Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

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Angstrom
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Re: Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

Post by Angstrom » Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:27 pm

DoobieBrother69 wrote: The limited bends are from playing it on the C string and having to push up. The C string is only .045", so don't want to snap it.
the sitar strings you are emulating are actually thinner than that, although the scale length is longer. Sitar scale length is around 35 inches or 88cm, so more like an electric Bass than a guitar scale length.
Something to consider trying there if you have an old planky bass around and know how to cut and seat a nut (it's not hard and you can make your own tools to do it very cheaply). You'd be wanting some quite tall frets on such a beast though.

I'm not saying you could make a Sitar and play like a master player(which is the key to a sitar sound), but it might be a good and fun instrument with an unusual tonality and playability. I'm always a fan of those.

rikhyray
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Re: Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

Post by rikhyray » Thu Aug 02, 2012 3:52 pm

DoobieBrother69 wrote:
heavensdaw wrote:There is some amount of knowledge in this here thread... I hope the OP is taking it all in! :)

Here is where my 'dreaming' has taken me this morning.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYv4bit7 ... re=related

And DoobieBrother69 sitar bass? not something I usually associate with sitar, yet sounding pretty good, but needs more bending/drifting to the note.. maybe detuning it down will help some?

Hd
I'll be working on dialing in the sound, well, a closer approximation of a sitar.
I know it will never be the same as a true sitar, as it's been an instrument whose sounds I've been more & more interested in emulating. (living in a small apartment, so a real one is out of the question for a few more years).
The limited bends are from playing it on the C string and having to push up. The C string is only .045", so don't want to snap it.
Will be trying a 24+ pitchbend through the GT-10B to bring my bass up into a normal guitar's tonal range to see what it sounds like later today and tweak it in Ableton in as many ways as possible.
Will be able to use D or G string after shifting the pitch up, and will allow me to pull the strings faster & harder to get it closer to sounding correct.
Anyways, I'm glad I came across this thread!
Note what Meef wrote Indian instrumental music is modeled on Indian singing so does not matter if it is Sitar, Vina bend or Sarod or Chitra vina slide it is about same thing achieved in various ways. As far as bass is concerned trying to bend is absurd but there is already instrument that is as appealing and suitable to achieve the Indian music sound - it is fretless bass. In fact the "javari bridge" effect of amplifying certain overtones works in the fretless bass on the other end, the left hand and on top of it offers you even more expression possibilities, control of the subtle buzz typical to fretless bass. My Indian ears were always incredibly attracted to fretless bass sound, in masters hands it is so stunningly soulfull. If I had to name one Western instrument suitable for Indian music that would be fretless bass.

DoobieBrother69
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Re: Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

Post by DoobieBrother69 » Thu Aug 02, 2012 4:08 pm

Funny you should mention a fretless bass, as I have my old 5-string bass collecting dust since moving up to a 6-string, and I have plans in the works to convert the 5-string to fretless in September.
Will take all into account when the project is finished, and am looking more & more forward to it now.
Thanks for the info!
:-)
Life is too awesome, and I have no time in to waste on dipshits, malcontents and people with no sense of humor.

tintala
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Re: Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

Post by tintala » Thu Aug 02, 2012 5:12 pm

Cool thread, I have been studying Indian Classical Music for about 17 years. I am a student on the tabla. However never really got to the level I initially thought was possible, so I began my sojurn to electronic /world fusion, like Desert Dwellers, Karsh Kale, Midival Punditz to name a few. I thought about studying sitar but found the tabla more conducive to me.

as someone else mentioned there is an effect for the guitar to emulate sitar the Ravish. I am curious has anyone heard this effect before? Does it sound good?

littlepig
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Re: Guitar through ableton- anybody emulated a sitar before?

Post by littlepig » Sun Aug 12, 2012 9:19 am

If you own Absynth there are some interesting resonator effects some of which sound a bit like drone strings. Just been having a play.

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