So i got a new tabla drum and head and tuned it to B after getting it reheaded. How do you think a sitar player will like this? im not sure if im used to the low tone yet, my old one is tuned in D or C# always. I find I have to strike the drum harder to get a good sound from tete when tuned to B, anyone else experience this?
No theres no reason, acually I think itd sound better In C#, do sitars ever go to D? is that to high for them? I think this tabla could go as high as D or D# if i pushed it hard. But the sitar doesnt think it will hold up as high as D. you ever go that high?
Be carefull, man, you have to look the diameter of your tabla, i have a 5 1/2'' and when i tuned it in C# the head broked.
I think is nice to play low tuned tabla, now i'm playing a pro quality 6'' tuned in low F (i use to play with bansuri players) and it sounds beautiful.
My old one tuned to D now is 5 1/4, the new one I got is smaller than that even. WOW low F, id like to hear that. I find the lower I got with this tabla the more buzzing i get from the gab. And as my higher tuned tablas head went bad it got buzzier and buzzier and less sustain. Do you have recordings of the low F? Ive never heard anything lower than B im afraid. The bansuri recordings I have are way high, like D or higher i think.
My old one tuned to D now is 5 1/4, the new one I got is smaller than that even. WOW low F, id like to hear that. I find the lower I got with this tabla the more buzzing i get from the gab. And as my higher tuned tablas head went bad it got buzzier and buzzier and less sustain. Do you have recordings of the low F? Ive never heard anything lower than B im afraid. The bansuri recordings I have are way high, like D or higher i think.
Hi Monk;
Yes, a well-made sitar won't suffer when going to D, but that's where strings start to break like crazy. Plus, pulling the string for a meend gets very hard to do, and is really rough on the fingers. When a string pops at that tension, you know it. Powww!
Realize of course I'm not a tablaji, but from what I've heard, most tabla players following a sitar tuned to C# are also at C#. I'm not sure how good it would sound if tuned to something else. I use an electronic tabla in C# when I play. But hey anybody, if you're quite experienced in tabla, feel free to jump in here and set me straight! Good thing to know I would think. . .
Hi Monk, you can hear a nice low F tabla in a lot of recordings of G.S.Sachdev with Zakir Hussain. Last year i was with Sachdev and when he saw me playing mandra F Tabla, he said "Wow! i like to play with mandra F Tabla, Zakirji and Sanjay Bhadoriya are the only tabla players that use it with me"
You can also hear low tunned tabla in recordibgs of the old masters like Amir Hussain Khan, Thirakwa, and his shishya, Suresh Talwalkar.
I have also a very old recording of Ravi Shankar in wich Alla Rakha use low C# tabla!!!!!, that's the most low tuned tabla i have ever heard.
I love big mandra tablas with that powerful Pakhawaj-like sound.
