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INDIAN MUSIC FORUM ARCHIVES: Sitar Forum: Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram

 

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rajsingh2
Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 06, 2003 10:47 a.m.

It appears that buckingham is now offering RR instruments also.
http://www.buckinghammusic.com/sitar/rrsitars.html.
Neal
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 06, 2003 06:01 p.m.

Take the period off the end of the .url or you'll get a 404 message


It appears that buckingham is now offering RR instruments also.
http://www.buckinghammusic.com/sitar/rrsitars.html
Matt
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 06, 2003 06:21 p.m.

It's interesting that there are no references to these instruments on the main page, or in the sitar section either. The only way to get there is through the link above. Maybe they're not "officially" for sale yet?
K.K.
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 06, 2003 07:26 p.m.

The "WHAT'S NEW" banner on the main page is a link to the R.R. sitars.
Matt
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 06, 2003 07:55 p.m.

Oh, DUH! Got it!
Tom Puri
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 07, 2003 08:22 a.m.

Yeah! Lots of other places have killer websites and sell shitty sitars. Those dummies at Rikhi Ram have all backwards.
Beenkarji
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 07, 2003 02:45 p.m.

The prices are disgusting, who would pay that much for that crap. Further more I like the following quote. .hehe

"Please be aware that our fine Rikhi Ram instruments are made by
Shri Bishan Das Sharma of Connaught Place, New Delhi,
and these instruments should not to be confused with others simply using the name "Rikhi Ram."

How much do you wanna bet that Bishan Das hasn't even put his hands on one of those sitars. I highly doubt the man makes them anymore, he probably has just resorted to the tea sipping sitar selling stage of his life where he occasional does odds and ends.

Beenkar Ted Ceplina
kalyan
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 07, 2003 07:02 p.m.

Beenkarji (Nov 07, 2003 02:45 p.m.):
The prices are disgusting, who would pay that much for that crap. Further more I like the following quote. .hehe

"Please be aware that our fine Rikhi Ram instruments are made by
Shri Bishan Das Sharma of Connaught Place, New Delhi,
and these instruments should not to be confused with others simply using the name "Rikhi Ram."

We should set the record straight. Not about Binkarji, which has already been done. But about Rikhi Ram. For many years, the business was run by Bishan Dass Sharma and his two sons, Ajay and Sanjay. I received a letter last summer from the father saying that Sanjay is no longer 'a part of our concern' M/s Rikhi Ram Musical Instrument Mfg. Co. neither local nor exports. We do not have any other branch. I know all these gentlemen, and have no wish to get embroiled in family politics. I'm sure that they are all capable of making, or managing the making, of good instruments. But that explains the above quote and any confusion about Rikhi Ram.
Bruce
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 07, 2003 07:07 p.m.

Sorry, that was me, not Kalyan. I guess he posted something from my computer in the last few days and I didn't know about. The letter was written to me, Bruce Hamm. AACM Store Manager. Kalyan Godden is my assistant manager.
Beenkarji
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 07, 2003 10:58 p.m.

Why is it the folks from the AACM only reply or post when it involves one of their products? I am sorry but I am not very happy with the current stuff from the workshop of Bishan Das, and perhaps it is a personal reason because of the fact they have cheated so many people and have some really dirty business practices I am just not fond of. I am glad Sanjay broke away from the family, he will truly live up to his grandfathers expectations.
Beenkar Ted Ceplina
Jan
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 04:49 a.m.

Since were into Rikhi Ram here let me tell you my experience.
I was at the shop (Shri Bishan Das Sharma of Connaught Place, New Delhi) and got myself a RR VK style. i paid about 500 USD. The instrument is really nice and far bryond my wildest dreams when i compare it to the No-name sitar i played. My really hard to find teacher (he is here some weeks every year) say its a high quality instrument.
And to me it is, it feels really good and it sounds very good.

The craftmanship of the instrument is allso good, there is some issues on the decoration (the black and white) that is not 100%. And the finish is allso possible to do better (backside of the tumba, mostly). But that does�nt have anything to do with the sound of the instrument.

One thing i found when returning from India and i was able to go deeper into the instrument and every construction detail is that the tumba seems to be a lot older than the rest of the instrument. I would post pictures of this but i cant (dont have a www site). There are some marks on the tumba hat indicates that it has been used before. I did not get any information about the production date/year of the instrument, i forgot to ask. (I came straight from a 42 hr journey with bus and went straight on to get the Sitar before i went to the airport to catch my flight.) So i was kind of pumped in the first place.

Anyway, my RR experience is good, i got a really nice instrument that i love. Some visual issues if i want it to look perfect. Its allso Jaipur deco style. Not the ordenary ornament with carving, but a piece of synthetic bone on each side of the tabali instead of the carving. .


jan
The Bad Ustad
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 09:59 a.m.

