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.
