Instrument
Tanpura
Long-necked drone lute, four strings, gourd body, no frets. Standard tuning 5-8-8-1 (Pa-sa-sa-Sa): one tonic string an octave below the others (Wikipedia). The curved jivari bridge makes strings graze it, which gives the buzzing, harmonic-rich sound and a shifting spectrum over several seconds. Open string length is about 1 m (male tanpura); the "female" is three-quarters of that (Wikipedia).
- Range
- C3–C4
- Sources
- 4 (4 independent)
Mics sources recommend
7 setups from 4 sources, 4 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.
Studio
Close
- Neumann M 1471 independent source
- Neumann TLM 103 (two)1 independent source
- Schoeps CMC 6 MK 41 independent source
Room
- AKG C414 ("C 414 B-XL" as written)1 independent source
Main pair or array
- Neumann M 149 Tube (LCR)1 independent source
- Neumann M 150 Tube1 independent source
- 9-channel immersive array (types not named)1 independent source
The 7 setups behind this: placement and quotes
- Close Neumann TLM 103 (two)close, two TLM 103s (positions not described; the library ships close, room and ambient positions)
Our signal chain consisted of two Neumann TLM-103 microphones and an AKG C 414 B-XL (for room ambience) running through an API 3124+ mic preamp
1 - Room AKG C414 ("C 414 B-XL" as written)room, for room ambience
an AKG C 414 B-XL (for room ambience)
1 - Main pair or array Neumann M 149 Tube (LCR)main, three M 149s as a left-centre-right array in front of three tanpuras (distances not given)
a sophisticated microphone array - including Neumann m1 49 LCR and m1 50 omni directional mics
2 - Main pair or array Neumann M 150 Tubemain, omni mics in the same array (positions not given)
Neumann m1 49 LCR and m1 50 omni directional mics
2 - Close Schoeps CMC 6 MK 4close, on the tanpura players, alongside a 9-channel immersive array
were captured with close mics (Schoeps CM6U MK4) and a 9-channel immersive array
3 - Main pair or array 9-channel immersive array (types not named)main, 9-channel immersive array around the three tanpura players
and a 9-channel immersive array
3 - Close Neumann M 147close, low end only, on short stand on floating floor, no shockmount; high-passed layer
Shravanam used an M147 to capture the 60 Hz low end alone, rolled off above 100 Hz, layered under other mics (paraphrase).
4
Range
Male tanpura (101 cm strings) tuned with Sa at C to D: kharaj (low Sa) 131 Hz, Pa 196 Hz, jora (Sa) pair 262 Hz, per Toss Levy's string table for Sa = C. With Sa at D it sits a tone higher. These are string fundamentals; the jawari puts strong energy in the harmonics. Wikipedia: male singers take Sa at D, C# or lower (some at Bb); female singers usually a fifth higher (F or A).
Tuning: follows the singer's tonic
- Female tanpura (90 cm strings), Sa at G#-Bb: As given by Toss Levy: kharaj 414 Hz, Pa 554 Hz, jora pair 818 Hz (approximate). These sit about an octave above what Wikipedia's 'a fifth higher than male' implies, and 554 Hz is a fourth, not a fifth, above 414 Hz; treat with caution.7
Where the sound goes
Sai Shravanam notes a strong low component felt on the player's body: "as low as 60Hz". Heard from a distance it is quieter in the low end (his account).
Recording it
One source only, and it is unusual. Shravanam used a Neumann M147 on a short stand directly on a floating floor with no shockmount, so the floor vibration reaches the mic, then high-passed that track above 100 Hz and layered it under the other mics. A quoted line says the tanpura radiates in complex ways and one mic cannot catch all of it (this came from a search summary of the same article; I did not see it in the page text).
About the range
The pitch follows the singer's tonic; no absolute range sourced.
Names
Tambura, tanpuri, tamboura.
Sources
- Impact Soundworks: Sitar Nation manual (tambura, sitar, tabla; recorded by Alec Henninger, Philadelphia)
- Justin Gray Sound blog: Immersive Tanpura Recording, Behind Immersed Episode 19 (three tanpuras)
- Mix (Steve Harvey, Apr 2026): Grammy-Winner Justin Gray, Immersed From the Beginning, Part 2 (photo caption)
- Sound On Sound: Sai Shravanam, Recording Indian Music
- Toss Levy: Tanpura strings Male
- Wikipedia: Tanpura
- Toss Levy: Tanpura strings Female