The old Yamaha FX500 guitar multifx unit had a "Sitar" setting. Not exactly an
authentic sitar sound, but close enough for jazz, and tons of fun in the right musical setting, playing the right scale. I suppose extreme resonance settings on certain filters might give one an approximation...but I'd have to have been given good money to force myself down that road....
There's a string of Indian restaurants along Sixth Street, and many of them have a sitar player, or sitar and tabla players, sitting in the windows, facing the diners and jamming...despite the wildly different approach to harmony and structure, when you watch them it's kinda great to see their attitude, playing what to us would translate most closely to classical music; just gigging musicians like a lot of us, suffering all the humiliations and joy that entails...kinda great, actually.
Cheers.
