Slight OT: mailing tabletop harmonium to the US from Afghanistan?

[MatthewVanitas]

This is slightly off-topic, but this is the only free-reed forum I'm slightly involved in, so hope this isn't too off-base.

 

While I'm mucking around with my tinwhistle and uke here in Afghanistan, and waiting for my Elise (Hayden Duet) concertina to arrive, I'm thinking to pick up a harmonium, since those are quite popular here. One of the local shopkeepers on the military base, who I'm on good terms with, said he can take a few pics in some Kabul shops while he's on supply runs, and bring back photos, details and prices. I don't yet know if they're affordable enough to make it worth buying one here and shipping one back to the US (via the American Post Office system), factoring in the risks of breakage, but it's worth looking into.

 

 

 

For those unfamiliar with music of the subcontinent, this is the tytpe I'm referring to:

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Traditional_harmonium_played_in_manhattan_apartment.JPG

Is it utter folly to try and mail a tabletop (Indian style) harmonium from Afghanistan to the US via the APO, or is it totally doable with proper packaging?

[malcolm clapp]

 

Is it utter folly to try and mail a tabletop (Indian style) harmonium from Afghanistan to the US via the APO, or is it totally doable with proper packaging?

 

Define "proper packaging"....

 

I've worked on quite a few of these. The internals of these instruments are quite simple, and any half-way competent accordion repairer in the US should be able to reset any parts that become scrambled in the postal system, both inexpensively and with ease.

 

However, the cabinet work is a different proposition. You would need to package it as you would a piece of fragile furniture. From my experience, the wood used is not good quality, despite the glossy finishing work. It is quite disheartening to open one of these up and read the words "Jaffa Oranges" or "Nissan" on the inside!!! One heavy drop and significant damage will be caused. I would suggest a well padded wooden crate would be required, rather than a cardboard box!

 

One point to also consider if buying one of these: they are usually pitched well sharp of the Western standard of A:440, so if you are planning to play with other fixed pitch instruments, you could be looking at quite some expense in having it brought down to an acceptable pitch. However, if playing alone or with percussion, or with instruments that can be tuned up to the pitch of the harmonium, then this won't be an issue.

 

My 10 afghanis worth....

 

Good luck.

[Dirge]

You need to find a friend in the military who's finishing his tour and can carry it back for you!

[Theo]

You might find you can buy one in the USA, maybe for not much more than the cost of shipping from Afghanistan. They are certainly available to buy in the UK.

[catty]

Of course, they're readily available from the major importers in the US. Here's the LITM page:

 

http://larkinthemorning.com/search?q=harmonium&x=19&y=12

[MatthewVanitas]

You might find you can buy one in the USA, maybe for not much more than the cost of shipping from Afghanistan. They are certainly available to buy in the UK.

 

I've thought about that; just need to figure out the local price so I can calculate it against the price of buying in the US.

 

I'm familiar with LITM, though some of their prices are less than reasonable; can anyone recommend a reputable US dealer of harmoniums whose website I should use as a benchmark? I've seen "we just chuck random stuff in a crate and import it" dealers with some really low prices, but no idea on quality.

 

The main problem with buying in Afghanistan is that, due to lack of ability to move about safely, one usually has to buy things through an Afghan intermediary. So if they cost $150 in the shop on Istiklala Street in Kabul, I'll probably have to tack on another $100 for an Afghan to run down and pick it up for me. The Afghan middlemen are well-aware of their (profitable) position, so I can't just slip a guy a case of Mountain Dew for running an hour's errand for me.

 

But I'll see what they run, and bounce that (plus shipping and insurance) against the price of comparable models already in the US. I dimly recall there was some music school or institute in California that sells a lot of good student-quality Indian/Pakistani instruments, will have to try and track their site down.

[malcolm clapp]

From slight off topic to slightly more off topic...

 

This is how I was told that Indian harmoniums are tuned at the factory.

 

Apparently, the Master Tuner sits on a raised podium with as many as 20 other tuners sitting in a straight line on either side of him; he would sound a note on his master instrument and the tuners would each tune a reed of their harmonium to this pitch.

 

When he was satisfied all their instruments were sounding the same pitch for that note, the Master would reach behind and strike a small gong, signalling them to stop and proceed to the next note.

 

Wonder if they ever tried this at Lachenals?

[Ken_Coles]

One dealer I'm aware of who tweaks instruments he imports to the US (and plays Indian music himself) is:

 

http://www.buckinghammusic.com

 

Has several models. Sounds like he'd be more motivated than some to get you a good instrument.

 

Ken