Italia Electric Sitar

[fightthepower]

Has anyone ever played/heard of these? There is very little info on the net about them, other than where to buy them. They have 'lipstick' pickups.. heh

I found two short videos on 'Rogue' electric sitars, which look the same in construction, but they were played with effects on them, though they sound alright.

Anyway the seller wants $450 for one, I offered $300 and if he bites I'll be checking it out soon - Unless someone here can steer me in the right direction!

So, anyone have any experience they can share?

[lunarpollen]

Italias are really odd creatures. In general, they sound great and feel great to play. Just be careful if it has its pickup jack mounted on hard plastic, because the plastic is likely to break at some point and then you'll have to have something grafted on.

[fightthepower]

Thanks, I'll be sure to look out for any cracks or issues with the jack.

[Marcus Johnson]

"you go back jack do it again
wheel turnin' round and round you go
back jack do it again..."

(... solo solo solo ...)


or...

(play play play)... and then Freda Payne sings

"since ya been gone
all that's left is a band of gold" etc etc

or...

"When I think about the good love you gave me
I cry like a baby ... " (play play play play)


and a bunch of other cool songs.
Electric sitars are fun.

[Bard2dbone]

The reason that the Rogue and the Italia look pretty much alike is that they are both copies of the Coral Electric Sitar.

The Coral was made back inthe '60's and '70's by Danelectro. Basically that company went outof business. The Danelectro that is around nowadays is not really the same company, although I don't know how to explain that since they bought all the rights to the old designs

The Electric Sitar is built basically like any Danelectro electric guitar, except for the bridge. in stead of having and edge for the strings to go across, making a distinct point to the end of the string, there is a 'buzz plate' bridge, where the string sits against a flat piece and well...buzzes. That's where the sitar-y sound comes from.

[fightthepower]

All I know about Rogue... is that they make some ****** acoustic basses, though thats not to say they don't possibly make nice ones.. nor am I complaining about the $100 cosmetically perfect Rogue I got off craigslist last year hehe. But I get the impression that they make cheap knockoff stuff.

Would you say, in general, that Rogue and Italia are on the same plane as far as quality? There are a few Rogue Electric Sitars on ebay and elsewhere for under $300, but I was unable to find any other used Italia's.

I'm becoming more and more interested in these things, but I just shouldn't be spending $400 on something I wasn't.... Gassing for (what does the acronym GAS stand for btw?). Having a 'sitar' would pretty cool to play around with on some eastern/dubby kind of tracks, instead of searching for and chopping up samples.

Thanks for the info everyone, much appreciated!

[uethanian]

u could get a real sitar for that amount of money

...just a thought.

[fightthepower]

Indeed, it was a thought of mine as well, though I haven't been actively looking for one, and no one is selling them on craigslist. Without having done any research on them, I just ass-umed that the sitar would be an expensive instrument; due to the size, and somewhat rarity of them (might not be rare but you don't see them every day.)

I should just save my money anyway, I've got enough toys right now as it is... The more I think about it, the more I want the damn thing, and at the same time I'm thinking that I would ultimately be disappointed with the tone. In worst case it would make a good wall ornament... but I would probably kick myself for buying on impulse when I could (apparently) get the real deal for about the same price, and just mic it up..

[Bard2dbone]

Yeah, but you'll already know how to play this one if you play guitar. A real one uses a whole different rulebook. And it's printed in Hindi.

[funkalicious101]

I think the Rogue ones sound pretty good based on this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mx4N_...eature=related