MKS has a different design philosophy from some of the Panjab-based makers; it’s not necessarily wrong, it’s just different. The first is the 6 main strings business. MKS claims that this gives better tone, but with 20 sympathetic strings, you won’t notice if 2 main strings are removed. I found that there was too much crowding with the 6 strings making it impossible to isolate the second string. Their bridges are fairly flat, so chances are you’ll need to remove a couple. You may also have to reposition one or two of the remaining strings along the bridge (I moved the second string over towards string 3). This has not caused the bridge to shift in any way that sacrifices tone.

The other problem is that MKS tends to place the main string painfully high off the frets—about 2 cm at high Ga! If you have built up calluses, this might not be a problem for you. But ideally the string should only be about 1 cm from the fret at taar Ga. After I lowered the main string about 1 cm, I had trouble isolating this string at taar Re & Ga. This is why I scooted the second string over—now I can go back to my sloppy playing.

Both of these issues can be handled with one simple tool: a guitar nut file. Guitars often need work, too, so don’t be surprised if your Dilruba needs some tweeking. I ordered a 0.032 inch Nut Slotting File from Stewart-MacDonald for $12.95. This works great for all the different gauges on a Dilruba.

A third issue for me was one of the tarabs on the jawari bridge hit a fret. My teacher removed the jawari bridge and problem solved without any changes in the quality of sound.

I’m very happy with my MKS Dilruba now. It’s built extremely well and should last a long time.

You might also consider the Raj Academy approved models at Raj Musicals. These are built with much higher standards (or at least standards!) to detail. I’ve recently seen several of these and they do seem to be ready to go out of the box. They were louder than I expected and have a nice tone. They’re very light weight and made out of really thin toon wood; I don’t know if this is a good thing or a bad thing! They aren’t necessarily built to last “forever” though–maybe 6 to 8 years. For some reason, they don’t put a protective strip of leather between the skin and the bridge. Maybe this is why they’re so loud, but it probably shortens their life as well. I do like the larger, heavier horse-hair bow that they come with. You can pay by credit card at RM if you go through Western Union.

Another possibility it to just order a cheapy off of Ebay, because no matter what you order and how much you spend, you’ll probably have to futz around with it a bit. You could end up with something that sounds perfectly fine and you’ll learn a lot about the instrument in the process of working on it. I’m thinking of going this route with an Esraj.

Good luck!

ideally – you get to try before you buy like Lisa mentioned. in which case the individual instrument will convince you – the brand doesn’t matter.

if you can’t – then my recommendations still stand. the feedback i’ve been getting from people who have bought from MKS has been good.

When you’re dealing with shops from india -(even MKS)- Know exactly what you want and be strong when communicating with them.
If they try to convince you otherwise .. tell them to put your order on hold while you check elsewhere.
You can’t be humble or innocent when talking to them – they’ll walk all over you .

Regards,
Manav

I am considering buying an esraj or dilruba from one of the sources mentioned in the discussion (Raj Musicals, DMS, MKS, etc.). Since you first posted your recommendations almost 2 years ago, I was wondering if you still hold the same view toward those companies and their products or if it has changed since then. Also, are there any new sources you would recommend today?

Thanks,
Ross

The moral: if possible, go try them out in person or order from a music store that specializes in Indian instruments and has their own quality control…and ask a lot of questions! You’ll pay a premium for this, but if you’re new to string instruments like me and want to avoid fixer-uppers (for now), it’s a good way to go. Ask them to through in a hard case and tabla ring for free.

The only quirky thing about my dilruba is the sympathetic string closest to the Jawari strings hits the last fret (welcome to Indian instruments). It’s not a deal breaker, though; I damped that string for now, and it still sounds great!

As a new player, I feel stuck in the middle. On the one hand, I need a good instrument because I can’t correct an “off” one, but on the other hand I many not be a good enough musician for the difference between a good instrument and a great one to show.

I also have a dil ruba, i bought mine from
GURDIAL SINGH & SONS , they are in jalander close to phagwara gate i think ther the best ones out there.

The honeycomb thing is an idea from another Luthier’s site – which I read quite some time ago.

Here is another interesting idea for a bridge : http://www.dennishavlena.com/acoustic.htm
I can’t guarantee it will work very well on the dilruba , but it looks like it would be quite “safe” for the skin.

Good luck,
GurFateh.

Thanks alot for the advice Manav.

I’ve managed to get a nice piece of ebony and am planning to start making my bridge tomorrow.

When I bought my dilruba last year it came with a bridge that needed alot of work and I followed advice from the following link :

http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/dilruba/dilruba_bridge.html

which I’m sure your familiar with, and patterned my bridge on that one. After the work my dilruba was making the most beautifull sound. Sadly it fell and broke.

I think I am going to make 2 different ones this time. One based on my previous design and one based on the honeycomb pattern that you describe. I’ve also see that myself on other types of bridges.

I’ll let you know how things go and what I find that the difference to be between the bone I had and the ebony I will be using.

Waheguru ji ka Khalsa
Waheguru ji ki fatheh