Fixit UAE specializes in expertly repairing and setting up classical instruments such as Sitar Repair, Surbahars, Rudra Veenas, Tamburas, etc. We also do limited repair work on other classical instruments such as Saraswati Veena, Sarod, Santor, Dilruba, Esraj, and Sarangi.
There is a special sensitivity to a new Sitar Repair. After all, that wood is transformed into a musical instrument, it takes time for it to adapt. Those strings tuned up to pitch are going to pull the neck up – but keep in mind that there is a lot of tension on the neck. When setting up his final setup, constructing his bridgework, and placing his frets, a good maker will consider this. Well, you never know how much you have to tighten in the first few months or even the first year. All it takes is a tiny movement and all the frets are gone, and the beautiful jawari is flat.
Sitar Repair by Fixit UAE
As a result, we restring each of our new sitars completely before playing them. According to us, our wire is better than the wire available in Dubai. Our wire is in high demand by visiting musicians who stock up. The “jawari” must be checked and redone as necessary.
Jawari literally means “glimmering” or “jewel-like”. The curved bridge of a sitar, or tempura, produces that characteristic buzzing sound. The angle and shape of that curve determine the sound the string gives, and thus the character of the whole instrument. The jawari’s art of filing the bridge into the right shape requires years of practice.
We are fortunate to have Fixit UAE Godden working on our Sitar Repair. Fixit UAE learned the art of jawari and instrument repair from his father, Brian Godden, who was our mechanic for many years. Over the past 10 years, Fixit UAE has worked on hundreds of sitars day in and day out, perfecting his craft. He inspects every new sitar we sell and performs any necessary jawari cleaning.
WHAT WE DO IN SITAR REPAIR SERVICE?
We set most new sitars with a “half-open” jawari. This allows them to break and sound well and last a while. A very open jawari may sound good at first but can wear out quickly. We will fulfill any customer request for a specific jawari, for example, the “Nikhil Banerjee” style, which is a bit more closed.
RE-STRINGING
We can restring your sitar repair with the best steel and bronze strings available. Not only do we completely restring your sitar, but we also make sure the instrument is in tune and the frets are properly aligned.
JAWARI
When you play the sitar, the strings that rest on the jawari (bridge) cut into the surface of the jawari over time. This damage affects the sustain and clarity of the sitar. We have many years of experience filling, grinding, and reshaping the sitar jawari to achieve the best possible sound on any sitar.
RE-TIEING FRETS
The frets of the sitar are bound with silk thread and may wear, loosen or fall off over time. We can re-bind the frets and use high-quality silk thread sourced from Kolkata.
CHIKARI POST SITAR REPAIR
The chikari posts are made of bone and allow the chikari strings to fit into the tuning pegs while maintaining the same height as the rest of the top player strings. It is very common for these posts to break so that the chikari strings can no longer produce sound. We can drill out the broken chikari pin and replace it with a new one that is cut specifically for the sitar.
TUNING PEG REPAIR
We have many replacement parts, including both tuning pegs for the main string and tuning pegs for the resonating string. We can easily replace broken pegs with new ones that are custom ground to fit the sitar.