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A friend of mine just lent me his Jerry Jones master electric sitar
for our new CD (recording is happenin' as we speak). I love the way
it sounds, but can't justify buying one (expensive). Has anyone
tried to convert a guitar to one? I figure all I need is a buzz
bridge (piece of plastic that goes under the strings at the bridge)
to get the sound (without the 13 sympathetic strings, of
course...more like the baby sitar). One of my old Danos would
probabley work, but I need a buzz bridge, or come up with something
similar. Any suggestions?
Mike
here's a link to the sitars:
I hope no one hates me, but...the Line 6 Variax has a Coral Sitar
modeled among its two dozen or so different "guitars." I have a
friend who plays classical acoustic and jazz, and he was so
stoked when he heard the sitar that he immediately asked if he
could borrow my Variax for some gigs.
For about $800, it's no bargain unless you figure you like the
tone of all the other models. I hate to admit it, but I really love this
guitar, despite owning a very nice Ja
guar and an ES-335 type. I
play my Line 6 all the time, especially
when practicing o
r learning new tunes
.
It's well worth a listen just be sure to match the various tone
s
to the right amp, or the right amp settings or you can get so
me
pretty weird stu
f
f
!
Ga
v
i
n
Has anyone tried to convert a guitar to
one?
Any suggestions?
I also dig the sound of the Jerry Jones Sitar. There is another model
without the "sympathetic strings" that is fairly reasonably priced
under $400. The sympathetic strings are not really sympathetic. You
can strum them like an autoharp, but they do not vibrate in sympathy
the way a sitar does. Maybe if the were strung diagonally under the
main six strings they would, but I see them mostly as a waste. The
bridge, on the other hand, is the only thing that is actually
sitar-like in principle. I've never found a commercially available
"buzz bridge", but if you are handy, they are not to difficult to
craft. If I was going to make one, I would use hard maple or maybe
even lignum vitae. You would have to figure out a way to mount the
bridge on the guitar you were adapting, but the principle is simply a
wide, gently sloping plateau. The break under the string is not a
sharp point, but gradually falls away. I have often thought that you
could get there by modifying one of the graph tech replacement saddles
for Jags, and JMs to add more of a slope to achieve the buzz, but,
they are expensive to experiment with. BTW, Jeff Beck got his sitar
buzz on, Heart Full of Soul, by filing the nut, instead of the bridge.
--- In , "urbansurfkings"
<surfkings@h...> wrote:
> A friend of mine just lent me his Jerry Jones master electric sitar
> for our new CD (recording is happenin' as we speak). I love the way
> it sounds, but can't justify buying one (expensive). Has anyone
> tried to convert a guitar to one? I figure all I need is a buzz
> bridge (piece of plastic that goes under the strings at the bridge)
> to get the sound (without the 13 sympathetic strings, of
> course...more like the baby sitar). One of my old Danos would
> probabley work, but I need a buzz bridge, or come up with something
> similar. Any suggestions?
>
> Mike
>
> here's a link to the sitars:
>
>
>
>
