Sur-O-Jhankar Male Tanpura
The male tanpura of Sur-O-Jhankar is a precious brand instrument. It is a relatively light weight and thin-walled tanpura, thus sounding not only full, powerful and rich in overtones but also particularly warm, deep and earthy
The plainly decorated, dark appearance with a yellowish pumpkin sound-box gives a very traditional and slightly archaic look compared to modernly styled instruments. The quality of material and workmanship however, are in accordance with the highest Indian standard. A tonic around C to D is common.
Sound sample played on one of our Sur-O-Jhankar male tanpura.
Toon wood, horn bridge, four strings, high-gloss polished shellac surfaces, dark stained, pumpkin sound box, engraved celluloid inlays.
The string vibration on the bridge (and thus the audible overtones) depends upon the curve of the bridge and the tension, thickness and material of the strings. A thread between the string and the bridge allows subtle manipulations of the contact angle. By moving the thread position the buzz of each string can be adjusted individually.
SUR-O-JHANKAR is a traditional, little known small tanpura maker from Calcutta with whom India Instruments got into contact in the year 2000 via a student of Pandit Jasraj. His male tanpuras are exceptionally big and have an especially full, dark and earthy sound. Their plainly decorated, dark appearance seems very traditional and slightly archaic compared to modernly styled instruments. We carry only male tanpuras of Sur-O-Jhankar, because of their unique sound quality.
Measure: length: 145 cm, width: 45 cm, depth: 39 cm, diapason: 102 cm, weight: 3.7 kg
Each instrument is individually hand-crafted and might differ from our description.