Sit Guitar

The Sit Guitar was conceived to play Indian Classical music. The instrument vibrations are a mixture of a sitar and a guitar, the left hand using some sitar and sarod and of course guitar techniques, right hand using sarod and guitar technique.

Development and processing

During a first trip in India, in 1997, I discovered the India Classical Music. The architecture of this music, as well as its spiritual depth linked to its sociological and historical dimensions and its grammatical development were, for me, vibrant, incandescent and transcendent. I was thrilled. So emotionally impressed, I decided to change my focus and enlarged my musical aspirations. The question was then to find the most appropriate musical instrument to manage a fusion with this music to which I could bring my personal, western, touch.

For over 25 years, I have been a guitarist; it was, then, natural to adapt my own instrument in order to fulfill my expectations. In 2000, I started to change a Takamin guitar. These transformations took more or less 5 years. From a 12 strings, it finally becomes a 16-string guitar composed of:

- 6 played strings guitar (normal string guitar) ( a)
- 2 Chikari strings, which are usually found in all Indian string instruments, as the drone. ( b)
- 8 sympathetic strings called "taraf" ( c)

Once the prototype was generated, I tested it, adapted and enhanced its sonority of resonance by collaborating with Indians musicians among them Roy Chaudury and the sitar-makers Ajay Das and his father (Riki Ram's shop), in Delhi.

Step by step

First stage

The first difficulty encountered was to attach the extra strings, which were not facing the fretboard. I anchored them on the existing bridge by digging extra holes.
Then, I elongated the nut.

Anchored strings to existing bridge

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Raised nut.

This was, however, not sufficient since the Chikari strings were at the same height than the other strings. As a result, I was missing their typical Indian resonances, the sustained notes. To overcome this problem, a larger and incurved bridge ( Djavari ) was adapted to raise the Chikari strings. The Djavari has been built and adjusted in Delhi by Ajay Das.

Once these modifications made, I defined the tonality of the instrument as D and worked on the Chikari technique. From then, I realized that 4 Chikari strings were not appropriate. I decided to keep two of them and wondered whether I could use the remaining "open" space to adapt a Taraf .

Technique of bending and sliding

I have spent the first year to find the most appropriate gauge of the 6 guitar strings. Technically, the mind (which corresponds to the bending of the strings as a sitar or the glissando for a sarod) and the gamak (rapid modulation between two notes) induce a strong tension in the fingers of the musician. To reduce pain, I was tempted to use thinner strings. They were not suitable, the volume was too low and, in addition, they curled. I had even tried a plain bronze string for the G which could allow me to more silently slide. But the string broke regularly. Therefore, it took me over one year to end up with the non-conventional set of strings I am nowadays using: D 62, A 42, D 29 G 22 B 15 E 12.

To improve the bending technique, I have been attracted to hollow out the fretboard of the neck, as it is on a sitar. However, following a fruitful discussion with Roy Chaudury, one of my professors in Delhi, I gave up the idea. We were in 2002 and I was no longer inexperienced in India Classical. It was therefore more beneficial to take advantage of the limitations of my own instrument instead of adapting it over and over.

Second stage

To tense the chikari and the taraf, I opted for a new bridge on the core of the guitar, with a high risk in breaking the table due to the additive tension.

Jacques Vincenti offered me to adapt a mandolin bridge as an alternative.

Mandolin bridge

Djavari on prototype

At this stage, the transformation of the guitar was over. Strings were entering in vibration, in resonance… I was delighted. However, I rapidly felt that I was missing … some sympathetic strings to cover entirely all the notes of a raga on one octave.. Adjusting 7 or 8 sympathetic strings to the guitar was a new challenge. The difficulty was overcome by the use of Banjo machine heads, which have been adapted on the prototype. Two, then three of these machine heads have been fixed in Geneva (CH) and a new Djavari has been adjusted to the guitar in Delhi. This was the completion of the prototype.

At this point, the sit-guitar fulfilled my expectations. Recently, the prototype has been validated by the guitar-maker "Moon" in Scotland (Glasgow), who built a Moon guitar according to the designed prototype and the plans I had made.

Moon

I have chosen the woods, rosewood from Mozambique, pine from Siberia and Ebony. In March 2007, the Liebeskind-Moon guitar has been finalized; it is a "Sit-guitar".

March 2007

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to thank musicians and friends who contributed to this accomplishment. I really enjoyed their critics, comments and suggestions.

I have already mentioned Ajay Das and his father (recently passed away). I always took pleasure in discussing plans, projects and music with them. In the Riki Ram shop, I experienced magical moments. I would like to thank them for their contribution in making the prototype and accepting the challenge.

I would like also to thank Mike Cameron (London) and Michel Fenwick (Geneva), guitar-makers who tuned the instruments few times, adapted the bridges and regularly changed broken nuts. I thank Jacques Vincenti for his contribution and help.

Special thanks to the guitar-maker MOON, and his collaborators, for accepting the challenge and venture.