I live in the Uk. I'm looking for a high pitch dahina - around 'd' to an 'e' and upwards. Can anyone give me any information on the availability of such a dahina? 'Jas' don't appear to stock these - which i find surprising. is the whole drum smaller or do you just have to fit a different pudi to achieve sucha pitch? Thanks
johnny (Apr 27, 2004 11:45 a.m.):
I live in the Uk. I'm looking for a high pitch dahina - around 'd' to an 'e' and upwards. Can anyone give me any information on the availability of such a dahina? 'Jas' don't appear to stock these - which i find surprising. is the whole drum smaller or do you just have to fit a different pudi to achieve sucha pitch? Thanks
Johnny,
You shouldn't have much problem getting almost any C sharp dahina up to a D or even D
sharp. Finding an good E or higher dahina, though likely but not necessarily smaller 4.75 - 5 inch, shouldn't be all that difficult either. The puddi will determine the pitch in most cases but I've found that most of the puddi's I've worked sounded better pulled to a higher pitch than what was specified anyway. It's much more difficult to find larger dahinas and lower pitched puddi's.
I don't know why everybody who sells tablas thinks there's only one pitch?! (Hint, Hint :-)
The other thing to consider is getting a tabla that's the proper size for your hands. Trust me, unless you're a small person, a 4.75 inch dahina can be uncomfortable to play for any length of time especially if you're male caucasian with large fingers.
Between Jas Musicals and Bina in Southall, there has to be some high pitched dahinas. . Bina especially has quite a large stock. You just have to take the time to go through the drums to find what you want. .
You may already know this, but there is an excellent music shop in Southhall on the edge of London, called Bina music. Their best tabla are from Banares where i think their original store is. They have a good selection of sizes. Their number is 020 8843 1411. Good luck. Oli
I would suggest Jas. They have better tabla's. Bina has tabla's which are only readymade ones that come from everywhere. benaras has hundreds of tabla makers. but not all make good ones. so go for Jas and ask them if they have Gopal or Qasim tabla's from Delhi.
