As a left-handed player I did not have a lot of choice - and since thomann is always impeccable - I thought why not. The issues started as soon as I opened the box: they shipped the sitar with the gourd (second soundbox) attached so of course the wood broke with the tension! Ok, they sent another one... but because these instruments are imperfect the screw holes did not align well... after one month I found a luthier that could help. The sound is great but the finish is not, not shiny but a matte brown. The frets are not shiny but looked very oxidated. The white decorative plastic pieces in the playing area fell down in less than a week because they were not glued properly, 3 months later and the plastic strip around the pumpkin is starting to unglue and break everywhere, the metal where the strings attach is all rusty and the white tips of the taraf tuning pegs are falling down... basically it looked like the sitar had been sitting for years in the warehouse and lost its shine... the included strings for sure were in the sitar for a long time prior to purchase because they broke in no time and no replacement set was sent... they were not shiny and even a bit rusty. The included gig bag is terrible for such a fragile instrument also because it’s designed for right-handed sitars so the handle is the other way around which means that when you transport it all the tension in is the tuning pegs and chikari strings... because of this I already broke more than 7 strings during transport... get a hard case or else it’s like carrying a newborn baby around. For the price I was expecting a much much better finish... but at least the sound is great. Poor sitar, I love it but she’s a warrior. For everything else Thomann is wonderful!
Hope this review helps.
