Premium Harmoniums

Old Delhi Music specializes in uncommonly good Indian instruments. These harmoniums will without fail stand out compared to what you'll find elsewhere online or in person. Without exception, our harmoniums are individually tuned and adjusted independently at the time of sale at our shop in Urbana, IL. Once tweaked sufficiently, they are SHIPPED FREE anywhere in the mainland U.S.A., without the risks inherent to getting them from a "quick shipping" warehouse or direct from India. We also offer discounted shipping worldwide. Contact us for details.

Bhava "Travel Pro" Teak Harmonium Sold Out

Quick Shop

Bhava "Travel Pro" Teak Harmonium

Sold Out

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

The Bhava "Travel Pro" is notable for it's gorgeous tonal clarity, sustain, ease of use, and durability. For simplicity, it is streamlined with no stops or drones, and built into a traditional collapsing case made of gorgeous teak wood.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 19 lbs.
- Dimensions: 18.25 x 8.25 x 13.75 in. (closed), 18.25 x 11.5 x 13.75 (open)
- Color: Natural Teak
- Finish: Lacquer
- Exterior Construction: Burma Teak
- Interior Construction: SEL Grade Bhutan Pine / Kail Wood
- Box Type: Traditional Folding
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 30
- Reed type: Standard, Punjabi
- Reed banks: 2 sets (Bass, Male)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal
- Stops: none
- Drones: none
- Coupler: none
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Bina "Swar" Concert Standard Harmonium $799.00

Quick Shop

Bina "Swar" Concert Standard Harmonium

$799.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

At Old Delhi Music, we are continuously working to source and deliver harmoniums that are of unparalleled quality. Recently, we have had the privilege of working with our friends at Bina in the development of these Concert Series harmoniums. We couldn't be happier with the results.

The Bina Swar Concert Series harmonium is a beautifully refined traditional standard harmonium. Built to uncommonly high standards, this harmonium features smooth playing action across 39 keys, and a sturdy, fluid feel in the bellows. Warm organ tones resonate beautifully through the softwood shell and interior case. A full sized wind chest produces long, even sustain through Bina "special" reeds, which are custom tuned in our shop.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, Illinois
- Weight: 20 lbs.
- Dimensions: 22 x 11 x 12 in.
- Color: Natural
- Finish: Shellac
- Exterior Construction: Pine
- Interior Construction: Pine
- Box Type: Standard
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 39
- Reed type: Bina "special" reeds; Punjabi
- Reed banks: 2 sets (Bass, Male)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal
- Stops: 5
- Drones: 4
- Coupler: none
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Bina 17 Mini Concert Harmonium $899.00

Quick Shop

Bina 17 Mini Concert Harmonium

$899.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

At Old Delhi Music, we are continuously working to source and deliver harmoniums that are of unparalleled quality. Recently, we have had the privilege of working with our friends at Bina in the development of these Concert Series harmoniums. We couldn't be happier with the results.

The Bina 17 Mini Concert Series harmonium is a beautifully refined and compacted version of Bina's traditional collapsing harmonium. Constructed to uncommonly high standards, this harmonium delivers deep, resonant, earthy tones with ease.

Upon first touch, you'll notice the fluid motion of the bellows, which are uniquely routed to match the arch of your hand. This is complimented perfectly by the incredibly smooth action felt across all 34 keys. As you play, warm organ tones resonate beautifully across the softwood shell and interior case. A full sized wind chest produces long, even sustain through Bina "special" reeds, which are custom tuned in our shop.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, Illinois
- Weight: 20 lbs.
- Dimensions: 20 x 8.25 x 14 in. (closed), 20 x 12 x 14 (open)
- Color: Natural
- Finish: Shellac
- Exterior Construction: Pine
- Interior Construction: Pine
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 34
- Reed type: Bina "special" reeds; Punjabi
- Reed banks: 2 sets (Bass, Male)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal
- Stops: 3 (M, B, Tremolo)
- Drones: 2 (C, G)
- Coupler: none
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Bina 17 Concert Harmonium $1,029.00

Quick Shop

Bina 17 Concert Harmonium

$1,029.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

At Old Delhi Music, we are continuously working to source and deliver harmoniums that are of unparalleled quality. Recently, we have had the privilege of working with our friends at Bina in the development of these Concert Series harmoniums. We couldn't be happier with the results.