I see no reason to jump on Bruce, as he was only offering helpful info. To clarify things, Sanjay Sharma has his own store and is making instruments that are undoubtedly superior to what Bhishan Das and Ajay have been making the last few years. He is also more reasonable price-wise. He takes longer to complete custom orders, but I see that as a good sign. Lets all hope that Ajay and his father will be prodded into making their instruments as good as they did 15 years ago. It doesn't always work out like that. The same thing happened twenty something years ago with the two gentlemen who ran Bina for their father Gian Singh. They split up and one started DMS. DMS now commands the lion's share of the market that Bina dominated for 30 years. Despite the disastrous downturn in business, Bina shows no sign of getting it's act together and continues to turn out a lot of half-assed stuff. Personally, I think Bhishan Das and son are smarter than that. In the meantime, I would do my Rikhi Ram shopping at Sanjay's shop.
The Bad Ustad
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 09, 2003 11:25 a.m.

Hi Matt,
Never suggested that you were down on Bruce. Regarding overall purpose of the forum, it seems that a lot of folks want to dictate it's purpose and who it should serve. That's why there are different threads. Forums aren't inheritantly positive or negative. The sitar forum is supposed to be for the purpose of sharing information on ALL aspects of the sitar. Just because someone sees a thread that says "Bitching About Fuzzy Sitar Bags" doesn't mean they're compelled to engage that thread.
And just for the record, I don't think any dealer is "obligated" to defend himself. The persons who made that statement presumes that dealer has done something to defend. As I said before, there are always going to be small percentage of fuzzy-thinking consumers out there with ridiculous expectations, and complaints based on misinformation and ignorance. Kind of like, alien abduction victims; if you pay them attention, it just gives them credence.
Peace.
B.U.
Bruce
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 02:41 p.m.

In fact, we haven't ordered from Rikhi Ram in some years, because they got so expensive. I have tried to post some responses to musical questions. I think this forum should be for the exchange of ideas and experiences between individuals, not for merchants pushing their products.
Jeff
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 02:05 p.m.

I've seen Bruce post a few things here that had nothing to do with AACM. But if he is attacked here, of course he's going on the defensive.
I'd say 90% of the threads and posts on this forum are kind of nonsenseical so he most likely doesnt want to participate that often. Or more likely he's just too busy!
Jeffrey R King
Matt
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 04:41 p.m.

Bruce (Nov 08, 2003 02:41 p.m.):
I think this forum should be for the exchange of ideas and experiences between individuals, not for merchants pushing their products.

And, it shouldn't be a place for certain individuals to bash everything that doesn't meet their narrow definition of what is good. I myself am quite tired of hearing how this manufacturer is crooked and this instrument is crap, etc.
Neal
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 08:47 p.m.

. .nor should the moderator allow the personal bashing that a few individuals have deemed okay to continue. My thoughts are that David Courtney has an obligation to audit and /or reprimand those few individuals that are attacking. And it is clear when the line has been crossed between constructive / polite disagreements and an innappropriate attack on another.

Neal
Neal
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 08, 2003 08:49 p.m.

. .nor should the moderator allow the personal bashing that a few individuals have deemed okay to continue. My thoughts are that David Courtney has an obligation to audit and /or reprimand those few individuals that are attacking. And it is clear when the line has been crossed between constructive / polite disagreements and an innappropriate attack on another.

Neal
The Bad Ustad
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 09, 2003 09:26 a.m.

"And, it shouldn't be a place for certain individuals to bash everything that doesn't meet their narrow definition of what is good. I myself am quite tired of hearing how this manufacturer is crooked and this instrument is crap, etc."

Your statement is really quite misguided. How precisely, have you been able to ascertain the breadth of another individual's definition of quality? No doubt there are some "Holy Grailests" that put on airs pretending to be able to judge very esoteric differences between one world- class instrument and another. But to be realistic, you can't deny that there is a phenominal amount of absolute junk being sold to unwary folks. Nobody should be censored for being a whistle-blower. Sometimes one merchant or another, will take an undeserved hit from a disgruntled customer. It goes with the territory. If the merchant overall, has integrity, then one wrong-headed customer's bitching, won't count for much. If people constantly post complaints about one particular merchant, then a pattern arises - and then ultimately, potential customers must decide where to put their trust. Personally, I appreciate Bruce's candor regarding Rikhi Ram's over-the-top prices. Sanjay's father's greed had as much to do with the Sanjay's departure, as the decline in quality at the Connaught Circle shop.
Matt
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 09, 2003 10:09 a.m.

Bad Ustad ~

My comment was not directed at Bruce. In fact, I find his comments to be very down to earth and informative.

Personally, I'm here to learn about instrumental technique and the MUSIC, which is in short supply these days. Guess I don't have to read what I don't like, right?
Matt
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 09, 2003 12:20 p.m.

Dude, I'm telling you -

I WAS abducted. Can't account for 5 hours of my life, and I know I was probed. :-)

Point well taken. Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Lalit
Re:Buckingham now offering Rikhi Ram Nov 11, 2003 08:28 a.m.

Quite right. There are a few aggresive vendors who should be censored from making comments on this forum. I think there is a New York based dealer who is always pushing his products and tries to brandish other suppliers whose goods he does not keep. All said and done the quality of RR sitars has not changed and despite the fact that they are really expensive, if someone can afford them, they should go ahead and purchase them. For what its worth I think they are worth what you pay for them.
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