Sitar Bridges?

[Rigel7]

Hey gang,
I was day dreaming, which is a terrible thing I know, and thinking about slapping a Dano/Coral Sitar bridge on a Tele body... and that led me to this:
https://www.musicstore.com/en_OT/EUR/Goeldo-TLSIT-Tele-Sitar-Bridge-Saddles-Gold-/art-GIT0001186-057
Anytime I find them online they seem to be "out of stock" (granted, I've only just found out about them)
Any one know if these stopped being made, or maybe if there are other "sitar" ideas out there.
Thanks friends!

 

[Boreas]

I ain't THAT impressed, but I suppose technique accounts for a lot.

 

[Rigel7]

I ain't THAT impressed, but I suppose technique accounts for a lot.

Yeah, I saw this one too. But the appeal was it seemed easy to build around than the Dano bridge.

 

[Boreas]

Yeah, I saw this one too. But the appeal was it seemed easy to build around than the Dano bridge.

That is certainly a consideration. I wonder if .008s or so would work better? I would think you would want strings that bend easily and are buzzy to begin with. It would be interesting to fiddle with.

 

[That Cal Webway]

Gotoh makes a 1 pc sitar bridge.

The G string area is forward, wound G string friendly,
so non-wound G strings would need the bridge filed back in that area.

 

[jvin248]

.

You'll want to install a low output goldfoil style pickup, set the pickup height really low to weaken the magnets further, and you'll get closer to the real tone you are chasing.

.

 

[Bulldoggio]

I have a set of those saddles. i never could get them set up to work worth a ....

 

[Antoon]

I have a set of those saddles. i never could get them set up to work worth a ....

Yes me too. Really difficult to get that sitar sound out of them. Probably easier to just buy a Dano baby sitar.

 

[RickyRicardo]

Cut the nut wrong and omit a string tree and it's easy to get that sound...

 

[Stratified]

I've tried 3 different sitar bridges, the Gotoh (Danelectro copy), the Sitarizer (like the first on in this thread, and the Eyb (an expensive German handmade item).

The Gotoh has issues with setting up properly, because the path for each string on the bridge surface is fluted in a parallel fashion, in addition to the appropriate sitar curve. Since the nut is more narrow than the bridge, some strings rub the side of the flute and don't buzz well. My plan is to use an 8 string neck with a nut width closer to the bridge width.

The Sitarizer is hard to setup well, because as you press the string down on a fret the angle of the string as it crosses the bridge surface (which is almost flat) changes, so the quality of the buzz varies as you fret higher up the neck. You might be able to minimize this issue with a very straight neck and very low action (less string angle change when fretting). I tried using in an old beater tele from spare parts, so I need to try again a good tele with a good fret level.

The Eyb is expensive and is intonate-able (individually adjustable saddles), so I have high hopes for it. I got the model that replaces a tune-o-matic bridge. Turns out it made for post spacing for a Nashville bridge, while I have guitars with ABR and Korean TOM post spacing. I'm working on making a guitar body for a Nashville bridge that I can switch out the Eyb bridge. Probably would have been easier if I had bought the Tele bridge replacement model.

 

[Peegoo]

Tape a piece of aluminum foil to the strings right near the bridgesaddles.

Poor-man's sitar, and it actually records pretty well.

 

[billy logan]

Cut an aluminum Budweiser can sideways. Throw away the top and bottom.Slice open and flatten most of the curve. Trial and error shaping it and putting it under the strings to get the right amount of buzzy contact close to the saddle.

Doesn't work with Miller.

I'll have to spare-a-ment with Peegoo's idea, post #11

 

[radiocaster]

Gotoh makes a 1 pc sitar bridge.

The G string area is forward, wound G string friendly,
so non-wound G strings would need the bridge filed back in that area.

The strings fit in the troughs, not the peaks.I don't think perfect intonation is the goal when you want buzz. But I see your point, the unwound G is usually further back than the D.

I know someone who has the Danelectro Baby Sitar. It sounded and felt like it still needed a bit more adjusting, so there is a bit of work on all the models.


But based on what I read on the internet, you also need the neck radius to be like on a Danelectro, which is 14", completely non-standard on other guitars.

 

[Rigel7]

Cut the nut wrong and omit a string tree and it's easy to get that sound...

Haha!

 

[radiocaster]

I've been thinking about this a lot. I actually got my SX so I could get those saddles. I don;t regret it, it's a great guitar.

But listening to all those demos of the Eyb bridge (and there are lots), I came to the conclusion that I don't really like how metallic it sounds, which would likely apply to the Goeldo one as well. A real sitar does not use a metal bridge, although some other Indian instruments do.

The Gotoh bridge sounds more pleasant, even if not like a real sitar.


Maybe not that great, I also found that there is a diy circuit called the "Jawari", you can buy a pc board and make one cheap.

 

[Rigel7]

I've been thinking about this a lot. I actually got my SX so I could get those saddles. I don;t regret it, it's a great guitar.

But listening to all those demos of the Eyb bridge (and there are lots), I came to the conclusion that I don't really like how metallic it sounds, which would likely apply to the Goeldo one as well. A real sitar does not use a metal bridge, although some other Indian instruments do.

The Gotoh bridge sounds more pleasant, even if not like a real sitar.


Maybe not that great, I also found that there is a diy circuit called the "Jawari", you can buy a pc board and make one cheap.

Now that's cool!

 

[Stratified]

But listening to all those demos of the Eyb bridge (and there are lots), I came to the conclusion that I don't really like how metallic it sounds, which would likely apply to the Goeldo one as well. A real sitar does not use a metal bridge, although some other Indian instruments do.

The Gotoh bridge sounds more pleasant, even if not like a real sitar.

Re metallic sound: a few years ago, Eyb began using bone inserts in the metal bridge "saddles." You may not be able to tell whether the demo you listened to used an original design with an all metal saddle, or the one with bone insert.

 

[Stratified]

Re metallic sound: a few years ago, Eyb began using bone inserts in the metal bridge "saddles." You may not be able to tell whether the demo you listened to used an original design with an all metal saddle, or the one with bone insert.

For comparison, a pic of the earlier saddle style.

Also, even if the gotoh has a better tone, it may be useless if you can't intonate, and you can't get consistent buzz between all strings.

I have been thinking of a fixed intonation design using six saddles made of bone but glued to a base, sort of the way an intonated wood jazz archtop bridge has fixed intonation.

 

[Boreas]

BUMP

Any updates on sitar bridges? I am gettin' a hankerin' for a winter project. Any ideas how much the EYB costs?

 

[Stratified]

The Eyb website has a PDF of their 2021 pricelist. Sitar bridges range from 120-140 Euros. The websites mentions there is a longer than usual time to ship (probably a Covid/supply chain issue). You might keep an eye out on ebay/reverb. One that sold on reverb had a $75 asking price.