The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126049   Message #2813435
Posted By: Jack Blandiver
16-Jan-10 - 04:42 AM
Thread Name: Very cheap keyboard - suggestions?
Subject: RE: Very cheap keyboard - suggestions?
S O'P - is this Shruti Box Pine Wood the same as the one you lost? And can it play more than one note at a time?

The one I lost was an electronic tambura shruti with four tunable tambura drones (i.e. plucked drone sounds) in a number of possible rhythmic ostinatos. The whole thing was built from fetching formica, giving it the look of a cheap 40s radio or something. Such things might still still be had (albeit without the finish) and even in a cheapo version like my wee Shruti: Here.

The one you link to is a bellows-blown reed shruti box, similar to the one played at Fylde last year by Maz O'Connor, who changed the drones even as she sang. In theory you could play all twelve notes at the same time, or any combination, which gives them the advantage over mine because I can only do 4ths & 5ths, unlike my lost one, on which I used to use 2nds, minor thirds & all sorts of irregular dissonances by way of drones.