Sitar repairs

Along with performing and teaching, David also offers a variety of repair services for sitar. During his visits to Kolkata, David has learned the art of “jawari” and other repair skills directly from India’s leading sitar craftsman, Barun Roy of Hiren Roy and Sons. Listed below are the repair services that David is offering. Please visit the “contact” page of this website to make an inquiry.

re-stringing

David can re-string your sitar using the best quality steel and bronze strings available. In addition to re-stringing your entire sitar,David will also insure that the instrument is in tune,and that the frets are aligned properly.

CHIKARI POST REPAIR

The chikari posts are made of bone, and enable the chikari strings to fit into the tuning pegs while maintaining the same height as the rest of the top playing strings. It is very common for these posts to break, leaving the chikari strings unable to produce sound. David can drill out the broken chikari post, and replace it with a new one that will be custom cut for the sitar.

Jawari

As you play the sitar,over time the strings that lay on top of the Jawari (bridge) will cut into the surface of the jawari. This damage will ruin the sustain and clarity of the sitar. David has many years experience filling, sanding, and re-shaping the sitar jawari to get the best possible sound on any sitar.

TUNING PEG REPAIR

David has lots of replacement parts including both main string tuning pegs, and sympathetic string tuning pegs. David can easily replace any broken pegs with a new one that will be custom sanded to fit into the sitar.

re-tieing frets

The sitar frets are tied with silk thread and over time could wear down, become lose, or fall off. David can re-tie frets and uses high quality silk thread that he has obtained from Kolkata.