New to harmonium? Start here. These are the instruments we point beginners at: our own Maharaja builds from $509, and Bina from $655. Every one is tuned to A440 and checked in our Delhi workshop on the day it ships.
22 harmoniums from $509 to $919. Built properly, not cheaply. Free insured express shipping to 38 countries. You pay nothing when you order, and your instrument ships only after you approve it on video.
If you are buying your first harmonium, this is the honest short version. You want a 2 reed instrument with a coupler, from a maker who tunes it properly before it ships. You do not want the cheapest thing on the internet, and you do not want a 3 reed or a scale changer until you know you need one.
Our own Maharaja harmoniums, $509 to $755. Built in our workshop near Delhi. Not the cheapest harmonium you can find online, because we do not build them that way. Dried wood, multi stage checks, three or four tuning passes, and a final retune before dispatch. The 7 stop models at $545 are where most first buyers start. The 9 stop models with a coupler at $569 are the better buy if the budget stretches, because you will want the coupler within a year.
Bina No. 8, $655, and No. 9, $715. The most widely recommended first harmonium in the world. If you have a teacher, this is probably what they will suggest. 2 reeds, a coupler, 3.25 or 3.5 octaves.
The difference between a $545 Maharaja and a $655 Bina is mostly finish and name. Both will serve you for years. If you are unsure, message us on WhatsApp and tell us how you plan to play. We will say honestly which suits, and we will say if the cheaper one is the right answer.
Harmoniums are built in two traditions and the real difference is in the keys. Delhi style keys are one piece. The key pivots on a centre pin: press the front down, the back lifts, the air escapes, the reed sounds. Simple and direct. Calcutta style keys are two pieces, with a tab on the front piece lifting a separate rear piece, which is a more involved mechanism and a different feel under the fingers.
Neither is better. Delhi instruments are lighter, simpler and priced for regular players, $509 to $919. Calcutta instruments are the concert tradition with more reeds and scale changers, from $885. For a first harmonium you want Delhi. That is not a compromise, it is the right tool, and it is not a decision to agonise over. Buy the one that sounds right.
How do you know it sounds right? Play a chord, stop pumping, and count until the sound dies. Over four seconds is good, under three is mediocre. We film this test for every harmonium before it ships.
Both are on this page. A standard upright is a little more rigid and holds tune marginally better over years. A portable or folding one packs down to roughly half the depth and is right if the instrument will move between home, class and satsang. If you do not know, buy the standard. It costs less for the same reeds.
We tune to A440 and check every key on the day of dispatch. Open the packing straight away so the instrument can air. Work the bellows gently for the first week. If a note sounds slightly off after a long journey, give it a few days in the room where it will live before deciding anything is wrong. Wood and reeds both settle.
You pay nothing when you order. An order here is a request, not a payment. We confirm the instrument is available, then you decide.
You see and hear the actual harmonium. We film and photograph the exact one going to you, played through, before it is packed.
Free insured express shipping to 38 countries including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, Australia and New Zealand. Canada, the UAE, Thailand, Poland and Czechia are charged by weight and quoted before you pay.
Free WhatsApp advice before you buy. Tell us how you play and we will say honestly which one suits, including when a cheaper one is the better answer.
Not sure which harmonium? Our complete harmonium buying guide covers the two decisions that set your budget, how the instrument works, the five checks that matter, and the two repairs every owner should know. About twenty minutes to read and it will save you from the most common mistakes.
A 2 reed instrument with a coupler, from a maker who tunes it before dispatch. Our own Maharaja 9 stop with coupler at $569, or a Bina No. 8 at $655. Both will serve for years. Avoid 3 reed and scale changer instruments until you know you need them.
$509 to $750. Below that you are buying an instrument that will not hold tune. Above that you are paying for features a beginner will not use yet.
Either. Maharaja is our own build and starts at $509. Bina starts at $655 and is the more widely known name. The playing difference is small. Choose on budget and looks, or ask us.
Not on day one, but you will want one within a year if you sing with it. The coupler doubles each note an octave apart and thickens the tone for accompanying. The $569 Maharaja and every Bina here has one.
Yes, and it is the right choice. Delhi instruments are lighter, simpler and priced for regular playing. Calcutta concert instruments are for later, if ever.
From us, yes. A440, checked the day it ships. Give it a few days to settle after travel before judging anything.
Yes. Free insured express shipping to 38 countries. You pay nothing when you order, and your instrument ships only after you have seen it on video and approved it.
