The
Bazantar is a
musical instrument which is a sort of
cross between a
double bass and a
sitar. It has five '
melody' strings which are strings typically found on a double bass, four
drone strings similar to those on a sitar, and twenty-nine
sympathetic string, which
resonate inside a
modular graphite housing which is attached to the bottom of the
tailpiece and the base of the
neck. The feet of the main
bridge straddle the housing, which is situated underneath the
fingerboard. The Bazantar's melody strings have a
tonal range of over five
octaves and the sympathetic strings have a range of four octaves.
The Bazantar can sound like a double bass, a strummed sitar, or an entire symphony. When the melody strings of the instrument are played, the sympathetic strings are activated and drone along their own chaotic accompaniment. The instrument can be plucked in the pizzicato style, strummed, or bowed.
At the time of this writeup, there is only Bazantar in existence. It was invented and is owned and played by Mark Deutsch. The Bazantar can be heard on Deutsch's solo album, entitled Fool....
For more information on the Bazantar and its creator, visit www.bazantar.com.