INDIAN MUSIC FORUM ARCHIVES: Sitar Forum: To All Sitar Forum Members

Oh, BTW, what do we call it?

I agree with Bruce statements like this do a disservice to people trying to buy a new instrument. When I bought my first sitar I was planning on getting a HR or a Hemen but I went with a MPS because one of the people you mention told me hemen and HR don't make good instruments any more and MPS was the emerging favorite of all the pros in India. He also said that places like AACM don't have the skills to do a proper setup, that they would just send the instrument as it arrived from India. I got the MPS and was very happy with it. Eventually when it needed jewari i called him and he sent me to Brian Godden who I then found out works at AACM and dose all the setup on their sitars. Over the past few years in conversations with many professionals and amateurs alike I found that the consensus is that HR, Hemen, and RR are still by far the best makers in India. MPS dose not even show up on the radar.

I recently bought a cheaper sitar from AACM only to find it much nicer than the "top of the line" sitar I bought before at about twice the price.

Just my 2 cents worth

S Kelly

Any further complaints, please call:
1-800-OHH-WAAH

I don't have the luxury of being able to drop by the AACM and trying out a bunch of sitars, or even talk to someone in a shop who plays and is knowledgeable about them. I wish I did. If I ever make it down to cali you will see me. I'd love to check out your shop.

I have seen dozens of bad sitars in the montreal and toronto area. I bought a few of them too. You have to be VERY picky or you will get screwed. People just don't have enough stock. Of the no name sitars, I think the number is probably right, if not conservative. I'm no critic of the lofty pedigree'd models, I haven't seen enough of them (yet).

So, tell me, bruce, if KK had named you as one of the good guys, would you be so angry :-)

No need to complain about the blatant commercial promotions , this is a forum of enthusiasts, who want to help others make a good choice. This is exactly what you should expect, information, tips, assistance, names, real opinions, biases, buddy groups, rivalries. (Pardon the net nanny stance).

thanks,
Pb

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Bruce (Feb 18, 2004 09:36 p.m.):
[quote]K.K. (Feb 18, 2004 08:00 p.m.):
(Until the last couple of years, if you wanted a new sitar, you gambled on getting the 'one out of twenty' decent sitars made by the one of the old names.)
What do you base this assertion on? I am tired of the blatant commercial promotions that have taken over this site. There are plenty of good sitars around, and plenty of good people selling them. And NOBODY is getting rich. If you want to be inclusive, stop the implicit putdowns of any business other than those run by the one or two people you like, or have dealt with. We at AACM have been importing sitars for 30 years. We have personal relationships with all the makers you mention. (Do you mean that only one in twenty Hemens is good) We work our asses off to hook people up with good instruments. There has been no negative feedback on us from any REAL person in this forum. Like I said, if you want to be inclusive, be really inclusive.

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Pb

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Seth Kelly (Feb 18, 2004 11:20 p.m.):

I recently bought a cheaper sitar from AACM only to find it much nicer than the "top of the line" sitar I bought before at about twice the price.

Just my 2 cents worth

S Kelly

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Bruce has been working very hard for the last 25 years to bring the best Indian instruments available to the U.S. The instruments he has sold to thousands of musicians throughout the world have always been of just as high a standard as anything available today anywhere. The idea that Peter C. was the first person with a vision to bring quality instruments to the U.S. is ridiculous. I think it is easy to see why he would be offended when he sees someone say matter of factly that only in the last few years has there been anyone with integrity or with consistent quality in the business. Though this was probably not intended as a swipe at AACM it sort of feels that way.

take care,
Pb

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kalyan (Feb 19, 2004 03:50 a.m.):
[quote]pb (Feb 19, 2004 12:29 a.m.):
Bruce,
I don't know why you have your back up, or why you feel threatened by what was said, but come on. There is a lot of crap out there. I didn't see any veiled accusation against the AACM, or you, maybe I missed it?!

Bruce has been working very hard for the last 25 years to bring the best Indian instruments available to the U.S. The instruments he has sold to thousands of musicians throughout the world have always been of just as high a standard as anything available today anywhere. The idea that Peter C. was the first person with a vision to bring quality instruments to the U.S. is ridiculous. I think it is easy to see why he would be offended when he sees someone say matter of factly that only in the last few years has there been anyone with integrity or with consistent quality in the business. Though this was probably not intended as a swipe at AACM it sort of feels that way.

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Peace,

Remco

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cantstand pb (Feb 19, 2004 11:53 a.m.):
Its clear that pb is anal, for a guy that knows very little about indian music ( other than maybe owns like 2 'wanna be' sitars) he thinks of himself as a 'know it all'
I had to chance to meet him, so I am basing my opionion first hand, He can only talk trash, because of what he is.
even if he sticks a sitar up is butt, he still won't know anything about them.

