Hello, I,m thinking of getting a 30 year old RKS, its for sale at SilverBush. The ad states it has a repaired gourd. The question is, does a repaired crack or hole affect the tone or sound of the instrument from its original tonal qualities? i.e.dull, lifeless non- vibrant sound vs. full, resonant rich tone etc, assuming the sitar had good sound in the first place. And would it affect the integrity and stabilitie of the sitar?
Jeffrey R King
Greetings, A repaired gourd can in fact sound like wonderful. It all depends upon the materials and tools used and the skill and ear of the repair person. The only way to truly assess it is to play the instrument with a discerning ear. And even then unless you new what the instrument sounded like when it was new you will not a have a reference to the original sound. Just make sure there is a return policy, should you not be happy. Simple common sense.
Hello, I,m thinking of getting a 30 year old RKS, its for sale at SilverBush. The ad states it has a repaired gourd. The question is, does a repaired crack or hole affect the tone or sound of the instrument from its original tonal qualities? i.e.dull, lifeless non- vibrant sound vs. full, resonant rich tone etc, assuming the sitar had good sound in the first place. And would it affect the integrity and stabilitie of the sitar?[/quote]
I will be visiting Brian (Silverbush Music) in mid-late December to get some jawari work done. I will be happy to assess the instrument for you. Or perhaps someone you know in CA can help. I agree that firsthand experience is the best. But even with a return policy, $200 in shipping is expensive . . .
Just had my first sitar lesson and my teacher "James Pokorny" showed me what I guess is his main sitar, and it has a repaired gourd. It is an older RKS and the sound is beautiful. You can still see where it was repaired though. Also after seeing Mr.Pokorny play up close I've decided to give up guitar and only study the sitar. He played a short piece during the lesson that blew me away, and since theres a billion guitar players out there, the world could do with one less I suppose. So if anyone is interested in some very nice acoustic guitars give me an e-mail for price, brand and pics. Will consider trades also (guitar for sitar). See-ya.
Jeffrey R King
