In the last few years we learned about an awesome Indian wind instrument called the Shruti Box. It's sound is similar to the Harmonium. A central chamber fills with air with the use of a bellows. When the compartment closes, it forces the air through open reeds to create a continuous sound. You can play individual notes or drone with a continuous chord. The world is yours when you fly on the wings of a Shruti Box.
It's a great instrument for chanting, vocalizing, or harmonizing with other instruments. It blends well with singing bowls or gongs in a sound bath, or on its own at home for a droning sonic meditation. We definitely recommend these for anyone seeking something new in their sound healing practice.
Because these hand-made instruments travel a long distance to get from their makers to us, and then from us to you, and also because the reeds are delicate and sensitive, these boxes can develop a rogue note with a rattle or buzz over time. Changes in environment and weather on their long journey may even move a reed slightly out of place, causing a rattle the first time you use it.
You know what though? Let your fears wash away! For there is a very simple, quick solution and you'll be back on the road to breaking the harmonious winds. It takes a little bit of effort and a small flat-head screw driver, but we know you can do it. I mean, I fixed my personal Shruti at home. The hardest part for me was identifying a screwdriver, which tells you something. Once I figured that out, I was on the road to success!
We were lucky to have the help, knowledge, and expertise of master Shrutists who came long before us. We thank these strangers, these bastions of harmonious wisdom, for their efforts putting together these resources which we were able to stumble across, easily decipher, and get right to work putting our reeds back in-line.
Watch this video below to see how you can identify the problem reed, remove the face plate, and adjust it simply and quickly yourself.
As you will see in the video above, the rattling itself is caused by the metal tongue making contact with the side of its small metal reed mount. If the reed is slightly off center this can happen. It can also happen if the tongue is not lifted or open enough. Either way, with a small amount of pressure and leverage from your small screwdriver, you can gently move the reed to the left or right, or open it further, allowing your reed to sing without obstruction or rattling.
In the video below, you'll learn how to fix a buzz caused by a tongue that is just a little too wide for its space, causing contact and rattling.
It's possible that bending the tongue of the reed to the right or left may not provide enough space to stop the rattling. If this is the case, the tongue might need to be gently filed down slightly with a metal file, opening the space and allowing the reed to sing its beautiful song.
Here's another video we found online, troubleshooting the Shruti Box:
Wow. That was all pretty simple. Thanks to the power of the internet and the wisdom of expert Shruti streamers, we did it, together. Team work: truly, it does make the dream work.
Now, take those dreams and let them sing! Let that Shruti do its duty. And if you somehow ended up here and you don't have a Shruti Box, you can see, hear, and purchase them here in our store: Shruti Boxes
Ryan Shelledy has been making gongs for over a decade from his hand-built foundry in the Midwest. His amazing creations blur the line between, art, sonic sculpture, percussion, and sound healing tools. He is always innovating and developing beautiful, unique pieces that keep us excited for his next delivery of gongs. Learn more about his work in our recent interview with him!
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