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Sympathetic drones and strings! Gehehe..

My own interest is peaked.

Just recently I came across an instrument named the Bantazar (I may have spelled that incorrectly), which was essentially a five string double bass with sympathetic strings, and a five octave range. I struck it off the GAS list (which it instantly, instantly topped) as I'll never be able to afford to have one made. Seriously though. Thing is divine.

Perhaps this thing fed some strings might help approximate something akin to it though.

Bazantar

Eric! wrote:Bazantar

DUDE!!!!! UBERWANT!!!!!

I know fellows. Oh, how I know.

Ah, excellent to see my mental spellcheck is as functional as my wallet.

But yeah, my travels thus far in the world of strings has taught me two things.

One, I, personally, am not into electric interpretations of classical instruments.

Two, I will never be able to afford half the stuff I want. For serious. I'm delighted that it takes me about a month (and a little personal sacrifice) to afford most of the nicer pedal stuff between the $300-500 range. And in that range there's only about three of four things I can distinguish as 'need' rather than 'want'.

However, flip over to strings, and ALL my objects of desire jump from less than a grand to between twenty and sixty of them.

I may start building violins. And shortly after, buying small islands.

Bazantar:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=crSi9IxPfYA

Heres a video yo!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XWid2B6c13E

Hmm. Judging by that demo, I really hate the "sitar" sounds but the drones were really cool.

I'm sure it would be cooler with other pedals/another guitarist.

Preposterous.... a sitar is a mythical wonder, with keys, pitches and tunings unlike those of western harmonies..... it's not something you rush into lightly, or just thrash around with like some cock eyed bandit, it requires discipline and longevity to learn and a lifetime to master....... Personally I don't own a sitar, I have wanted one for two or three years now but don't have the time to appropriately study........ no thank you, electro harmonix.......

retinal orbita wrote:Preposterous.... a sitar is a mythical wonder, with keys, pitches and tunings unlike those of western harmonies..... it's not something you rush into lightly, or just thrash around with like some cock eyed bandit, it requires discipline and longevity to learn and a lifetime to master....... Personally I don't own a sitar, I have wanted one for two or three years now but don't have the time to appropriately study........ no thank you, electro harmonix.......

The sitar is just an instrument like any other, not some 'mythical wonder'. It may take a lifetime to master, but so does the damn guitar, you could get good enough for rock 'n' roll in a few days, thrashing around on a sitar into some fuzz would probably sound bitchin', and it's not some great travesty. Treating instruments with reverence is stupid, they're for making noises with, and why shouldn't someone be able to sound like a sitar if they want?

Plus I mainly see it as a drone/weird noise machine. The demo was kinda cool, the 'ambient' setting he did sounded pretty nice, if a bit like a dark reverb, I reckon I could use it for some cool stuff but I'd never shell out however much it's going to cost (I assume it's a fair bit). I guess a reverb and a POG would get you most of the way there, sort of.

i'm not very enthusiastic about the sitar sounds either, but i suspect that they'd be a lot more tolerable with some judicious tweaking, a different guitar providing the signal that wasn't as bright (though i expect they were using a Tele so it would track adequately), and fewer effects after it in the chain. i've found that EH effects in this vein can be very harsh-sounding unless you find the sweet spots in the tonal spectrum; unless i set it just right my Octave Multiplexer is unbearable.

i tend to agree with the sentiment that it's more interesting as a general sound generator than as a sitar simulator. it could be fun with my ambient looping setup, but i'd need to hear some more imaginative demos or have a couple of hours to dick with one before i'd be willing to lay down over two bills for one.

and i don't think anyone's going to ever mistake this thing for a real sitar, so i don't think there's any point in being offended by this dealio, any more than there was when folks became able to do a much better job of faking sitar on a sampling synth.

Hmmm, I was expecting to be blown away by the demo, but wasn't. I found it a bit harsh, too bright and generally not convincing enough but as stated already a different guitar/settings/player may reap a different outcome. The expression pedal on the pitch helped but still not convinced it's worth the coin. Think I'll wait for more demos.

Sounds pretty mediocre for its intended use but it might be great for TEH SHOEGAEIZ or ambient stuff.

Leave it to EHX to have awesome ideas but fail at execution.

It sounds pretty bad to me.

What a relief, now I don't have to buy one!