What are the different kinds of sitars?
Nowadays the two main kinds of sitars are based on two different styles of playing; the gayaki style of playing and the tantrakari style of playing. Gayaki style sitar is also called gandhar pancham style or also Vilayat Khan style sitar. The Tantrakari style sitar is also called kharaj pancham style sitar and is known as Ravi Shankar/ Nikhil Banerjee style sitar. The Gayaki sitar has room for bending the notes and more sustain and the tone is softer. The Ravishankar sitar has a buzzy sound, and lends itself well to the older tantrakari style of playing.
