Hiren Roy Compact Sitar
Towards the end of last year Hiren Roy company came with their version of the “compact sitar”.
At first sight a regular sitar with an original slotted head, but …
…they simply cut the tumba by half.
It looks very similar to Sanjay’s “studio travel model“, which has a full wooden body. This very successful concept has been copied and sold by many other sitar makers.
Further pics and details of the Hiren Roy Compact sitar are available at http://www.india-instruments.de/pag/stringinst/sitar/hr_full_com_e.html. Pictures courtesy of www.india-instruments.de.
By the way, the pics above are taken by Norbert klippstein from India Instruments GbR, the leading importer of high quality sitars and other Indian instruments in Central Europe. Further pics and details of the Hiren Roy Compact sitar are available at http://www.india-instruments.de/pag/stringinst/sitar/hr_full_com_e.html. India Instruments’ shop is located in Berlin, Germany – if you like to try this sitar, make an appointment and take a trip to Berlin!
I have had one of these travel sitars about a yearb and a half now. A wonderful instrument with excellent action and a sound and projeciton that rivals a full body sitar. I also have an older Hiren #1 and I keep vacillating beween it and the travel sitar, it is that good. It has made two roundtrip flights across the US with plane changes in between. While the fiberglass case that came with it suffered a few scratches, it remains as solid as when it was new. And the sitar itself came through flawlessly. A really first class instrument. I’ve owned several sitars from Hemen, Naskar, MKS and Kanai Lal (the original KL) over the 36 years since I began studying, and this travel sitar is tied for being my favorite.
A friend of mine has one and says the sound is almost as good as a standard Hiren Roy.
I too wonder why they used a gourd at all. I would think the whole reason to get a “travel” sitar would be for the thin profile, and gourds are so fragile they make travel a stressful adventure. I traveled with my Hiren Roy for the first time this summer and I was terrified. It is much easier to travel with a case that is about the same size as an electric guitar case rather than the monstrous sitar cases out there. I guess Barun Roy was just trying to satisfy the travel sitar market while retaining as much sound as possible.
I’m waiting to see one that has a round back like an old mandolin or oud with curved slats, why did they even use the gourd? they could have just steamed sides like an acoustic guitar.