Tirupati Basic

The Tirupati Basic is a particularly simple, small, light, robust and inexpensive harmonium with a warm sound. It is ideal for on the go, for practicing, as a second instrument for lessons and workshops, as an introduction for children, as a shrutibox replacement, as well as for all those who simply want to try themselves out.

EU: 359 € (incl. bag)
incl. VAT, plus 16.10 € shipping within Germany / 31.10 € within Europe
Non-EU: 301,68 € (incl. bag)
plus 31.10 € shipping within Europe / overseas on request

The Tirupati Basic has only a single set of reeds in the bass register for sound production. This makes it sound less rich, impressive and complex compared to other harmoniums, but still pleasantly soft, warm and full. The absence of extras like a second or third reed set, separate air chambers, drone notes, octave coupler or scale changer makes this harmonium surprisingly light. Despite its small size, it is still relatively easy to play simple chords evenly without getting disturbing volume fluctuations or to play quite softly - after all only a single set of reeds needs air supply. Thanks to the very simple construction without any frills, the Tirupati Basic is also particularly robust. It is certainly not suitable for the big stage, but can be a great friend in everyday life!

"BONUS: One month free online access to comprehensive harmonium teaching material at the Bhakti Breakfast Club with harmonium purchase!" - more info here!

Sound sample Tirupati Basic
- full range
- three-toned chords in the middle register

Features

- 27 simple stick keys
- range of two octaves and one whole tone from G2 to A4
- one reed per note in bass register
- top fold bellows
- cabinet made of pine wood
- removable cover (jali) over key mechanism
- metal handles
- incl. padded bag with shoulder strap

Pine wood is mainly used in the area around Delhi for harmoniums and is much softer than the teak wood used in Mumbai and Kolkata. This is why many pine harmoniums already get small dents or other blemishes during production and transport to Europe - these are caused by the material and are not to be regarded as defects.

Manufacturer / Supplier

TIRUPATI is the international brand name for instruments from Sharma Musicals in Ghaziabad, a neighbouring city of Delhi. Sharma Musicals was founded in 1934 by Jagdish Prasad Sharma and is today one of the leading Indian harmonium makers. The current manager Mayank Sharma runs the business in the fourth generation. Thanks to solid infrastructure, long experience and good quality awareness, Sharma Musicals is a reliable supplier of all harmonium models typical of Delhi and North-West India. In 2014 and the following years, instruments from Sharma Musicals had temporarily been sold in the USA under the name Bhava Harmonium and were recommended by renowned kirtan teacher Daniel Tucker back then. Sharma Musicals is a partner of India Instruments since 2016.

Tuning

In India, our harmoniums are tuned in equal temperament to Western standard pitch with a = 440 hertz. However, due to lower average air temperatures, they often sound slightly higher at a = 441 to 442 hertz in Europe. The difference is so small, that even trained ears do not necessarily notice it. Nevertheless the difference may create problems in studio productions or when playing together with instruments with a tuning that can not easily be adjusted. Therefore we offer individual manual tuning to a = 440 hertz (or any other reference pitch close to that) on request without extra cost. We can also supply custom-made harmoniums with considerably different tunings (e.g. a = 432 hertz). Please contact us if you're interested in that.

Size

Dimensions: height 23 cm, width 39 cm depth 24 cm, weight 4 kg
Each instrument is individually made by hand and may differ from our description.