“Retains all the charm of the original 1960s classic design in all its vintage glory”: Danelectro has brought back its Big Sitar – with some modern upgrades

Danelectro has reissued its Big Sitar, based on the model first launched in the 1960s used by everyone from Metallica and Steve Howe to Steve Vai and Eddie Van Halen.

The Danelectro electric sitar pays homage to the sitar, the traditional South Asian instrument used in Hindustani classical music. It became popular in the West in the late 1950s and 1960s by artists such as Ravi Shankar, The Beatles, and The Rolling Stones.

The new six-string Danelectro Big Sitar comes in White, Red, or Black Crackle finishes and retains the sitar's 13 sympathetic strings. It also has an angular body design with leg recess, which makes it easier to perform in a sitting position.

Other features that distinguish the new version from its 1960s counterpart are the string-sensitive Gotoh Sitar bridge and the trio of Danelectro’s flagship lipstick alnico pickups, which Danelectro asserts “deliver even more crystal clear highs with a warm open low-end, searing mids and that classic Dano chime.”

If you're dipping your toes in the sitar world for the first time, the Danelectro Big Sitar is played like a conventional six-string guitar. The 13 sympathetic strings can be played harp-style intermittently while strumming chords or playing lead lines. They can also be leveraged to add depth to the mix, as they can be controlled via individual volume and tone controls.

In addition to the modern upgrades and a $799 price tag, Danelectro promises that the new version “retains all the charm of the original 1960s classic design in all its vintage glory, with just a few modern upgrades.”

For more information about the Big Sitar, head to Danelectro.