Dieter Zarnitz Hybrid-Sitar

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Before Dieter started making his own sitars in 1988 he experimented on Indian sitars. This one he got sometimes in the early 70ies. He was never too happy with it so he started to dismantle it completely and restructured it to his liking. This is what it looks and sounds like now.

SPECIFICATIONMEASUREMENT
Total length121 cm
Scale length83 cm
Bridge height2.6 cm
String height over last fret12,5 mm
Neck width9 cm
Tabli diameter32.5 cm
Toomba circumference104 cm
Weight2.4 kg (without upper tumba)
Meend range (at C# tuning)S → P ; P → R (higher)
The soundholes and wood inlays are Dieters addition. It is set up as Kharaj Pancham with one of Dieters bridges made from elforyn
Solid one-piece ebony pegs along with a massive upper gourd make it slightly top-heavy
A capped neck-end
This huge upper resonator was added later by Dieter. He sealed the inside with some epoxy (?) substance to make it stronger
On most sitars the upper resonator doesn´t add much in terms of sound. This one stands out. One of the most effective upper gourds I have heard
Matyas Sitar