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.
NOTICE: This harmonium is currently available for Pre-Order ONLY, and a limited quantity is arriving in September. Since these are handcrafted, production is limited. If you are certain you would like this model, a Pre-Order is the best way to secure one from an upcoming shipment. Thanks!
The Bhava "Travel Pro" is a streamlined, easy to use harmonium - perfect for anyone wanting rich, warm tone without committing to a box that is overly heavy or complicated. Feature for feature, it's the same as the Travel Pro 3 reed, but is simplified further into a traditional 2 reed Bass / Male format to achieve a lower overall resonance. Tonally, we suggest a 2 reed harmonium for simple chordal play (i.e. Krishna Das...) and recommend the 3 reed model for those looking to play more expressively following the melody lines, as is common in Classical Indian music.
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: 18.75 x 8.25 x 13 in. (closed), 18.75 x 11.5 x 13 in. (open) - Color: Red - Finish: Polyurethane - Exterior Construction: Meranti Wood - Interior Construction: Meranti Wood - Box Type: Traditional Folding - Key Construction: One-piece - Number of Keys: 32 - Reed type: SS Deluxe, 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.
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.
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 its 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.
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 fixed 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: 38.5 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: 44 - Reed type: Palitana, Jivanlal R.T. Samrat - Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female) - Reed orientation: Horizontal (Bass) / Vertical (Male, Female) - Scale changer: None - 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.
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 its 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.
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, Jivanlal R.T. Samrat - 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.
The Bhava Travel Pro 3 Reed "Mini" has a full orchestral-range of voices spanning three octaves from a single key played. This "Mini" version is sized appropriately for easy travel. It's tone is both delicate and full in all the right ways.
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: Brown - 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.
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.
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 13 scale, 4 reed model. Like any Paul, it's an amazing instrument with resonance and depth of tone in proportion to it's impressive size and scale.
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: 48 lbs. - Dimensions: 27.75 x 18 x 8.5 in. (closed), 27.75 x 18 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: 4 sets (Bass, Male, Male, Female) - Reed orientation: Horizontal (Bass) / Vertical (Male, Male, Female) - Scale changer: 13 scales - Stops: 4 (Bass, Male, Male, Female) - 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.
The Bhava Concert 3 Reed harmonium has a full orchestral-range of voices spanning three octaves. This model boasts a 3.5 octave scale and incredible sustain in a still relatively light and manageable case for travel. It's tone is both delicate and full in all the right ways. This is a true concert grade instrument.
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: 26 lbs. - Dimensions: 22.5 x 15 x 8 in. (closed); 22.5 x 15 x 11 in. (open) - Color: Natural Brown - Finish: Matte Poly - Exterior Construction: Clear Grade Miranti - Interior Construction: SEL Grade Kail - Box Type: Traditional Collapsing - Key Construction: One-piece - Number of Keys: 42 - 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.
NOTICE: This harmonium is currently available for Pre-Order ONLY, and a limited quantity is arriving in September. Since these are handcrafted, production is limited. If you are certain you would like this model, a Pre-Order is the best way to secure one from an upcoming shipment. Thanks!
The Bhava "Travel Pro" is a streamlined, easy to use harmonium - perfect for anyone wanting rich, warm tone without committing to a box that is overly heavy or complicated. Feature for feature, it's the same as the Travel Pro 3 reed, but is simplified further into a traditional 2 reed Bass / Male format to achieve a lower overall resonance. Tonally, we suggest a 2 reed harmonium for simple chordal play (i.e. Krishna Das...) and recommend the 3 reed model for those looking to play more expressively following the melody lines, as is common in Classical Indian music.
B-Stock/Blemish Description: There is an 1/4 inch divit on the lower face of the harmonium underneath the keys.
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: 18.75 x 8.25 x 13 in. (closed), 18.75 x 11.5 x 13 in. (open) - Color: Red - Finish: Polyurethane - Exterior Construction: Meranti Wood - Interior Construction: Meranti Wood - Box Type: Traditional Folding - Key Construction: One-piece - Number of Keys: 32 - Reed type: SS Deluxe, 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.
Every instrument has a story, and this one is truly remarkable. However it is told, this one-of-a-kind, heirloom-grade instrument is certain to be the center of many conversations to come.
It could be told that the harmonium is vintage, as the shell of this instrument is constructed of 200-year aged teak harvested from old construction pillars taken from architectural salvage. Even some of the oldest harmoniums you find may be made of newer stock than this. Combining with Mohan Lal Premier grade Palitana reeds result in a warmth and stability you won't get from any newer stock, and this level of detail is something you'll only find from a maker with the heritage and dedication of Swarup. From the keys to the stainless hardware, you'll appreciate all the little details, which are quintessentially Indian, yet modern and very appropriate for this instrument. To compensate for some weak pigment in the original finish work (this is normal in India), we sent it to our Amish friends in Arthur, IL for perfecting. So yes, this is the best of India combined with Amish precision in the finishing touches - amazing!
MORE ABOUT THE MAKER --
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.
The Bengali Traveler is a simplified 32 key Kolkata style harmonium. It is durable, beautiful, and easy to maintain. Foregoing the scale changer and other typical complexities associated with Kolkata style harmonium construction, this harmonium makes rich Palitana reed tone more portable and practical than ever.
With a solid teak cabinet and inner construction, this is a very solid instrument and certain to last. Beautiful brass fittings and exquisite carving set it off perfectly.
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: 25 lbs. - Dimensions: 19 x 16 x 7.5 in. (closed); 19 x 16 x 10.5 in. (open) - Color: Brown - Finish: Shellac - Exterior Construction: Teak - Interior Construction: Teak - Box Type: Traditional Collapsing - Key Construction: One-piece - Number of Keys: 32 - Reed type: Palitana "RT Deluxe" - Reed banks: 3 sets (Bass, Male, Female) - Reed orientation: Horizontal / Vertical - Stops: 4 (Bass, Female, Male, Bass) - Drones: 3 (G#, Bb, C#) - 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.
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.
