Repairs and the importance of good maintenance 2

Here is a shortlist of the most common problems on the most common instruments:

  • Tabla and Pakhawaj:  broken skin or straps, lose vibrating shyahi (the black centre of the skin).
  • Tanpura, sitar, rudra vina, surbahar: jawari, general balancing, fixing loose frets, restoring broken kalabas (soundbox or shell), polishing, fitting new tuning pegs etc.
  • Sarod, sarangi, esraj, dilruba: replacing the skin, new strings, etc,
  • Harmonium: controlling the airflow and fixing leaks, restoring the sound quality, tuning.

Sometimes an instrument needs the ornamentation restored, for this and most other problems, I have accumulated lots of small parts, accessories and ornamentations.

I have also worked on instruments from Japan, Afghanistan, Africa, South East Asia. So if you have any problems with your non-Indian musical instrument, please enquire if I can help you or not.

Please try to remember the following: To keep your instrument in good working order, which sounds great and is a pleasure to play, it is advisable to have regular checks. If you play every day then once every 3 months, and if you play on an irregular basis once or twice a year should be sufficient.

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Cracked neck
a common problem