HSQ's closer for many years utilizes string de-tuning to achieve a sitar sound. This is well worth the work and can also be played without de-tuning.

This was an experiment that worked. The detuning produces a wonderful increase in resonance from the instruments as the pressure on the tables is drastically reduced. Our violist especially started sounding like a sitar which was fabulously serendipitous during the ‘Within You, Without You’ section (bars 69 through 84) since the original was played on a sitar. Don’t ask me how I thought to stick the Beatles tune in - it just popped into my head and poured out, so I figured it must be correct. TUNE CAREFULLY! This is perhaps the most difficult part of this piece as it must be done quickly, quietly and accurately. Tune the A string down the P4th first as that will release the most tension on the table and thus cause the other strings to rise in pitch slightly. After tuning the rest of the strings, go back and retune the A string. Here you finally have an excuse to see just how loudly you can play. Note: as this is a C score and your strings are detuned, you must work out fingerings in advance unless you decide not to detune. However, if you do this, the arrangement will lose much of its intended character.