The construction of the santur instrument is one of the oldest Iranian instruments
Centaur playing is an original Iranian music. The most common type of dulcimer (9 strings) has 72 strings, which are divided into 4 groups and 18 groups.
Based on surveys and researches, the santur is considered one of the oldest instruments in Iran; The oldest surviving sign of this instrument is from Assyrian and Babylonian stone carvings [source needed] (559 BC). In these stone carvings, the ceremonial line that was erected to honor Ashur Banipal, an instrument that is very similar to the handmade dulcimer, can be seen in the middle of that line.
The santur is a completely Iranian instrument, which some attribute its creation to Abu Nasr Farabi, which, like the borbat, another Iranian instrument, was later exported.
Some researchers believe that the centaur went from Iran to other Asian countries in the distant times, as today similar types of this instrument are found in Iraq, Turkey, Syria, Egypt, Pakistan, India, Tajikistan, China, Vietnam, Korea, Ukraine and other countries. It is played in Central Asia and also in Greece.
You can use walnut, betel and azad wood, due to the lack of betel and azad wood, it is used more than walnut wood and because of its availability.
(Walnut wood usually has a warm sound, free wood has a glass and crystal sound, etc.)
The best walnut wood is garden wood, which has better sound efficiency than other woods. The best walnut wood can be obtained from cold regions in terms of their cohesive texture, for example, walnut trunks from the cities of Tuiserkan, Sanandaj, Taleghan and Zanjan have They are good quality.
We can get walnut wood in the form of powder or in the form of lumber. It is better to use thick and old wood that has a very dark color.
After lumbering, we select the right parts of the walnut wood and cut it for slicing, then we put the slicing wood into water to extract the sap and boil it until the gum of the wood disappears, then after extracting the sap, we put the slices in a suitable place and Shaded to dry over time. It is necessary to mention that if the wood is dried, it should be allowed to dry for a few years before it is fully ready to make the instrument.
The construction stages are based on 3 foundations
Choosing the right wood
Accurate bridging
Cutting the bottom and top pages
First, we can choose the coil or the skeleton of the coil from hard and dark walnut wood to ensure its strength.
The next step is to select the following page.
After choosing the right wood, we stick the coil on the screen. Then we start drilling holes for phones and wires.
Centaur bridges are made of walnut wood and cylindrical with a diameter of 9 mm, which are placed in their exact place.
After gluing the face plate on the bell of the santur, we cut the pages and attach the bell of the santur, and then we sand the santur and prepare it for paint. First, we use the primer for the color of our choice. After the primer is completely dry, apply alcohol varnish on the instrument to polish the instrument and protect it from humidity.