Danelectro DBS68 Baby Sitar review

The sitar is among the most evocative of all stringed instruments, and simply hearing its unmistakable drone and resonance transports you straight to the Indian sub-continent.

A traditional sitar bears very little resemblance to a six-string guitar in both specification and the technique required to get a tune out of it, yet diverse artists have striven to use the sitar in their music.

Arguably the most famous electric sitar is the Coral, introduced by Danelectro in the late 60s, which has been used by everyone from Rory Gallagher and Pearl Jam to Steve Vai and Metallica.

The feature responsible for producing just the right sound on the new DBS68 Baby Sitar is the Gotoh Buzz Bridge, which you'll also find on high-end Jerry Jones Master Electric Sitars.

The strings go over the black plastic base at just the right height to ever so slightly touch when played, which then produces a surprisingly authentic sitar sound.

The downside of the system is that the guitar has just about no sustain, and although the bridge can be raised or lowered via two screws, it can be a chore to get the height just right.

It's worth persevering, though, and you can drift off into the Himalayas on a raft of Indian flavours at the merest chord, while single-note runs - provided you learn the right scales - sound similarly exotic.

Although the thermometer-style body shape makes the Baby Sitar nigh-on impossible to play sitting down, the authenticity of the sounds may be the clincher.