National Music large C3 432
The shrutibox National Music large C3 432 has a very balanced, warm, full sound, long breath and extra feet. Its tuning to 432 hertz is said to be particularly relaxing and healing.
Some people find the significantly lower tuning to 432 hertz softer and more relaxing or consider it generally more natural, harmonious and healing than the standard tuning to 440 hertz. Since shrutiboxes cannot be re-tuned at will, however, the 432 tuning makes it impossible to play this model together with instruments in standard 440 hertz tuning.
The large bellows allows very precise air supply, making it easy to keep the sound constant, even when up to three notes are played at the same time. In addition, the volume can be varied very widely and finely - from evenly soft and gentle to persistently powerful and loud. The large resonance chamber produces a somewhat fuller overall sound than smaller shrutiboxes.
The Shrutibox National Music large C3 432 has swivelling wooden feet. They make it particularly stable and easy to play with a Bowring foot pedal.
All National Music shrutiboxes have one or two small blemishes - e.g. a scratch, a dent, a small hole in the wood or a nib in the varnish. These individual features are the result of typical Indian handcrafted manufacturing - not defects. They do not affect the sound and playability.
The arrangement of the notes in two rows corresponds to the white and black keys on a harmonium, piano or keyboard. Each of the twelve semitones can be used as a root note. Combined with a fifth or fourth, the result is a full, carrying overall sound.
Sound example National Music large C3, 432 hertz
- Octave in the C major scale
- three-note chords C-E-G
- 13 chromatically tuned notes from c to c' (C3 to C4 in scientific notation)
- reference pitch a' = 432 hertz
- side wings made of plywood with silk-matt laminate surface
- frame, reed base, air intake and feet made of solid teak with matt finish
- handle and transport latches made of metal
- key levers made of plastic
- cardboard bellows with leather seals
- sturdy bag included
National Music India was founded in the 1980s by Parvaze Chowdhury, the son of a harmonium craftsman. Initially, he worked with 2 employees as a subcontractor for well-known harmonium brands in Kolkata. Over the years, the business grew and Parvaze Chowdhury expanded the team and spread the work over several locations. Eventually, the company's own brand National Music India was founded in Balipur, a 3-hour drive west of Kolkata. Today, Parvaze's son Helal Chowdhury runs the company as a large manufacturer of harmoniums and shruti boxes with around 200 employees at 6 locations. Apart from high quality instruments and favourable prices, sustainability and fair pay for employees are also important to him.
This shrutibox is tuned in India in equal temperament to the western concert pitch a' at 432 hertz. For this purpose, metal is ground off at the base of the reeds to lower them from the standard tuning at 440 hertz. We retune them by hand to 432 hertz in our workshop at room temperature around 20 degrees Celsius before despatch.
Shrutiboxes tuned to 432 hertz only sound good together with instruments that are also tuned to 432 hertz. Most stringed instruments, e.g. guitars, can be tuned to 432 hertz. But with many wind instruments and instruments with fixed tuning (e.g. harmonium) this is hardly possible. We therefore recommend buying shrutiboxes tuned to 432 Hertz only after careful consideration.
Measure: 41.5 x 33.5 x 6.9 cm, weight: 5.16 kg
Each instrument is individually hand-crafted and might differ from our description.