inheriting a problem. - The sitar explained
Where the instrument came from, how it is built, what jawari is and why it matters, the mizrab, and what kharaj pancham and gandhar pancham mean. - Sitar FAQs
Twenty questions answered: bridges, action, frets, tuning, rattles in the gourd and why a sitar goes out of tune when you lift it. - Our sitar setup
What we do to every sitar before it leaves Mumbai: full restringing, jawari cut by hand, frets retied, pegs trued and the action set. - Sitar maintenance
Changing sympathetic strings, making the loop, chalking pegs, and knowing when the jawari needs recutting. - How to tie sitar frets
The thread to use, the loop and wrap step by step with photographs and video, and how to position the frets in tune afterwards. - Shaping a new peg
Why friction pegs slip, how to match the taper, choosing seasoned wood, and when to hand the job to a workshop.
Tabla and percussion
- Tabla FAQs
Calcutta versus Bombay styles, how long heads last, buzzing, cracked syahi, straps and hooks, and dented bayas. - Tabla head sizing
How to measure a shell for a replacement head, the tracing method, and why the size written on a head is not the size it measures. - Tabla reheading
The whole job in five workshop videos, from removing the old skin to building the syahi.
Makers
- Guide to makers
The workshops behind these instruments in Kolkata, Delhi, Miraj, Mumbai and Pune, and how their sound differs.
Still stuck?
Write to us. We answer questions about instruments whether or not you bought from us, and we would rather talk you out of the wrong purchase than sell you one. Contact us, or send a WhatsApp message to 98335 99433. We are in Mumbai, we deliver across India in seven to ten days, and we ship worldwide.