|
|
Post by dustylad on Mar 9, 2011 5:48:26 GMT
Hello guys and gals, new to ya and new to musical instruments for the most part ^^, i've grown up watching Japanese, Chinese movies as my parents where into that sort of thing as well, though i mainly stick to samurai movies now, i also like all types of dramas.
So far i've only been playing the ocarina for about a year or so, and i love it but i want to try another instrument.
Well if i can hopefully get myself a good Hulusi i will not buy another oc until next time ^^
Right now i'm looking at Eason and this beauty, but i'd like your advice before i do anything.
I've been told that on some Hulusi one of the drones may be only ornamental and this person was told that some type of cover might be best for turning the drone holes on or off? Would make it easier anyway.
Please give some info on this Hulusi or if you know of another i will take a look, thanks ^^
|
|
|
|
Post by davidmdahl on Mar 9, 2011 21:25:51 GMT
Welcome to the forum, dustylad. I am not a hulusi player, and am not familiar with the Eason hulusis, but in general Eason Music is a good source. You may get some responses here, but I suggest contacting Eason with your questions. They will be better able to respond with specifics on their instruments. Contact information is available on the Eason Music website.
Last year I bought an excellent bawu from Eason, and it is much better than one I bought from another source. I usually avoid the lowest priced option, but probably any hulusi from Eason 'Professional' and above will be pretty good.
Best wishes,
David
|
|
|
|
Post by dustylad on Mar 10, 2011 23:04:44 GMT
Thanks david ^^.
|
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Mar 14, 2011 23:43:57 GMT
Hi Dusty. I've been learning the hulusi for 3 months now and find it so easy I'm switching over to the dizi. I've got several hulusis of various prices and my suggestion to you is initially to buy the cheapest you can find.
There is available from Taiwan a £6.29 inc postage hulusi! from ebay.Ive got 3 from them; 1 is so good my music teacher uses is for live performances, the other 2 are rubbish. The reason they are so cheap is because they are made by trainees - so buyer beware! But at that price you cant go wrong.
Quality woods such as redwood or ebony do not necessarily improve the sound. A traditional hulusi is made from a gourd which is quite thin and has a 'special' resonance compared to 'quality' woods which are thicker but does not have that resonance.
Buy one in either C or Bb key. Good Luck! Ed
|
|
|
|
Post by xindi on Mar 16, 2011 21:15:14 GMT
Hi Dusty, cool - a hulusi fan  I've just come back from the Yunnan province - home of the hulusi. There were loads there - some stunning varieties. All the ones out there had active drone pipes (none of the decorative stuff). They range from 10 Yuan (about $1.50) upwards, depending on whether a jade crystal shaped ornamental gourd is your thing! I'm not a fan of the 1 octave + 1 note instrument - and never found a single polyphonic hulusi available. They are very easy to play and do not require much training in the way the dizi mouth hole embouchure does. I've not bought from Eason (yet) but they have a good reputation for selecting items - and their professional series are very affordable too. If you don't have access to a local source of hulusis, that seems like a good place to start. I'm not a huge fan of higher pitched instruments - I love the low F Bawu which has the same bold and mellow strength of a clarinet, but only deeper in tone. The fingering is identical to the hulusi btw. |
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Mar 25, 2011 18:18:48 GMT
Hi Dusty.
There is now available on ebay a hulusi (under the heading chinese dizi calabash) for £18.89. Ive got one and have ordered another one. Don't turn your nose at the price, it's the best sounding hulusi on the market! I also have a 'professional' redwood and a redwood cloisonne but they are not as good. Even my music teacher thinks the Taiwan hulusi is a steal.
|
|
|
|
Post by bud on Jun 15, 2011 7:40:22 GMT
|
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Jun 15, 2011 13:59:54 GMT
Hi bud
There seems to be two companies selling the same product. One company sells to the UK and not the USA and another company that sells to the USA and not the UK.
The above hulusi in the link is not the one I recommended though I have 3 of them. One is so good my teacher uses it for live performances, 1 is OK and the other is rubbish. These seem to be made by trainees so you roll the dice and take the gamble. If you do buy this one ASK for the SMALLEST one possible. They are only available in Bb
The one I highly recommend is sold by the same vendor at about US$33. They come in 2 colours, a dark and a light one. My dark one is slightly better sounding and easier to blow. My light coloured one has a slightly easier fingering position. These come in C
Regards
Ed
|
|
|
|
Post by bud on Jun 16, 2011 6:50:13 GMT
Thanks so much. I found the one you referenced.
Bud
|
|
|
|
Post by dakobah20 on Jul 4, 2011 13:16:25 GMT
edcat7 can you link the hulusi you are referencing? i cant seem to find what you are talking about on ebay, i bought a hulusi on ebay and it was rubbish plastic matierial, so i am looking to buy one with good sound any help would be appreciated.
|
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Jul 4, 2011 18:23:21 GMT
Hi dakobah20
It depends on where you are. There are 2 vendors selling the same product:
jbzq2388 (£18.89) and dashop168(US$ 33.19) both based in Taiwan.
If you are really serious about the hulusi and have a larger budget check out the redwood detachable hulusi ($69 + postage) from Chinesemusical-instruments.com . Though INSIST on Zeyu getting you some extra reeds. You can buy from him directly (mention my name Edward)
Sorry I can't give you a link my computer skills are very elementary.
Also I highly recommend the bawus from Virtual-village (same fingering)
Good Luck
Ed
|
|
|
|
Post by xindi on Jul 18, 2011 15:16:38 GMT
Ed - the best hulusis were the huge gourd shaped ones with three drone pipes and no holes in the main pipe. You turn it upside down, fill it with plum wine, and drink it by drawing the wine up through the pipes at leisure  |
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Jul 18, 2011 20:15:03 GMT
THANK YOU FRIEND ! On another note, as much as I love my Taiwanese hulusi and rosewood hulusi (I found it can be tuned similar to a dizi) there seems to be something missing. There is a girl, Kachilam (sorry for the spelling error) on youtube whose hulusi is what I aspire to. She won't tell me where she got it from but i'm more and more suspecting she got it from Henry Wang. But I think (my wife knows) I have too many hulusis at the moment. Besides, i'm trying to learn the basics again on a bass G dizi. I'm beginning to have that eagle claw syndrome. |
|
|
|
Post by xindi on Jul 21, 2011 22:33:09 GMT
Eagle claw syndrome?
I suppose her playing ornamentation and phrasings are more directly influenced by the culture around her. It's very hard to develop a personal style of playing without exposure to this kind of specialist music. Having backing tracks does not cut it!!!!
I still think you could wall mount all of your hullusis, the same way that provincial pubs do with spent bottles of wine.
The bass dizi is my favourite length although the faster rhythmic demands of a lot of the music I'm trying now, requires a shorter and more agile C or D dizi. I still don't have a Bb one. The rosewood version I tried was very very flat, rather than just B flat. More of an All flat dizi.
All the dizis you have (apart from the Bass G) are only capable of major scales. The Bass G is interesting - you will be able to start playing music with weird '7 b' notes.
|
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Jul 26, 2011 22:07:57 GMT
After having put aside my hulusi for over 5 months to concentrate on the dizi, I picked it up again to play 'Phoenix fern under the moonlight'. I had forgotten how beautiful my cheapo Taiwanese hulusi sounded and how sad I felt when memories of Shanghai came rushing back.
|
|
