WHAT THE FFFFFUUUUUUUUUU SITAR!

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 8:44 am

http://www.thomann.de/gb/italia_guitars ... ar_red.htm

When the fuck did this come back out? These were rare as rocking horse shit at one point.

Zeezee · Post by **Zeezee** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:42 am

[youtube][/youtube]

[youtube][/youtube]

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:15 am

I've always wanted one of those. I remember trying one out in a shop off Tottenham Ct. Rd. in the early '90s which had a price tag of a grand. A year or so later, when the tide had well and truly turned against Britpop and Crispy Mills couldn't get arrested I saw a whole row of them in Macari's with a Â£199 price tag. I'm still kicking myself for not jumping on one (not that I could've afforded to at the time).

[youtube][/youtube]

jcyphe · Post by **jcyphe** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 5:25 pm

I think Sublimedo has one.

ekwatts · Post by **ekwatts** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 6:03 pm

jcyphe wrote:I think Sublimedo has one.

That's sort of like saying one possibly exists somewhere.

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 7:31 pm

jcyphe wrote:I think Sublimedo has one.

He does and I've played it. He's also got a legit sitar.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 9:28 pm

I had a Rogue dano copy that I sold to Hotrodperlmutter I think. It was pretty cool, I kinda miss it, especially after watching that Screaming Trees video.

The sympathetic strings are some bullshit though. Back when I got my sitar I just wanted to get a dano u2 or something and mod it with the sitar bridge. Everyone on this forum including Sublimedo who IIRC was the first to the shortscale sitar party told me that it wouldn't sound as good, and that I NEEDED those sympathetic strings. However I found them completely useless and unnecessary.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Thu Sep 13, 2012 10:16 pm

Nick wrote:I had a Rogue dano copy that I sold to Hotrodperlmutter I think. It was pretty cool, I kinda miss it, especially after watching that Screaming Trees video.

The sympathetic strings are some bullshit though. Back when I got my sitar I just wanted to get a dano u2 or something and mod it with the sitar bridge. Everyone on this forum including Sublimedo who IIRC was the first to the shortscale sitar party told me that it wouldn't sound as good, and that I NEEDED those sympathetic strings. However I found them completely useless and unnecessary.

I can't see how that could possibly be the case. As long as they're tuned in semi-tones across an octave they'll resonate along with every note you play. How could that not be an improvement over a trick bridge of questionable efficacy by itself?

Mo Law-ka · Post by **Mo Law-ka** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:27 am

UlricvonCatalyst wrote:
Nick wrote:I had a Rogue dano copy that I sold to Hotrodperlmutter I think. It was pretty cool, I kinda miss it, especially after watching that Screaming Trees video.

The sympathetic strings are some bullshit though. Back when I got my sitar I just wanted to get a dano u2 or something and mod it with the sitar bridge. Everyone on this forum including Sublimedo who IIRC was the first to the shortscale sitar party told me that it wouldn't sound as good, and that I NEEDED those sympathetic strings. However I found them completely useless and unnecessary.
I can't see how that could possibly be the case. As long as they're tuned in semi-tones across an octave they'll resonate along with every note you play. How could that not be an improvement over a trick bridge of questionable efficacy by itself?

They may be tuned to each semi-tone, but in my similar experience, they're too taut to really start vibrating sympathetically like on a real sitar.

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 1:43 am

Because it's not an acoustic instrument. It's a thinline electric, with already weak lipstick single coil pickups. Say the strings ARE resonating with the main 6....in order to actually hear them underneath what you're playing you would have to play games with the volumes of the sympathetic string pickup, the main pickups, and your amp level. Not to mention the fact that the sitar bridge is basically a mute, and that by its very design does not evenly affect every string on every fret in the same way...I think the sympathetic strings would probably resonate better if used on a guitar with a standard bridge that resonates better with more sustain.

There are pretty much two uses for the electric sitar...pretending it's a real sitar and trying to do open drone stuff (which I just couldn't get into because it lacks the sustain of a real one), and playing 60's bubblegum and/or psychedelic leads (which is what I more/less used mine for). In the case of the latter, there is really no use for the sympathetic strings.

UlricvonCatalyst · Post by **UlricvonCatalyst** » Fri Sep 14, 2012 6:52 am

Well the one time I played one (unplugged) it seemed as if the sympathetic strings added something, but maybe I was just hearing the effect of the mute bridge. Either way, if I was shelling out for an 'electric sitar' I'd definitely opt for one with the resonators. The demo video above sure sounds better than I've ever heard the Danelectro one sounding.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 9:39 am

we were just talking about the rogue, nick! and you're right, i have to have the main output lower to hear the strangz over the regular jams.

however, in issues with sustain, i like to crank that reverb and add a little delay, and GET DRONED

paul_ · Post by **paul_** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 7:20 pm

hotrodperlmutter wrote:we were just talking about the rogue, nick!

I WAS THERE

Sublimedo · Post by **Sublimedo** » Wed Sep 19, 2012 10:33 pm

Mo makes that sitar look normal-sized. Rochelle got me that Italia for my birthday! Awesome instrument but, like mentioned before, you really have to play with your pickup mix to make those sympathetic strings come out.A little compression can help. The only other small complaint about it is the finish on the neck. It's satin but it basically feels like bare wood leaving me wanting to clear coat it sometime with a gloss finish at some point.

hotrodperlmutter · Post by **hotrodperlmutter** » Thu Sep 20, 2012 5:47 am

paul_ wrote:
hotrodperlmutter wrote:we were just talking about the rogue, nick!
I WAS THERE

I WAS THERE WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT LRC PUTTING THAT GOTOH BRIDGE ON LIKE A MUSTANG OR NOHO OR WHAtEVER NEVERMIND