Mohan Veena Stringng Options

[hoss]

Having recently purchased a beautiful Mohan Veena from Conchord Guitars in India I am interested in exploring the options for stringing the instrument. See the guitar here    

My guitar is currently set up with 3 playing strings, 5 drone strings or Chikari, and 12 sympathetic strings. I have already experimented with some different tunings on both the Chikari and sympathetic strings but would like to explore the option of removing two drone strings and adding another playable string, a low A in this case. This appears to be the way Harry Manx has his for tracks like Spoonful. So i would like to know:

• Is this possible
• Should the lower string be a low A
• What sort of solid string to use, as the others are all solids and the low D is already a 56

Be grateful to anyone who could help

Cheers

Hoss

[Michael Messer]

Hello Hoss,

Mohan veenas are indeed beautiful instruments. Yours looks like a new one built by Bhabasindhu's son? He appears to be carrying on with his father's work very well.

I know nothing about Harry Manx's instruments or his music, apart from seeing one or two clips on Youtube. I do know that he gets his Mohan veenas from my friend, Manish Pingle, and some of his history. My connection to Indian slide guitar and these instruments comes from listening to Brij Bhushan Kabra's music for 40 years, some of Vishwa Mohan Bhatt's music and from seeing Debashish Bhattacharya play and spending time with him at various festivals and events. I don't play Indian classical music, but with all those years of listening and in recent years touring and recording with two Indian classical musicians, I have learnt a a few things about it.

To get the best out of a Mohan veena, everything has to be in perfect tune with the scale you are playing, or it won't ring out the notes in sympathy with the melody, which is the whole point of the instrument.

Regarding your questions about string gauges and tunings, I am not in a position to advise you, but I will pass your questions on to my friend, Manish. I think you should be careful about tuning heavy strings like a 56. The low D om mine and Manish's instruments is plain bronze wire 24 gauge. That is not our 24, it is Indian imperial gauging. So that is .056mm, and .020"inch.

The brand of Indian bronze strings is NATRAJ BRONZE WIRE.

I will forward your questions to Manish.

Shine On
Michael

[hoss]

Thanks Michael

Yes my guitar was made after the passing of Bhabasindhu. His daughter Ria is actively involved with running the business and they have retained all the original apprentices.
The strings on my guitar are the same with the low D being bronze and .056mm. The tuning of the drone and sympathetic strings is to match a scale with a flattened third and seventh. From playing blues on my weissenborn in DADDAD for so long that seemed natural. 

I have started lessons here in Australia and taking the first baby steps with a Raag Bhimpalasi. Looking forward to the journey.

Cheers

Hoss 

[Michael Messer]

Manish Pingle at Conchord HQ a few years ago





Shine On
Michael

[Michael Messer]

Here you go, this is from Manish via WhatsApp.....

[13:15, 14/03/2021] Manish Pingle: Hey Michael, what Hoss is saying is right. He can add the fourth string by removing two drone strings... And tune that to lower A. So it will be D A D A...

[13:15, 14/03/2021] Manish Pingle: He will have to use a flat wound string for that. Otherwise he won't get the tone and sustain in that.

[13:16, 14/03/2021] Manish Pingle: I am not sure which thickness, but perhaps the same thickness as a normal 5th string of acoustic guitar

[13:17, 14/03/2021] Manish Pingle: I too tried that, but copper thick string does not give enough sustainable sound. Needs flat wound

-----------

D A D A - as far as I know was the tuning that Brij Bhushan Kabra used.

Shine On
Michael

[jono1uk]

What would one of these Mohan Veena's cost?
I couldn't seem to find the price on their website?

Jon

[Michael Messer]

Mar 14, 2021 20:02:32 GMT jono1uk said:

What would one of these Mohan Veena's cost?
I couldn't seem to find the price on their website?

Jon

Hi Jono,

I will ask Manish. The best way to get them is to do it with him. I will then contact you privately about it.

Shine On
Michael

[hoss]

Thanks Michael and please Thank Manish

Im not sure if I will try this just yet, but it is nice to know the way to go about it.

[Michael Messer]

My pleasure, Hoss. I will certainly pass your thanks on to Manish.

Shine On
Michael

[Michael Messer]

Bhabasindu Biswas

Mar 14, 2021 20:02:32 GMT jono1uk said:

What would one of these Mohan Veena's cost?
I couldn't seem to find the price on their website?

