updates

NEWS AND UPDATES

Bookmark this page to check for recent additions to our inventory or news!

11/16/08: HOLIDAY SALE!!! Free shipping on all sitars and tanpuras on all orders placed from now until January 4, 2009. 48 states only, for Hawaii & Alaska please email us for a quote. Due to the current exchange rate being in favor of the dollar, prices on Srishti sitars have been lowered. Won't last forever (does anything?). But definitely a good time to buy ;^) We'll be in India most of January and a lot of new instruments will be arriving afterwards.

11/02/08: The RA sitarmaker studio sitar is now up as well as the RA Necklace sitar, both fantastic sounding and playing instruments! Shipping rates have been raised slightly to reflect an increase in costs although not by too much.

11/01/08: Added a few fret tying videos and a short clip of Barun Roy doing jawari on the Sitar information page, the first of much more to come. Still waiting on good weather here in Seattle (that's why it's called Rain City Music!) for the pictures of the new RA sitars just in.

10/22/08: Teak Hiren Roy sitar now up with video/sound clip. This is about 8 years old and has gone back to India for the customary reworking and jawari from Barun. If you're looking for a rare teak Hiren Roy that's broken in with a mature sound, here you go. Great action and sound and quite a large custom sitar that was owned by a friend of ours who decided to switch to a smaller mahogany instrument. Also the Sitar information article and FAQ was updated.

10/18/08: Srishti Vilayat Khan style sitar now up, the best made Gandhar Pancham sitar I've ever seen from anyone, not kidding! Also you'll notice the little icon on the URL bar, thanks to Gary Pro for that! Teak Hiren Roy, a special 'one off' student Srishti Gandhar Pancham sitar, new Jaipur pics (same as the one already up basically) coming in a few days. Also a studio sitar and Rikhi Ram necklace style sitar due in from RA sitarmaker in 2 days. Much more coming over the next 6 months for the site in the way of pictures, etc. of past instruments and trips to India. Stay tuned!

9/24/08: Added a few more gauges for our string coils, should cover most Indian instruments now. 2 more RA sitarmaker sitars arriving in about 2 weeks, a studio model and Vilayat Khan style necklace design. Pics are done for most others, pages to follow shortly.

9/14/08: Format of video clips changed to .wmv format for easier downloading after numerous complaints from folks unable to view. Hope this solves the problem! Look for a Hiren Roy teak and the latest Srishti arrival pictures in a week or two....

9/07/08: Video clips added for the Srishti Miraj, the RA Sitarmaker Kharaj Pancham and Special Gandhar Pancham sitars. The video quality isn't the greatest as it was dark but the sound comes across quite well and we'll try to get more as time allows for the other instruments.

9/06/08: RA Sitarmaker sitars are now up!!! Click here to see them. A really great instrument at a good price, prices only guaranteed for this bunch as it all depends on the shipping rates we can get. Videos of each up shortly. Still reeling from the fantastic quality of the new Srishti Vilayat Khan style that just came in, have never seen a better one from anywhere, maybe I'll change playing style? Most sitar offerings have been modified, they now come with either a fiberboard ~ rexine type case for around $200 less or a fiberglass case. Hiren Roy sitars are the exception and ship with fiberglass cases only still.

9/05/08: 3 Srishti's arrived today! One Gandhar pancham, extremely well built with a neck capable of any meend you can manage. Also one Jaipur and one Standard. New pics of each within a week or 2. Also have the first of hopefully many sitars from RA Sitarmaker of Miraj, I'm completely impressed with the quality. The necks are a little lower profile with a flatter fret setting (maybe they were reading the forum?). Great sound, phenomenal finish and a good value for the price. Quite a bit better action and tone than ones a few years ago that you may have seen sold under different labels and we have video to prove it....Pics are done, new page up this weekend. New Raagini and Riyaz machines are in under a different company label, the hum in the power supply is gone now on the Riyaz Master (now called Riyaz Guru) with a single plug universal power supply!

8/17/08: 3 new CD's have been added to our Music CD's page. They feature Rabindra Goswami from Benares. Goswami-ji plays with what I feel is a unique style, simple and sublime. Similar to Amit Roy, it took a few months of hunting to get these CD's and many thanks to his students and well-wishers for making it happen.

8/17/08: Finally the Hansa Veena is up! We've had it for awhile but no time for the web design. I was sitting here one night when I got a phone call from Kolkatta...."Barun-da" just got a new veena, do you want his old one?" What...are you kidding? Turns out that MKS makes him new ones every so often. We have a teak Esraj shipping soon, a local custom order from Dulal.....look for it soon!

8/17/08: It has been uncertain whether Srishti sitars would continue to be made. My partner is not in India currently and so the logistics have been difficult but looks like we've found a solution. We have 3 Srishti sitars on the way within a week or two. 4 or 5 more to be ready when I take my yearly trip to Kolkata. Also I'm expanding the sitar line (who would have guessed?) to include instruments from RA sitarmaker of Miraj, India. A very decent instrument from a well known shop and should be reasonably priced. Hiren Roy sitars have continued to be popular, we have a custom surbahar to be ready in January with a rolled headstock (no animal carving) as well as 2 Kharaj Pancham sitars, one of which is sold already. We'll try to have a few more Hiren Roy sitars by Spring of 2009 before the hot season arrives in India. Also in early 2009 keep your eyes open for the first offering from a 'new' maker. He actually has been making sitars for 30 years and worked with a famous maker for 27 years. Who is it? Stay tuned......

August 2008: It's the 8th month of Rain City Music and I'm both shocked and happy at the level of popularity. Incredibly we're almost out of sitars despite low ranking in Google, etc. Word of mouth continues to be our best advertisement and I'd like to thank all of our customers (from my Sitarsetc.com days and new people) for your patronage and support.