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Im sorry for all the other members on this forum. But the views of Pb (paulus bastard) I just can't stand.

Peace,

Remco

Really, dude, you are not my type.

The pathetic appology to the chorus was a nice touch! LOL,

Pb

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cantstand pb (Feb 19, 2004 12:33 p.m.):
And I proven my point. Face it, you suck as a sitar player, (i've heard you play) so stop critizing other people that actually have knowledge of the instrument.
Keep your two cents ( and I know your a CHEAP BASTARD),

Im sorry for all the other members on this forum. But the views of Pb (paulus bastard) I just can't stand.

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Regarding my statement about 'one out of twenty' sitars made, you'll notice that it's in quotation marks. This implies that it's just a figure of speech. I base this assertion only on what I've heard and what I've seen with my own eyes. It's just my opinion.Which brings me back to my original topic. My original topic has to do with individuals (I apologize if I left any names out) who, in my opinion, have broken new ground by trying to do something different.

Kalyan:
Your statement, The idea that Peter C. was the first person with a vision to bring quality instruments to the U.S. is ridiculous is absolutely true. I never said that. If you re-read my original post, you'll see that I said first sitar enthusiast to take his vision to the market place
Peter's vision was not to just bring quality instruments to the U.S. His vision was to supply better quality instruments. Whether he succeeded or not, is a matter of opinion. And we all have the right to voice our opinion don't we?
I'm not prejudice to MPS or any other sitar maker. I just bought a 40-year-old Rikhi Ram, and it is one of the loveliest instruments I've ever heard. (I'll post about that at another time.) I'd love to own an old HR, KL, RKS, Hemen, Naskar while you're at it, throw in one of Ravi's Nodu Mullicks. (Actually, Anoushka has the one that I want.)
The bottom line is, in my opinion, the 'best' quality sitars being provided to us over the last few decades JUST AIN'T CUTTIN' IT! And if Peter C., Tony K., Sanjay S., AACM, or Alfred E. Newman can provide us with a better quality instrument, then I salute them.
That's just MY opinion. :-)

Ken:
Your idea about everyone suggesting a name for the club is what I had in mind. Maybe everyone can post suggestions then we can all whittle it down to one.

[quote]pb (Feb 19, 2004 10:28 a.m.):
Ok, I see now. Clearly, bruce deserves more credit. When I look at the aacm site, I see a generic description of the history and staff in the "about us" section. There are no bio's, so it is impossible to know about people like bruce out in cyber land. I know nothing about the people at aacm (apart from the Ustad), so how can one know of bruce's contribution to ICM? I would like to know, especially as a web customer. I think it would be a good business move to upgrade the store section to provide Internet people with everything they need to know to buy from aacm. It is a big job, but there are ways to do it, trade some cyber geek an instrument for the work :-)

take care,
Pb

Kalyan
I didn't think it was aacm people, don't worry, you guys have class.

Pb

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kalyan (Feb 19, 2004 02:21 p.m.):
ps.
please dont think that can,t stand pb is one of us. It sounds to me like just some jerk trying to stir things up.

[quote]pb (Feb 19, 2004 10:28 a.m.):
Ok, I see now. Clearly, bruce deserves more credit. When I look at the aacm site, I see a generic description of the history and staff in the "about us" section. There are no bio's, so it is impossible to know about people like bruce out in cyber land. I know nothing about the people at aacm (apart from the Ustad), so how can one know of bruce's contribution to ICM? I would like to know, especially as a web customer. I think it would be a good business move to upgrade the store section to provide Internet people with everything they need to know to buy from aacm. It is a big job, but there are ways to do it, trade some cyber geek an instrument for the work :-)

take care,
Pb

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Thanks

". .The term "MPS Culture Club" was coined by Sitar Forum member Russ, a couple of years ago. At the time, it seemed that most of the Sitar Forum members owned MPS sitars. I created the MPS Culture Club membership cards in honor of Buckingham Music's owner/founder, Peter Cutchy, when he passed away in 2002. If you've been to the Buckingham website, you know that Peter's vision was to offer a sitar that was built "the way they used to be built."
Peter was having the sitars built to his specs and each instrument was inspected by Sri Indrajit Banerjee before it left the shop.
The membership cards read "Specially made in India for Buckingham Music. ."

For the rest of the story, start at the top of this topic.

Thanks for the background info.

Who is this guy? Jeez, we finally had a break from all of the negativity from last fall, and this shows up. Maybe Dr. Courtney can remove it.

: )

jan