Paloma Large
The shrutibox Paloma large is a heavier box with a particularly balanced, warm, full sound and unmatched dynamic range. The unique bamboo look, silk mat surfaces and fine workmanship make this a truly exquisite instrument.
The large frame provides a much larger bellows volume as compared to smaller models, which permits an accurate dosing of air supply. Triple bellows on both sides give it an even bigger bellows volume than the large shrutibox from Monoj Kumar Sardar. In this way, the sound can be kept constant without any effort or prior practice even when up to four notes are played simultaneously. Moreover, the volume can be varied wider and finer than in any other of our shrutiboxes from whispering tender and low to constantly powerful loud. The larger resonating chamber provides for a somewhat fuller overall sound. Despite its larger dimensions and heaviness, Paloma's shrutibox large can still be taken around easily. Only if you have to carry a lot of other stuff and if you are travelling by public transport or by foot, shape and weight might become inconvenient.
Sound sample Paloma large
- octave in C major scale
- three-note chord C-G-E
13 chromatically tuned notes from c to c' (C3 to C4 in scientific terms); completely made of solid teak wood; surfaces with silk mat varnish; valves and latch made of solid teak wood as well; valves with leather blockings; bellows made of cardboard with leather valves; return spring for bellows; including sturdy bag with shoulder strap.
Shrutiboxes are not always tuned to Western a = 440 Hertz. In many cases they are set slightly higher to a = 442 Hertz. However, bigger variations up or down can occur as well. This can cause problems in playing together with Western instruments with fixed tuning (e.g. piano). IF YOU INTEND USING YOUR SHRUTIBOX IN A CONTEXT WHICH REQUIRES EXACT TUNING ACCORDING TO A SPECIFIC WESTERN STANDARD, PLEASE MENTION SO IN YOUR ORDER! We'll be glad to select or tune your shrutibox according to your requirements.
Paloma is the international brand name for instruments made by Haribhau Vishwanath from Mumbai (formerly Bombay). Haribhau Vishwanath was founded in 1925 as a small repair business and developed into one of the leading Indian harmonium manufacturers in the course of decades. In addition, Haribhau Vishwanath makes shrutiboxes, santoors, swarmandals and some drums. Haribhau Vishwanath is also an active musical instrument trader and supplies us with some rarely demanded instruments where a direct purchase from the manufacturer is not profitable. Thanks to his good infrastructure and long experience with instrument manufacturing, trading and international shipping, Haribhau currently supplies all common harmonium models and many other instruments constantly in a high quality regarding workmanship. In addition, he excels through attractive innovations, like e.g. the harmonium Compactina or a particular silk-mat finish. Haribhau Vishwanath is a partner of India Instruments since 2005. Today the company is run by Ashish Diwane.
By default we deliver all shrutiboxes (except the Triple) with 13 chromatically tuned notes from c to c' (that is to say, C3 to C4 in scientific terms). Each of the twelve halftones occurs at least once in this range and in order to achieve a full overall sound, an additional fifth or fourth up or down can be played together with each note, offering multiple possibilities of tonics and harmonies, which are fully sufficient for most fields of music.
On request, however, we deliver chromatically tuned shrutiboxes set to any other tonic as well - that means, also in g, g#, a, a# or b. For this purpose, we manually retrofit the respective shrutibox individually with a complete new set of reeds for the required pitch. The order of sound valves is kept in this procedure, so that the upper and lower row do not correspond to the black and white keys of the keyboard any more. The notes remain in chromatic halfsteps though, ascending from left to right, thus still comprising a complete octave.
This unique service is free of charge and interesting for all musicians who play the shrutibox regularly in a different tonic than c and wish to enjoy the particularly full drone of tonic, fifth and high octave - e.g. to accompany bamboo flutes and, of course, for singing and chanting in the individual's tonic. Such alternative tonics are all below the octave of our standard tonic c. These tonics are therefore also interesting for all musicians seeking a deeper, warmer overall sound.
Even user-defined customized tonics for new and also for existing shrutiboxes are feasible. Please let us know your requests - we will gladly make you an offer!
Measure: 40.5 x 30.5 x 6.5 cm, weight: 3.3 kg
Each instrument is individually hand-crafted and might differ from our description.