A shruti box is a wooden box, a set of reeds and a bellows. You open the notes you want, pump with one hand, and it drones underneath you for as long as you keep going.
That simplicity is why choosing one is easier than choosing a harmonium, and also why the choices that remain matter more. There are no frets to fudge, no strings to blame and no technique to hide behind. A shruti box is airtightness and reeds, so the difference between a good one and a poor one is the difference between a drone that blooms and one that wheezes.
There are really only three decisions: which key, which size, and which wood.
Decision 1: which key
This is the one people get wrong, and it is the one that matters most, because a drone that does not sit under your voice is no use at all.
Every box we sell has a thirteen note chromatic scale, C to C, tuned to A440 as standard. That covers the great majority of singers and is what you should buy unless you have a specific reason not to.
We can also supply A sharp (A#2 to A#3) or G (G2 to G3) instead. Tell us when you order.
How to choose:
- C to C, the standard. Suits most voices, and blends well with flute, guitar and other lead
instruments because the drone sits in a register that leaves room in the mix. If you are unsure, this is the answer.
- Low G. Five semitones below C. A natural match for bass and baritone voices, and the
usual choice for players who want a deep, powerful drone under an instrument. Also chosen by higher voices who want the contrast of a deep drone beneath them, and by overtone singers.
- A sharp. Sits between the two.
A useful test. Sing the lowest comfortable note you use regularly. If it is at or below the G below middle C, look seriously at the Low G. If you are comfortable higher, take the C.
If you already own a harmonium or tanpura, match the shruti box to the key you actually practise in rather than to the instrument.
Decision 2: which size
Here is the thing nobody explains: size is really about air.
A larger box holds more air in its bellows. More air means longer sustain between pumps, a smoother, less interrupted drone, and less physical work to keep it going. A smaller box holds less, so it needs pumping more often, and a very small one can leave you working harder than you expected during a long session.
Size also affects volume and depth. Bigger boxes drone louder and fuller. That matters in a room full of chanting people and matters not at all if you are singing to yourself.
What we stock:
| Size | Weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Small | around 3 kg | Travel, practice close to your own ear, small spaces |
| Medium | around 5 kg | Most singers. The size we ship most and the safest default |
| Large | around 7 kg | Deep voices, meditation and yoga rooms, filling a space without electricity |
Choosing honestly:
- Singing at home, or taking it to class? Medium.
- Flying with it, or playing it on your lap for long stretches? Small, and accept a little more
pumping.
- Leading a sound bath, a yoga room or a kirtan? Large. Sustain and volume are exactly what
those settings ask of the instrument, and 7 kg is not much to carry once.
The most common mistake we see is buying small to save money and weight, then wishing for the sustain. The second most common is a solo home singer buying large and finding it more instrument than the room needs.
Decision 3: which wood
Wood changes the character of the drone. All of ours are solid, seasoned timber; none of it is decorative.
Teak is our standard, and the safest choice. Dense and stable, giving a warm, tight, rich drone with clear harmonics that holds together in a mix. It is also the most forgiving of climate change, which matters when an instrument travels from a Delhi workshop to a Canadian winter.
Pine appears in our Super Premium box. Lighter in the hand, with a rounder and more resonant tone. Pine of the grade this instrument needs is hard to source and hard to work, which is why it is the most expensive shruti box we make and why we build it in small numbers.
Mahogany, on one of the MKS Concert boxes, sits between the two.
Finish is not tone. Our medium box comes in natural teak and in espresso. They are the same instrument, differently coloured. Buy the one you would rather look at.
Who makes ours
Maharaja Musicals, our own workshop. Teak in small, medium and large plus an espresso medium, and the pinewood Super Premium. Because we build them, this is where the value sits.
MKS, Monoj Kumar Sardar, Kolkata. And here is the argument for them, which is stronger than it first sounds: MKS are a harmonium house. A shruti box is a harmonium without a keyboard. Harmonium-maker reed matching and voicing is precisely what you are paying for, and it is the part of the instrument you cannot see.
All of them are tuned to A440 and checked again at dispatch, carry thirteen notes from C to C, use brass reeds and multi-fold bellows, are tested for leaks, and ship with a fitted shoulder bag.
Shruti box, tanpura or harmonium?
We get asked this constantly and the honest answer depends on what the drone is for.
Shruti box against tanpura. The tanpura gives a richer, more complex, living drone: four strings beating against each other, and a sound that is part of the music rather than under it. It also costs several times more, needs tuning every time you play, needs its jawari dressed by an expert eventually, and is close to five feet of instrument to ship and store. If you want the drone as a tool, buy the shruti box. If you want the drone as part of the music, buy the tanpura.
Shruti box against harmonium. A harmonium plays melody and chords; a shruti box only drones. If you want to accompany yourself with actual harmony, you want a harmonium. If you want a fixed drone so your hands and mind are free to sing, the shruti box does that better and never needs retuning mid-practice.
Plenty of people own both, and use the shruti box for practice precisely because there is nothing to set up.
How to play it, in four lines
- Release both the front and back bellows.
- Turn the covers sideways to open a single drone, or several for a chord.
- Pump the top bellow steadily with one hand.
- Volume follows pumping speed.
That is the whole instrument. Most people are droning within a minute of opening the box.
Common chords. A single Sa is the traditional drone. Sa with Pa, the root and fifth, is the most common pairing and the one most singers settle on. Adding the octave above thickens it. Experiment: there is nothing to break.
Checking it when it arrives
- Open the packing straight away so the instrument can air, and give it a few days to settle
before you judge it, especially after a big climate change.
- Open one note and pump steadily. Listen for a clean, even tone with no rattle.
- Go through all thirteen notes one at a time. Each should speak promptly and hold steady.
- Test the sustain. Open a note, pump, then stop. It should keep sounding for a good while and
fade evenly. That is the bellows seal, and it is the single best measure of build quality.
- Check for leaks. With every note closed, a gentle pump should meet firm resistance. If air
escapes freely with all stops shut, tell us.
Care, and what goes wrong
Shruti boxes need very little, which is part of their appeal.
Air it when it arrives, and let it settle before judging the tuning.
Push the air out before closing it away. Storing a box with air trapped in the bellows stresses the leather over time.
Keep it away from direct heat and damp. A radiator and a damp basement are both worse for it than years of playing.
If one note sounds weak or slightly off, it is almost always a speck of dust on a reed rather than a tuning fault. Reeds respond to being cleaned far more often than to being retuned.
Tuning holds well. Unlike a tanpura, a shruti box does not need tuning before each use, and a good one stays at A440 for years. If a note does drift, a reed technician can adjust it, and any harmonium technician can work on a shruti box.
No foot pedal from us. Some players want hands-free playing so they can hold a flute or a handpan. Pedals exist, and we do not currently stock one. We would rather tell you that than have you order and wonder.
Before you order
Tell us the key you sing in and where you will use it, and we will tell you which of the eight boxes we carry actually fits. If C to C at A440 suits you, that is what ships. If you need A sharp or G, say so and we will set it before dispatch.
Message us on WhatsApp. If the honest answer is that the small box is enough for you, we will say that too.
Ready to look? All Shruti Boxes, Maharaja Musicals Premium, or MKS Concert.