The Bina 17 Concert Series harmonium is a beautifully refined version of Bina's traditional collapsing design. Constructed to uncommonly high standards, this harmonium delivers deep, resonant, earthy tones with ease.

Upon first touch, you'll notice the fluid motion of the bellows, which are uniquely routed to match the arch of your hand. This is complimented perfectly by the incredibly smooth action felt across all 42 keys. As you play, warm organ tones resonate beautifully across the softwood shell and interior case. An oversized wind chest produces long, even sustain through Bina "special" reeds, which are custom tuned in our shop.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, Illinois
- Weight: 24 lbs.
- Dimensions: 24 x 8.25 x 14 in. (closed), 24 x 12 x 14 (open)
- Color: Natural
- Finish: Shellac
- Exterior Construction: Pine
- Interior Construction: Pine
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 42
- Reed type: Bina "special" reeds; Punjabi
- Reed banks: 2 sets (Bass, Male)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal
- Stops: 5
- Drones: 4
- Coupler: none
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Paul & Co. 9/3 - Scale Changer Harmonium

Paul & Company 9/3 Scale Changer Harmonium $1,799.00

Quick Shop

Paul & Company 9/3 Scale Changer Harmonium

$1,799.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

Paul & Co. manufactures some of the worlds very best Kolkata-style harmoniums. Precision craftsmanship is evident in every detail and distinguishes their instruments from lower cost scale changers. This is their standard 9 scale, 3 reed model and it is without a doubt one of the very best harmoniums we've ever played.

Visiting the Paul & Company shop in Howrah, West Bengal, we have seen first-hand how these artisan craftsmen go about creating some of the worlds finest harmoniums. In that same spirit, we engage in an unparalleled tuning and refinement process, optimizing each unique piece to achieve it's full potential. Our efforts combined, Old Delhi Music delivers the absolute best Paul & Company harmoniums available anywhere.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 39.5 lbs.
- Dimensions: 25.75 x 16 x 8.5 in. (closed), 25.75 x 16 x 10.5 in. (open)
- Exterior Construction: Teak
- Interior Construction: Teak
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: Two-piece
- Number of Keys: 37 sliding
- Reed type: Palitana, Mohan Lal Premier
- Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal (Bass) / Vertical (Male, Female)
- Scale changer: 9 scales
- Stops: 4 (Bass, Male, Female, Tremolo)
- Drones: 7 (C, C#, D, D#, G#, Bb, F#)
- Coupler: left action
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Bhava Travel Pro 3 Reed Harmonium - Red $1,029.00

Quick Shop

Bhava Travel Pro 3 Reed Harmonium - Red

$1,029.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

We've spent the better part of 2018 refining all the details for this one, and we're happy now to introduce it just in time for the holidays!

The Bhava Travel Pro 3 Reed "Mini" achieves the warmth-of-tone characteristic of any good Punjabi style harmonium (e.g. the "Krishna Das sound") across a full orchestral-range of voices spanning three octaves from a single key played. This "Mini" version is sized appropriately for easy travel.

By all measures - construction, sound, appearance -- this harmonium sets new standards. It is finished in a modern matte-poly finish ornamented all stainless steel hardware and fittings. Gold locks and a modern black handle complete the look perfectly. It's as beautiful as it sounds, and as innovative as it looks.

Like any unique instrument, this one has a cool back story --

In early 2018, we stumbled upon a harmonium maker in Utter Pradesh experimenting with the concept of 3-reed Punjabi style harmoniums. To harmonium nerds like us, this was a VERY interesting discovery. While the concept of a 3-reed harmonium with vertically mounted reed sets is not unique in a broad sense (this is the norm for Kolkata style harmoniums), it's nothing we had seen before on any Punjabi style harmoniums.

What this maker showed us sounded amazing. With this being the most popular style for Kirtan, we knew this was a truly revolutionary instrument...

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 22 lbs.
- Dimensions: 18.5 x 15 x 8 in. (closed); 18.5 x 15 x 11 in. (open)
- Color: Wine Red
- Finish: Matte Poly
- Exterior Construction: Clear Grade Miranti
- Interior Construction: SEL Grade Kail
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 32
- Reed type: Standard, Punjabi
- Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal / Vertical
- Stops: none
- Drones: none
- Coupler: none
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Paul & Company 11/3 Scale Changer Harmonium $1,999.00

Quick Shop

Paul & Company 11/3 Scale Changer Harmonium

$1,999.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

Paul & Co. manufactures some of the worlds very best Kolkata-style harmoniums. Precision craftsmanship is evident in every detail and distinguishes their instruments from lower cost scale changers. This is their standard 11 scale, 3 reed model. Like the smaller 9/3 model, it's an amazing instrument. But with this larger box and scale comes proportionally deeper and resonance, depth, and tonal clarity.

