Electro Sintir

The electro sintir is a new instrument based on the cello sounding lute played among the Gnawa people of southern Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, also known as guimbri, guembri, gombri or hajhouj. It uses three nylon strings tuned to DdG, the middle one being the highest in pitch, is never fretted. The body of the electro sintir is covered on top with goat rawhide and in the bottom with leather. The instrument is equipped with two piezo pickups embedded in the wooden bridge. The morphology and playing technique of the sintir have obvious connections to West African instruments as well as to the American banjo.

The electro sintir was commissioned by post traditional musician extraordinaire, Debashis Sinha.