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5810 Kirkwood Hwy, Wilmington DE
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The resonator of this banjira Rabab is formed by a rectangular wooden frame fitted on both sides with goat skin. The single steel string (0.012", 0.30 mm) runs from a wooden peg mounted on the long neck, over a floating bridge, to the base of the resonator. You can place the bridge anywhere along the length of the soundboard. By changing the tension on the string and the placement of the bridge, the Rabab has a range of nearly one and a half octaves. We tuned one from G3 all the way to B4. Remember you are tuning the string to one pitch, and then you note the string with your fingernails as you play. A rabab player rests the instrument vertically on his or her knee and draws the bow across the string in a similar fashion to a cello player. The body is approximately 11" wide x 20" tall; overall length is approximately 34.5". The term Rabab is found in ninth and tenth century texts, and is the oldest known Arabic word for a bowed instrument. Capable of a range of dynamic accents; this instrument is the essential melody instrument of the nomadic Bedouins. It is customarily played by the sha'ir, or poet-singer, to accompany heroic and love songs. Never handle the hair of the bow with your hands; oils from your skin will leave permanent slick spots on the hair. To grab the strings, it will need to be coated with rosin. Rosin is sold separately
Special note on strings
There is no warranty on strings. Manufacturers recommend that you change the strings every 3-4 months. It is always a good idea to keep an extra set of stings to replace any that may break. You should always wipe down your strings with a clean dry cloth after use. If you store your instrument, you should consider changing the strings when you pick it up again.
Blemished, or Scratch & Dent, products are new and unused with superficial irregularities that do not affect the playability or sound quality of the instrument. The irregularities may include, finish blisters, scratches, dents, stains, discoloration, rust or pitting on metals, imperfect glazes, non-structural repairs such as putty in nail holes, or other surface marks. These blemished products have codes which end in -1(s) and -2(s). A product designated as -1 or -1S has minor blemishes and a product code ending in -2 or -2S has moderate blemishes and/or minor repairs.
Our product codes ending in "PROP" are unable to be played and are for display purposes only.
Please note: For safety during shipping, we don't tune our string instruments before sending to customers.