Visiting the Paul & Company shop in Howrah, West Bengal, we have seen first-hand how these artisan craftsmen go about creating some of the worlds finest harmoniums. In that same spirit, we engage in an unparalleled tuning and refinement process, optimizing each unique piece to achieve it's full potential. Our efforts combined, Old Delhi Music delivers the absolute best Paul & Company harmoniums available anywhere.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 43 lbs.
- Dimensions: 26.25 x 17 x 8.5 in. (closed), 26.25 x 17 x 10.5 in. (open)
- Exterior Construction: Teak
- Interior Construction: Teak
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: Two-piece
- Number of Keys: 37 sliding
- Reed type: Palitana, Mohan Lal Premier
- Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal (Bass) / Vertical (Male, Female)
- Scale changer: 11 scales
- Stops: 4 (Bass, Male, Female, Tremolo)
- Drones: 7 (C, C#, D, D#, G#, Bb, F#)
- Coupler: left action
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Bhava Classic Limited Edition Teak - 3.5 Octave Harmonium

Bhava Classic Limited Edition Teak Harmonium - B-stock $799.00 $899.00

Sale

Quick Shop

Bhava Classic Limited Edition Teak Harmonium - B-stock

$799.00 $899.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

The Bhava Classic Teak is unparalleled. It represents a whole new class of Delhi harmoniums that is only available from the Bhava brand. The highly durable and unquestionably beautiful, select grade teak shell resonates to produce profound clarity in voice. Tight interior construction by the very best builders in India and top notch refinement in the U.S. combine to ensure a warm, dynamic sound that is certain to only improve with age.

Finished in a natural lacquer and built into a collapsible frame, the Bhava Classic Teak is both beautiful and very portable - perfectly sized for easy transport in the overhead compartment of a plane. Functionally, it's set up in a traditional Delhi style with 42 piano cut keys (3.5 octaves), 5 stops, 4 drones, twin horizontal reed banks with premier quality bass and male reed sets, and a sliding volume control board (Jaali). Collapsed, this harmonium measures 23.5 x 7 x 12 inches and weighs 26 lbs.

NOTE: This particular instrument is a "b-stock" because we were not totally impressed with the seam work on the upper lid. It is in tact and there is no need for repair, but since it is not a perfectly flush seam we have discounted this particular unit. This abnormality is very minor not notable unless know what you are looking for and does not / will not in any way affect the performance of the instrument.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert tuning and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 26 lbs.
- Dimensions: 23.5 x 7 x 12 in. (closed), 23.5 x 13.5 x 13.5 in. (open)
- Color: Natural
- Finish: Lacquer
- Exterior Construction: Teak Wood
- Interior Construction: SEL Grade Bhutan Pine / Kail Wood
- Box Type: Folding, Safari Style
- Key Construction: One-piece
- Number of Keys: 42
- Reed type: Premium, Punjabi
- Reed banks: 2 sets (Bass, Male)
- Reed orientation: Horizontal
- Stops: 5 (Male, Bass, Bass, Tremelo, Male)
- Drones: 3 (C#, D#, G#, Bb)
- Coupler: Right Action
- Scale changer: none
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Swarup Select 9/3 Harmonium $2,599.00

Quick Shop

Swarup Select 9/3 Harmonium

$2,599.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

This is an heirloom quality harmonium, masterfully crafted from reclaimed Burma teak wood perfectly matched with Palitana style reeds to achieve a sound that is crisp, clean, confident, and warm. Precision tuning, set-up, and refinements are completed at our shop in Urbana, IL.

Swarup was born into a family of notable Kolkata harmonium builders. His grandfather was the first to put a harmonium into a folding box, and his father refined this model to include automatic popping handles. Picking up where they left off, Swarup is making a name for himself adding quality details and artistry like no one else.

