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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 18, 2006 16:03:16 GMT
I just heard a big cracking noise from my qin! It doesn't sound very good!
I took it off its hanging position and stood it against the wall. I looked at the barometre and it was 20% humidity! No wonder! I just implemented emergency procedures and started to spray a mist of water over the qin and put a bowl of water under the qin facing the soundholes. It seems to stop the cracking sounds.
I am now worried, coz I think one of the soundposts has detached from the top or bottom board (I can see some wood dust on the edge of one of the soundholes, indicating something has come loose), and I'm scared it has been damaged! Luckily, there are no physical cracks on the joint along the edge that is visible (not like Christopher Evans' qin), but there may have been some internal damage, hopefully minor.
I have to keep and very close eye on the qin now. I am hoping for it to rain soon so that the current lacquer cures, so I can examine it more closer!
*prays*
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 18, 2006 23:07:46 GMT
I ordered a humidifier and it is due on 20th. It will stop it getting any drier, plus solve the lacquer curing problem. £34 (cheapest good one I could find), but I'm desperate now...
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Post by Si on Jul 19, 2006 5:00:55 GMT
I worry when i turn on the Air-con during these very hot months in shanghai. How does weather and AC / central heating effect your average Gu Qin.
Is it a fact of Gu Qin life that cant be avoided, or is it rather rare to have these cracks and varnish blemishes appear??
Anyone have other tales to tell?
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 19, 2006 13:36:56 GMT
Guqin should be kept at a constant climate. Too dry (below abou 25% humidity) and/or too hot can damage the qin coz the wood 'moves' or warps. As far as I can tell, qins are safer in China than in other parts of the world.
TBH, AC dries the air and CH heats the air up, so both are not good if you overkill. The most important thing is humidity, need to have it at around 50-70% and the qin should be fine.
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Post by sanmenxia on Jul 19, 2006 16:47:14 GMT
Well, your qin should be OK today, it's 35 degrees today *phew wot a scorcher!* :-) I'm told it's just like China. But rain is forcasted for tonight, and it's going to be humid tomorrow.
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 19, 2006 18:00:36 GMT
Yes, but it's very dry according to the forecast. I have to shut the windows of my room to conserve the humidity. But yes, it should be OK tomorrow as we might have a bit of rain tonight (but not much). At least the humidifier's due tomorrow...
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Post by carol on Jul 20, 2006 16:22:44 GMT
What's the qin soundpost made of?
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 20, 2006 16:33:06 GMT
The same wood as the qin is made of. It would be paulownia me thinks (or some may use some subsitute since the wood used for the soundpost isn't critical (as long as it isn't MDF!).
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Post by carol on Jul 20, 2006 19:21:26 GMT
As far as I know, paulownia doesn't really crack on dry weather. So, it should be ok.
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 20, 2006 19:50:54 GMT
I'm not saying it cracked, I'm saying it may have detached from either the surface or bottom board due to dry climate, making the wood shrink, and hot weather, making the glue melt slightly... The cracking sound was loud. It was as if something unpleasant and hard smacked on the qin very forcefully, almost like a kick than a bump! As far as I can hear, it didn't sound very good. And there was minor cracking sounds coming from it as I ran about the room, trying to get a chair to stand on to take it off the wall. The crack only stopped after I cooled it down with my my emergency measures.
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Post by blueharp on Jul 21, 2006 10:32:17 GMT
Do you still have strings on it?
I have found that silk strings make some alarming sounds as they shift in hot weather. We are also having a heat wave (39+ in the past week and getting hotter). I have 2 medieval fiddles that also can make some alarming sounds when it gets hot.
If the strings are not mounted might I offer that the instrument is simply shifting in response to the heat and lack of tension. Keep an eye out for new cracks. Both the lacquer and wood are relatively tough, that's why ancient instruments are still with us.
Keep us posted!
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 21, 2006 13:49:22 GMT
Of course the strings and tuning pegs are off it! Otherwise, how can I lacquer the surface (see pics in Lacquer! thread)?!
I do know how strings de-tuning and tuning pegs moving sound like: a squeeking sound, like a trainer skimming off a shiny surface.
The sound was more like a 'bonk', almost to a 'bang' but not that sereve.
I have thought that the lack of tension may have paid a part in it being more unstable. The wood dust at the edge of the dragon's pool makes me worry that something has happened (otherwise, where would the wood dust have come from).
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Post by carol on Jul 21, 2006 15:49:17 GMT
It's funny, my Yun Old Rosewood guzheng also makes that weired noise in the bass part as you described. Sounds like something broken inside. I can't do anything with it, since I can't take the backboard off.
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Post by Si on Jul 21, 2006 17:56:56 GMT
maybe you could buy one of those small dentist mirrors and see if you can angle it so you can see inside the qin..............using a torch...............
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Post by Charlie Huang on Jul 21, 2006 21:27:41 GMT
T'was thinking of that.
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