Jon

Hi Jono,

Since the original maker, Bhabasindhu Biswas, died last year, the company has been taken over by his family. Manish used to be able to get great deals from Bhabasindhu, but that has all changed. You need to contact his daughter, Ria, for current prices.

www.facebook.com/Mohan-Veena-Conchord-113427400111442/

Shine On
Michael

[jono1uk]

Thanks Michael.

[Michael Messer]

I bought Ellora strings in India a few years ago and found they were poor quality. I use Natraj bronze strings and Newtone steel ones. In fact, Neil at Newtone got some bronze a while ago and it was superb. I must get some more from him.

I understand your point about using wound strings, but the more you, or one, adapts parts of this instrument to make it "more accessible to Western musicians", the less Indian it sounds and if you're not careful it ends up sounding like a three string lap steel. Tuning to C, D and even E all work well, but if the sympathetic strings stop ringing, then all is lost.

Turning that completely around, I have seen a few really beautifully built Western-made Mohan veenas, which some might claim are better built than the ones made by the late Bhabasindhu and the Biswas family, but they don't sound Indian! My friend and master luthier, Dave King, repaired my Mohan veena a couple of years ago and was enchanted with its sound.

It is good to see that Ria is continuing in her father's footsteps and running the Conchord business.

Ria is very proud of her family business, and rightfully so.



Shine On
Michael

[Deleted]

Feb 7, 2023 13:11:18 GMT Michael Messer said:

I bought Ellora strings in India a few years ago and found they were poor quality. I use Natraj bronze strings and Newtone steel ones. In fact, Neil at Newtone got some bronze a while ago and it was superb. I must get some more from him.

I understand your point about using wound strings, but the more you, or one, adapts parts of this instrument to make it "more accessible to Western musicians", the less Indian it sounds and if you're not careful it ends up sounding like a three string lap steel. Tuning to C, D and even E all work well, but if the sympathetic strings stop ringing, then all is lost.

Turning that completely around, I have seen a few really beautifully built Western-made Mohan veenas, which some might claim are better built than the ones made by the late Bhabasindhu and the Biswas family, but they don't sound Indian! My friend and master luthier, Dave King, repaired my Mohan veena a couple of years ago and was enchanted with its sound.

It is good to see that Ria is continuing in her father's footsteps and running the Conchord business.

Ria is very proud of her family business, and rightfully so.



Shine On
Michael

What a Musically good Daughter who really continued the Mohan Veena Tradition after her Dad Passed away. BTW Those Ellora Mohan Veena Strings I use are actually much better quality than they used to be years ago because they've improved them. All of the Plain Steel Strings are now coated (or plated I should say) in an alloy of Tin & Silver & it does actually produce a really interesting & special sound. The Wound Strings have a coating to improve the durability, & they sound very strong. I like having 4 Main Melody Strings (giving me a full 21 strings) because whatever I do on the Top 2 Strings, I can play the same thing on the Bottom 2 as well to get a Different Octave. The Finger Picks that came w/ mine are the same as the ones I have (Banjoists use em as do Slide Guitarists) so I've got spares. I like using a variety of Slides on the Mohan Veena (Indo-Hawaiian Guitar) w/ the Ellora Strings because it gives me more tonal colors, but my favorite is a Glass Bottleneck Slide (which was used famously by Blues Guitarists when they revived the Slide Guitar that 11 yr Old Joseph Kekuku invented in Hawaii) because it does actually produce a Smoother & Rounder Sound on the Ellora Strings. The very 1st song I played on the Mohan Veena (Indo-Hawaiian Slide Guitar) after I restrung it w/ new Ellora Strings was Aloha Oe (Farewell to Thee) written by Queen Liliʻuokalani arranged for Slide Guitar by its inventor Joseph Kekuku.

[Michael Messer]

For those on here that enjoy listening to Indian classical slide playing on Mohan veena, I highly recommend my friend Manish Pingle's new album 'Samarpan', it is a really beautifully played and well recorded piece of work.
,
Here's one track 'Raga Puriya Kalyan', but to really get the proper sound you need to download the better quality iTunes files, or order the vinyl LP.



I wish I understood the current state of play in the music business. They are desperately trying everything to sell product (downloads, vinyl, CD, streaming etc..) and yet everything is put up on Youtube for folks to listen to for free. WTF!
Please don't answer this comment about the music business, because the thread will go miles of topic.

Shine On
Michael

[Michael Messer]

Bleu, you were right about the sides of my Mohan veena, they are carved by hand, not pressed.

Manish said the new ones are not ringing so well. The sympathetic strings are ringing and singing, but the main playing strings are not and sound a bit woody. Hmmmm....

Shine On
Michael