We have spent time with Swarup at his shop in Kolkata. His process is slow and meticulous, and the resulting instruments are true works of art. At Old Delhi Music, we may receive at most 6-8 of these harmoniums each year. Like all things we import, they don't arrive perfect. Our job with these is largely polishing / refinishing and some technical tweaking, which we do, and in the end, they are quite stunning - a true reflection of what we know this artist has intended for them both sonically and physically.

This Select 9/3 is crafted from "200-year-aged" Burmese teak harvested from old pillars, reclaimed and brought back to life in this instrument. It is finished in a bright mahogany color with stainless steel and brass accessories.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag ($50 value)
- Hard Case ($300 value)
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert Concert Pitch tuning ($100 service value) and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 33 lbs.
- Dimensions: 27.75 x 15.25 x 7.25 in. (closed), 24.75 x 15.25 x 10.25 in. (open)
- Exterior Construction: 200-Year-Aged, Reclaimed Burma Teak
- Interior Construction: 200-Year-Aged, Reclaimed Burma Teak
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: Two-piece
- Number of Keys: 37 sliding
- Reed type: Palitana, Mohan Lal Samrat Deluxe
- Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female)
- Reed orientation: All Vertical
- Scale changer: 9 scales
- Stops: 4 (Male, Bass, Female, Blank)
- Drones: 5 (G#, Bb, C#, G#, F#)
- Coupler: left action
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details

Swarup Standard 9/3 Harmonium $2,199.00

Quick Shop

Swarup Standard 9/3 Harmonium

$2,199.00

Description
Product Specs
Shipping & Store Info
Custom Options & Value Adds
Disclaimer

This is a harmonium with a deep, warm sound and just the right amount of grit to give it that "old organ" tone that is rare to find in a modern instrument. Precision tuning, set-up, and refinements are completed at our shop in Urbana, IL.

Swarup was born into a family of notable Kolkata harmonium builders. His grandfather was the first to put a harmonium into a folding box, and his father refined this model to include automatic popping handles. Picking up where they left off, Swarup is making a name for himself adding quality details and artistry like no one else.

We have spent time with Swarup at his shop in Kolkata. His process is slow and meticulous, and the resulting instruments are true works of art. At Old Delhi Music, we may receive at most 6-8 of these harmoniums each year. Like all things we import, they don't arrive perfect. Our job with these is largely polishing / refinishing and some technical tweaking, which we do, and in the end, they are quite stunning - a true reflection of what we know this artist has intended for them both sonically and physically.

The Swarup Standard model is an absolutely impeccable 9/3 scale changer crafted from 50-year-aged Indian teak and finished in a dark mahogany color. All stainless steel hardware and brass accessories coordinate beautifully with the pearloid keys, valve, and other accents.

Includes:
- Padded Gig Bag ($50 value)
- Hard Case ($300 value)
- FREE SHIPPING within continental U.S.
- One month FREE access at Bhakti Breakfast Club -- hundreds of harmonium classes to explore!
- Expert Concert Pitch tuning ($100 service value) and refinement services completed at our shop in our Urbana, IL
- Weight: 32 lbs.
- Dimensions: 27.75 x 15.25 x 7.25 in. (closed), 24.75 x 15.25 x 10.25 in. (open)
- Exterior Construction: 50-Year-Aged Indian Teak
- Interior Construction: 50-Year-Aged Indian Teak
- Box Type: Traditional Collapsing
- Key Construction: Two-piece
- Number of Keys: 37 sliding
- Reed type: Palitana, Mohan Lal Deluxe
- Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female)
- Reed orientation: All Vertical
- Scale changer: 9 scales
- Stops: 4 (Male, Bass, Female, Male)
- Drones: 5 (G#, Bb, C#, G#, F#)
- Coupler: left action
SHIPPING: Your instrument will arrive safely, and if it doesn't, we'll take care of it. Our packing methods have ensured that over 99% of the instruments we ship arrive undamaged. Should things not go perfectly, we will get you a replacement, refund, part or whatever is necessary. No problem.

STORE: Old Delhi Music carefully curates a selection of only fine quality ethnic musical instruments. Our business is family owned and operated in Urbana, IL since 2010. For the back story, check out this video:
It's a shame when we receive harmoniums purchased elsewhere and have to bill someone a couple hundred dollars for the work we would have included for free...

Q: How long have you been doing this?

A: Since 2010.

Q: How'd you get started?

