Rikhiram
Rikhiram Free Shipping less than 5Kg OR on a minimum order of Rs. 20,000/- (valid for PAN India)
Passion for Perfection
Rikhi Ram - The Original Store
Rikhiram
Contact Support

Faqs

Q1) What is the difference between Tun wood sitar & Teak wood sitar?

Sitars are preferably made either from Cedar wood or Teak wood. Cedar wood comparatively to teak wood is less dense and has its own personality of tone. Teak wood on the other hand is more dense & oily and produces its own unique tonal quality. Professional Musicians have both wood sitars for optional tonal quality.

Q2) What is the difference between Artist & Professional quality Sitars?

The Artist model sitar is made from wood seasoned for 4 to 5 yrs and made by young artisan who are learning how to make the sitar from us, where as the Professional sitars are made from wood seasoned for 8 to 9 yrs and carefully crafted by artisan, with top quality workmanship & who have been making sitars for many years. The Professional sitars have a much more matured and melodious sound & is very easy in playing.

Q3) How to repair minor cracks in sitar?

To repair a crack in the tumba, kindly arrange sand dust & mix it with wood glue & make a paste out of it. Apply the right amount of paste to the damaged area, clamp the area & leave it for drying. When the paste dries, sand it to make it smooth. Use French Shellac to polish & finish this area.

Q4) What is the difference between Mohan Veena & Shankar Veena?

Shankar Veena is shaped like a guitar and the whole body including the neck is hollow. It has 9 main strings and 11 sympathetic. It has fret marking & is played with a slide & the tone is close to the sound of  a traditional veena.
Mohan Veena is a modified western guitar which has sympathetic strings. The acoustic box is hollow and the neck is solid. There are 9 main strings and 11 sympathetic strings. It has fret markings & is played with a slide. The tone is a mixture of sound of western lap guitar & a traditional Veena.

Q5) Why Rikhi Ram instruments are special?

The musical instruments built at Rikhi Ram Originals, are carefully crafted from raw timber into a master piece, wafting out beautiful & rich sound and tone.

There are many factors involved in building a fine quality musical instrument, starting from seasoning of wood. The best way of seasoning the wood is the natural process by leaving the wood for seasoning for 3 to 4 years for semi-professional models and average 10 yrs for professional models.

After seasoning the wood the most important aspect we keep in mind is to put in our 3 generations of expertise of workmanship in crafting out the best musical instrument whether the strings, wind or percussion instrument.

Among the string instruments the sitar is the most complex & popular instrument. We were the first ones to categorize & standardize the sitar models according to the specifications decided along with the great maestros. Earlier Pt. Ravi Shankar style sitar and Ustad Vilayat Khan style sitars were the two styles made by us. Now recently we have standardised & started making Pt.Nikhil Banerjee and Ustad Shahid Parvez style sitars also.

The body structure of sitar & other string instruments are made according to a carefully designed measurement as per different style. The measurements are very important & the guage of the wood go hand in hand to produce a good tonal sound instrument.

While constructing the instrument it is very important to fix the joints perfectly for attaining a stable tuning.

The polish used by us is the best quality French Shellac in spirit base which helps in giving a warm and rich sound. We do not use the Varnish or Polyurethane material which gives a high gloss finish but completely kills the sound.

The Bridge, Frets, Nut & Pegs fitting of sitar & string instruments is very carefully done to provide the player a very smooth playing of meend, tans & jhala. Our sitars have the capacity to give the players a five note meend from one fret, without disturbing the tuning.

The strings used by us are made as per our specifications by string manufacturers in USA. We use steel strings of high tensile strength & high carbon steel which are tin & silver plated. The phosphorous strings are also of high tensile strength.

The bridges used earlier by musicians were made from camel Bone or Deer horn. But we have designed the new synthetic bridges which not only give the same warm & balanced sound as the bone bridges but also do not cut easily & are more long lasting. The curvature of the bridge, which is a deciding factor in giving a beautiful sounding instrument, is our family lineage secret. The filing of the bridge is done according to the particular style being played by the musician.

It is all the above expertise in workmanship & structure that contributes to make a balanced instrument which gives a warm, bright and rich tone.

Q6) How will you pack my order?

Whenever we receive an order for shipment of instrument, we first get a wooden packing crate made as per the size of the case of the instrument. The instrument case containing the instrument is first bubble wrapped & then fitted in the wooden crate. The wooden crate is first layered with bubble wrap & corrugated sheets & then filled with fillers & it is made sure that the bubble wrapped instrument case does not move in the wooden crate. Sometime we even nail bracing around the instrument case (particularly for sitar case) so that it does not move in the wooden crate at all. Once the instrument case is fit snugly, it is covered with corrugated sheet & bubble wrap. The top of the wooden crate is then nailed down. The Consignor & Consignee names are written on top of the case.
We use DHL for International & Aramex for Domestic shipments.

To check our packing criteria click Here »

Q7) What are the different type of bridges used in sitar?

Earlier Deer horn & Camel bone bridges were used on the sitar. They used to wear out very fast & needed frequent jawari work done on them. Ebony wood bridges are also used. Pt. Bishan Dass came out with Delrin bridges, which are very strong & don’t wear out very fast. They do not require frequent work on them & produce a very warm sound.

Q8) How much time does it take to ship my order?

Order on Rikhi Ram Originals:-

A) If product available in stock;
     i) product will go through rigorous quality check.
    ii) product will be packed carefully in packing box.
   iii) packed product will be shipped within 15-20 working days.

B) If ordered product not available in stock, then;
    i) ordered product will be made ready in 2-3 weeks.
   ii) ordered product will go through rigorous quality check.
  iii) product will be packed carefully in packing box.
  iv) packing product will be shipped within 10 working days.

Q9) Does the instrument price include all custom duties?

The instrument price includes the cost of the instrument with case, Packing box, Packing charges, Agent's & Banker's charges, Fumigation & Air freighting. The custom duties of the respective country have to be borne by the customer.

Q10) What are the payment terms?

You can pay us using any one of the following payment methods:

Pay us via Net banking, Wire transfer, Credit cards, Debit cards or via our online payment gateway. Over 95% of our customers use this option as it is fast and secure.

A/c Name: : RIKHI RAM MUSICAL INSTRUMENT MFG.CO.
Bank Name : ICICI Bank
9A,Phelps,
Connaught Place
New Delhi-110001
Bank A/c : 000705036111
Banker's Bank Swift code : ICICINBB007