Medium 440Hz 13-Note One Octave C3-C4 Thetazen Shruti Box with Gold Bellows and Carry Case
Size: 14.5" x 11" x 3"
Average weight: 3640g
Scale: Third Octave 13-Note C3-C4
Includes: Carrying Case
The Thetazen Shruti Box in this medium size is tuned to 440 Hz and carries a full 13-note third-octave range, running from C3 to C4 across the complete chromatic scale plus the upper C. That third octave falls within the lower-mid vocal range, which makes this size a natural fit for chant work, mantra practice, kirtan, and any setting where the drone needs to sit beneath a singer or support a male vocal range rather than float above it. The lower tonal placement lends the drone a grounded, meditative weight that pairs well with sound therapy sessions, breathwork, yoga nidra, and quiet contemplative practice. Within the lineup, the medium box lands in a practical middle ground, offering richer resonance and stronger bellows projection than the smallest model while staying light enough to carry to retreats, classes, sessions, and group circles. Built from solid ply with warm gold bellows, each box is made to hold its tone and travel well through years of steady use.
The shruti box grew out of the classical music traditions of India, developed as a portable, hand-pumped reed instrument built to hold a steady drone behind singers and instrumentalists. Its name traces to the Sanskrit word shruti, meaning "that which is heard," which in Indian musical theory points to both the smallest perceptible step in pitch and the foundational tones a raga is built around. In many traveling contexts the shruti box took the place of the older, bulkier tanpura, offering the same unbroken drone in a form far easier to pack and far more durable on the road. Its role has since expanded well past those classical roots, and today the instrument turns up in sound therapy, meditation, kirtan and devotional singing, yoga and chanting practice, songwriting, and any setting that calls for a sustained, breathing drone to anchor a voice or a melody.
To play a shruti box, you open the bellows on one side and pump air gently through the internal reeds, choosing which notes sound by sliding small stoppers on the front of the instrument open or closed. Any mix of notes can stay open together, which lets you build a single-note drone, a fifth, an octave, or a fuller chord-like bed of tone to suit the practice. Because the bellows breathe in a slow, even rhythm, the shruti box carries a living, rising-and-falling quality that sits much closer to a sung note than to a synthesized drone. Rest the box on your lap or a low surface, open the reeds you want, and rock the bellows in an unhurried rhythm; the tone will hold for as long as you keep the air moving. It needs no tuning, no electricity, and no formal training to play, which is exactly why it has become a go-to instrument for sound practitioners, yoga teachers, and singers who want an unplugged drone they can bring anywhere.
Please note that the Thetazen Shruti Box is handcrafted from ply and solid wood by skilled artisans, so small differences from one instrument to the next are a natural part of the process. Variation in wood grain, color, finish tone, and slight shifts in hardware placement are normal and expected, and may differ a little from the photos shown. Every box is tested and tuned before it ships, but because the reeds are set by hand, subtle differences in tone and bellows response are part of what gives each instrument its own character rather than making it a copy of the next. These small variations are not flaws; they are the signature of a handmade instrument built the traditional way.
