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During the late 1960s numerous records were punctuated with the unmistakable zingy rattle of the electric sitar. Danelectro was responsible for creating this new instrument (following an idea from the inventive American session player Vinnie Bell) and they produced two models: the Coral Sitar and its cheaper alternative the Danelectro Baby Sitar. Both these models were short-lived as Danelectro ceased trading in the late 1960s.
These original electric sitars achieved a cult following, and prompted luthier Jerry Jones to produce his own versions, albeit with some tweaks here and there. Jones made some improvements to the intonation which was always a problem on the original Danelectro models.
In 1994 German maker Gunter Eyb began producing his own version of the electric sitar. The Eyb sitar is a radical departure from the original 60s designs and is not plagued by their intonation or tuning problems.The current Eyb Sitar is available in either a 6 or 10 string version.
The body of Eyb’s sitar has radical curves and contours, but in practice these curves are functional. The extended left horn helps balance the longer neck. Deep cutaways and a chamfered heel allow an easy reach right the way up the neck. Body is ash or alder, with optional resonance chambers
The bridge is very different to both Danelectro’s design and the later Jones version. Eyb designed a bridge with long and chunky individual metal saddles, chrome-plated to match the rest of the hardware. Two grub screws at the back of each provide height adjustment, while another up front alters the degree of tilt. This tilt affects the amount of saddle surface making contact with the vibrating string ahead of its correct bearing point. This is what produces that buzzy, fizzy sitar-like sound and the more the string and saddle touch, the greater the physical effect generated. Too much tilt kills sustain, so each string needs to be set up carefully. One the tilt has been set you can then adjust the intonation and lock the saddle in place using a grub screw.
This bridge sets Eyb’s sitar apart from the competition, allowing it to play both chords and single notes passably. This bridge is available to buy separately, so you can turn any guitar into an electric sitar.
Although the Eyb Electric Sitar has a small pointed headstock, the tuners themselves are located at the bottom of the body. Individual string anchor clamps of Eyb’s own-design are arranged in four-plus-two formation .
The slim gauge frets are smoothly finished but left quite high, while the neck profile feels familiar and comfortable. It combines well with the gently radiused rosewood fingerboard making the 686mm scale length less obvious. The neck itself is maple and bolted on.
The pickup options on the first Eyb sitars were Keystone noiseless single-coils with white covers, with options including DiMarzio Fast Track humbuckers. Currrently the standard pickups are Häussel custom single-coils. The standard controls consist of master volume, three-way lever-type pickup selector and a mini-toggle coil switch. Eyb offers passive or active control options, including the EYB Megaswitch pickup selector. Eyb’s ‘Nature’ piezo system is available as a custom option, with an under-bridge transducer with an internal preamp incorporating bass and treble trim pots, while a separate volume control for the system replaces the coil switch.
The standard finish is natural satin, although you can pay extra for sunburst or custom colours
Music mart magazine’s Paul Day tested the Eyb sitar, and here’s his impressions of the sound and playability:
Thanks to the longer scale, there’s an abundance of acoustic resonance along with a very responsive feel. The extra stretch required is achieved without undue effort, courtesy of the comfort-conscious neck.
Having virtually ideal intonation on an electric sitar is a revelation — especially for anyone who has had to suffer an old Coral or Dano job and the attendant chore of retuning just to make the thing play properly in a certain position on the neck.
No such hassles here and the ability to exactly determine the desired buzz content for each string is another real bonus. The top four yield that great natural fizzing sustain typical of the pseudo-sitar breed. The remaining lower two tend to rattle more, but this is only to be expected.
The Keystone pickups are powerful but clear, with a wide-ranging tonality that’s very good at conveying convincing sitar-like results. All three selections are very usable, but the piezo system isn’t so impressive. Although it does subtly enhance the sound, the noticeable increase in amplified body noise and microphony negates any improvements regarding authenticity.
References:
1. Music Mart Magazine, April 2001
