User:Sheerdel/Electric setar

An electric setar is a setar that uses the principle of electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric signals. The instrument resembles an acoustic setar in proportion and size. Although it uses the same technical principal to convert string vibration into electric signals as the electric guitar, it has a distinctive sound to the latter and it is designed to mimic the timbre of the traditional Iranian instrument Setar.

History
The acoustic setar is traditionally a solo instrument. In recent years due to its delicate sound and low volume, it is generally a difficult instrument to amplify, specially when used alongside other instruments.

In 2004 an Iranian musician Behzad Sanati started experimenting with amplifying the setar by strapping a piezoelectric pickup to the body of an acoustic setar. As up until this time  using a microphone was the only common practice, which had proven inconvenient in unconventional situations such as when used in combination with especially loud instruments. In 2007 he built the first prototype, which uses an electromagnetic pickup. And by 2009 the instrument was taken to the stage for the first time.

Types
The electric setar is a young phenomenon. Nevertheless there are diffrent types, either in devolopment or put to use.

hollow-body electric/ Acoustic Electric
This type of Setar is best compared with a semi-acoustic guitar. Conceived only recently, in 2007, is still little known to large audience. It has a characteristic sound that still resembles the original sound of the setar. The pickups convert a combination of string and the distinguished body vibration into an electrical signal. The Setar is originally fitted with 27 frets, so is the electric Setar. The combination qurter-tone scales and special picking techniques along with the pickup coloring of the sound has an unusual result. This variant uses a specially built setar, as a normal setar would be feedback sensitive already at very low gain levels.

Electric acoustic
Although used rarely, a setar can be fitted with pickups purely as an alternative to using a separate microphone. They may also be fitted with a piezo-electric pickup under the bridge, attached to the bridge or with a low mass microphone (usually a condenser mic) inside the body of the setar or on the top of the setar that will convert the vibrations in the body into electronic signals, or even combinations of these types of pickups, with an integral mixer/preamp/graphic equalizer. These instruments could be called electric acoustic setars, and are regarded as acoustic setars rather than electric setars because the pickups do not produce a signal directly from the vibration of the strings, but rather from the vibration of the setar top or body. These type of amplification is used rarely for the setar due to thin sound quality and high feedback sensitivity at already low gain levels.

Recent Developments
In recent years instrument builders in Iran and around the globe have also started experimenting with piezoelectric pickups on the setar. http://www.hamavaz.com/article-print-12400.html