Musik Messe on Lenin Sarani is one of the shops that stock musical instruments of foreign make. Picture by Pradip Sanyal

Sixteen-year-old Debditto Banerjee has been learning to play the drums for four months. Last week, his parents took him to a music shop to buy his first drum kit. He chose an imported Mapex kit over local ones. “The Mapex was so much better than the other kits in the shop. My parents, however, had to shell out at least Rs 3,000 more,” says the student who plans to start a band.

City musicians no longer have to be super rich or depend on relatives abroad to procure foreign instruments. They don’t even have to place an order and wait months for their chosen brand of instrument to be imported. Pearl and Yamaha are now available off the shelves in Calcutta.

“There was a time when we had to request relatives coming from abroad to get us foreign instruments. Things have changed, especially over the past two years. One can now get a decent foreign instrument at an affordable price,” says ace guitarist Amyt Dutt.

According to musicians, the foreign brands available may not be top of the line but they are better than local brands. “We are getting lower-end instruments from abroad but it is still good for city musicians. We can now get the quality that we had been deprived of for so long,” says Monojit Dutta, the leading man of Latin Jazz band Orient Express.

Local music stores like Braganza and Co., Signature and Musik Messe have started stocking foreign guitars, keyboards and drum kits instead of importing them only when an order was placed.

The brands being sold include Roland, Yamaha and Korg keyboards, Fender Stratocaster, Ibanez and Gibson Les Paul guitars, and Pearl, Tama and Mapex drum kits.

Even shops in Lalbazar, known for manufacturing instruments, have started stocking instruments from abroad. The price range is Rs 1,500 to Rs 2 lakh.

“If someone wanted a foreign drum kit, I used to place an order. Now I have five Pearl kits in the shop. I can afford to stock them because there are buyers,” says Tony Braganza, who runs a well-known music shop on Marquis Street.

Increase in purchasing power and supportive parents have created the market for products from abroad.

“People have become quality conscious. Parents are willing to pay Rs 12,000-Rs 13,000 for a guitar when their children start learning the instrument,” says Dutt.

The boom in the live music scene has boosted the demand for foreign instruments. The popularity of music-based reality shows has also broadened the market for quality instruments. Schools in Calcutta are purchasing foreign brands instead of settling for cheaper local alternatives.

“Five years ago, only 10 per cent of my sales comprised foreign brands. Now 70 per cent of the equipment I sell is of foreign brands,” says Bobby, who runs the Roland Pro Music store in Kidderpore.

With increase in the number of shops selling foreign instruments, most of them offer discounts, sweetening the deal for buyers.

“Customs duty on imported instruments has been slashed from 60 per cent to 35 per cent. Sales tax has also been reduced from around 15 per cent to 12.5 per cent,” adds Bobby.

The use of better instruments has the potential to improve the quality of music, feel musicians. “Instruments are the medium of sound. With better quality sound, the quality of music will also improve,” says Dutt.