- Nov 23 Nov, 2016
It’s surprising how man learned to make rhythm and began using the paraphernalia around him to create what we today know, as ‘music’. Considering Indian music, both Hindustani and Carnatic, developed in the 14th century; albeit in the same country but in such uniquely diverse ways, we’ve had about 6 centuries to perfect the art of making instruments.
Interestingly, with Indian Instruments, as the musical prowess increased, the number of instruments and the miscellany grew. And the fascinating array of Indian instruments was born. Slowly good instruments grew more and more scarce and were confined to pockets of specific Indian territories.
For instance, one has to travel to Rajasthan to get hold of the best Sarangis and to Thanjavur to acquire an excellent Thavvil. Mridangams are limited to Tamil Nadu and Dholkis to Maharashtra. Dholaks and Dhols, since used very widely in temples and other folk forms of music, may be easily found across India. One might have to hunt across India for luthiers who can make Sitars and Veenas that have deep resonant sounds. Some of these artisans have made it to Metros like Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai etc. but they end up having to cut corners which ultimately affects the quality of the instruments, or having to sell them at exorbitant rates which aren’t affordable to the student or the part-time musician.
With Ultimate Guru Music, quality is of prime importance. The aim is to supply good quality Indian instruments to customers. A major difficulty with Indian instruments being the sourcing and quality assurance. Hence, Ultimate Guru Music ensures best quality at affordable prices.
At Ultimate Guru Music, our prime motive is to inspire as well as educate, musicians and music lovers all over the world. We seek to achieve this by blending the best in available modern technology and musical heritage. In keeping with this goal, we bring to you, the Ultimate Guru line of Indian Instruments. Ultimate Guru was born to a fraternity of percussionists, vocalists and performance artists. Hence we entirely understand the need for exceptional quality musical instruments. Given the profit in selling average quality instruments, duplicitous dealings are rife within the industry, as is anywhere else. A trained musician may understand the intricacies of the differences between good and average quality instruments, but students wont. Moreover, sometimes, an average quality instrument may sound great for a few months after purchase but may deteriorate after extensive use over a period of one year.
At Ultimate Guru music, we take instrument quality very seriously and each instrument is checked before it is dispatched. The instruments are sourced from the best craftsmen in India and our team of musicians will check each instrument before the instrument is dispatched. The instruments are played and tuned as best as can be before stocking. So, when the instrument reaches the customer’s doorstep, its partially tuned and only needs a few adjustments when the player wants to begin using it. We also provide a 10 day return guarantee in case there are any defects in the instrument or, you’re not completely happy with it.
The most popular Instrument category is Percussion. And the most widely acclaimed instruments in that category are, Concert Grade Manamadurai Ghatam, Concert Grade Mridangam, Concert Grade Tabla, Student Grade Tabla And Finally, Concert Grade Kanjira.
Other categories are, Pakhawaj, Dholak, Dholki,
Our Ghatams are the best in the world and they come perfectly tuned to the tone that is required. The Ghatams are specially made from special Manamadurai soil, which has the perfect blend of metal and soil particles which result in pure resonant tones. These are sourced from Manamadurai and are different than Chennai Ghatams. You can check out the sound here.
The Mother South Indian Instrument, the Mridangam we source has a deep metallic timbre and powerful middle frequency bass sounds. These are sourced from Chennai and Madurai and have a lowered mootu, which doesn’t result in an injury to the thumb. The Mridangam has received rave responses from our team of musicians. See one of the reviews here.
The Tablas come in two varieties. Concert Grade and Student Grade. The quality can be seen here.
The Kanjiras are sourced from Madurai/Thanjavur and Chennai. The ecological threat posed to Monitor Lizards has now prompted a ban on Monitor Lizard skin Kanjiras and hence, we don’t stock those. Our Kanjiras are made from jack-wood and have goat skin membranes without a drop in quality. Here’s a comparison between the Goat Skin Kanjira and the Monitor Lizard Skin Kanjira
The other percussion instruments include the Dholki, Dholak, Pakhawaj, and the King of percussion, THE THAVVIL, these are sourced from different parts of Maharashtra and Thanjavur (Thavvils).
In the String category, our Gandhar Pancham and Kharaj PanchamSitar Models are amongst the bestsellers. These are sourced from Miraj, Maharashtra. Watch a video review hereand here. Veenas, Sarangis, Surbahars, Santoors and other string instruments are on the horizon. We have introduced a Travel Sitar model, for the travelling musician. Check it out here.
We also provide superior quality accessories, gig bags, HDP cases and other allied products along with the instruments.
The entire catalog of instruments and accessories is available for purchase on BAJAAO.COM
