Thinking about buying a sitar? If you are lost with the lots of information about it in the net this blog will help you making you understand which aspects you need to analize for buying a good sitar on-line.
It is not easy at all to choose where to buy a sitar in the net. When looking for “buy sitar” in google there appear to be a lot of sites offering “professional” instruments of unknown origin and quality.
First of all we should analize the information given in each site, and even test the knowledge of the seller contacting them by e-mail.
Despite the huge offer of sites you can find at a first glance there really are no more than 3-4 online shops were you can really buy a professional sitar.
Most of the dealers that can be found in the net are not musicians or have not a proper knowledge of Indian classical music and its instruments.Treating the instruments they sell as mere goods and having not a professional opinion of their quality , they usually sell mass produced instruments under the label “professional” just to attract the most demanding customers.
The price:
A profesional sitar is not cheap. The price of a truly professional sitar varies from 1000 to 2000€, but be aware of buying it in the right place, or you can pay the same amount for a low quality instrument.
The maker:
Another matter concerning the quality of the instrument is the maker. In that case, you should be aware of the following trick: many makers are known to take advantage of the good reputation of their name so they sell medium quality instruments at a hugely increased price.
There are well known sitar brands that can be found in many online shops, this fact makes us understand that even these makers are mass producing to be able to cover the demand of many requests, and in most of the cases the sitar maker does not even participate in the making process. A maker who is really working in every instrument cannot cover a big demand of various shops, moreover, a good maker will work only for custom made orders as this is the traditional way it has been for centuries in India: the instrument is done according to the specific needs and desires of the musician, so it cannot be found on stock in any shop.
The shipment:
The shipment is another very important matter to care about: preferably avoid indian mail. In Ebay and other similar sites it is commonly used but, though it is the cheapest mean,it can be risky. Doing a fast research in the net you will realize that in many cases people have received a damaged instrument and have not got any refund or compensation, having contracted a cheap shipment without knowing the conditions. Our advice in this case is: read carefully and ask which guarantee the shipment contracted offers in case of damage or lost. As it is said: save a penny spend a dollar.
Our advice:
Sitarsencat is one of the best Indian musical instruments shop in the net. It is not only a source of vaste information abput Indian music, but offers also a huge variety of instruments, mainly sitars. Their Varanasi series sitars are 100% professional quality custom made instruments, at reasonable prices.
They have many own designs but they are also ready to work on your proposal if you want to design your own sitar (having a detailed section, very helpful, for Sitar Custom works) or you have any project in mind.
Regarding the shipment, they offer the possiblity of contracting a shipment by prívate agency, with insurance, for sending instruments worlwide. Sitarsencat is sincerely the best choice if you want the best quality.
buying a professional sitar online 