A: Our first "factory checked" shipment of harmoniums arrived needing some serious attention. Rather than selling bad products, we went to work learning how to make them to sound great and we've been improving at that ever since.

Q: So you know what you're doing?

A: Yup. We know how to bring just about any harmonium to it's full potential.

Q: Shouldn't that be the builders job?

A: The builders put the instruments together, and we mostly work with people who do that well. Our job is refinement - we coax the good sounds and feels out by manipulating this and that - scraping here, turning there. On a Kolkata-style box, that process can consume an entire day. On a standard twin reed, 3-4 hours is pretty typical. It's a process, but when you've drawn out all the goodness, it's totally worthwhile.

Q: But is it really practical to do this with each one?

A: Well, "The Harmonium Handbook" does say that fully retuning "an entire harmonium" (even a two reed) is impractical. But we do it anyway...every single day.

Q: Is it tedious?

A: Sure. But it's also fairly meditative, and the days go pretty fast.

Q: So it's worthwhile?

A: Absolutely. Taking an instrument that's "decent" to awesome in a few hours is good work. No question.

Q: I've shopped around, and your prices are pretty competitive. Given the level of service you're talking about, how do you do it?

A: We do pretty good volume, and we don't have a storefront, so we keep our expenses low.

Q: Any other competitive advantages to note?

A: Definitely. We are THE ONLY shop anywhere that offers custom, hand tuning services for ANY new two, three or four reed harmonium. Only one competitor offers a similar service, and that's only for a couple of their two reed models.

Q: But don't all the others claim to have A440 tuned harmoniums?

A: Many competitors advertise harmoniums that are "~A440" or "A440+/-...", but for true precision and accuracy, every single reed must be touched, allowed to settle, and refined until the tuning is stable. The process takes time, and it can't be rushed or sit too long in a warehouse waiting for eventual fulfillment. Quality, custom set up and tuning can ONLY be completed on a per-order basis, which means you'll have to wait a few extra days. It's NOT a service you can offer via Amazon Prime.

Q: Tell me about your tuning options?

A: We can do anything. But in general, we offer these three options:

- Equal tuning (Free): An Equal or Indian tuned instrument can be played with other instruments as long as they are tuned to match the harmonium. To complete this basic service, we determine roughly where the instrument is already settled out, which is typically higher than A440 and generally out of tune up and down the scale. Once we know about how it is generally pitched, we check and adjust each reed individually as needed and then match octaves along with common intervals. Altogether, it's a lot of small to medium adjustments and in the end, we have generally touched 75-100% of the reeds to get everything in tune. This is our standard approach.

- Concert Pitch / A440 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Concert Pitch tuned harmonium will match the default tuning for Western Instruments, meaning this is a very versatile tuning choice. For this service, all reeds are retuned up and down to scale to correspond with Concert Pitch standard tuning where the middle A note resonates at 440hz. This service requires additional wait time since we have to first tune everything once, allow it to settle out for a day or so, and then go back through it again to make finer adjustments similar to what we do when Equal tuning. Only in this case, we are Equal tuning so that everything is pitched to correspond right with A440.

- Cosmic Pitch / A432 tuning (Optional; fee varies): A Cosmic A432 harmonium will work only in conjunction with other A432 tuned instruments. This is a newer service, and we offer this for only select harmoniums that handle this tuning well. With this service, all reeds are drastically retuned nearly a quarter tone below Concert Pitch to match a middle A resonating at 432hz., which is said to be a frequency that resonates in true harmony with the universe. This service takes a week+ to complete.

Q: Do you believe the hype about A432?

A: It does sound pretty deep and beautiful when it's done, but who knows...

Q: What aren't you guys good at?

A: We focus on the instruments, which means we often times lag on website updates. And social media is definitely a priority...

Q: So what's the best way to contact you if I have additional questions.

A: Give us a call or send an email.
While much of India is rapidly advancing, the Indian instrument manufacturing process remains very old school. From touch ups to tuning, much of what we do at Old Delhi Music is add a layer of quality control to an otherwise non-standardized production process.

We wrote THIS ARTICLE to ensure customers understand and might appreciate this vintage production style, the unique products we carry, and how we're working to ensure genuine quality, despite the odds. It's a quick read, and definitely worthwhile for anyone considering the purchase of a traditional Indian instrument.

Thank you,
Old Delhi Music

View full product details