Please help me buy an erhu for my father!

[lk]

Hi there! I am new to this forum and have browsed some of the threads, but my knowledge of the erhu is zero except for hearing my father play when I was a kid. I would like to buy him a new one for Christmas and have no idea where to start (he hasn't played for over 20 years and I think it's because his old ones are damaged or broken in some way).

I have no idea what quality his old instruments were, but my father is the type of person who would probably want the best. However, he's also very practical and would not want to "waste" money. This would just be a hobby since my father is retired and has been self-taught in the erhu all along.

I would like to keep this purchase around or below 2-300 US$, but am not sure if it's even possible to get a good one in that price range that's not a piece of junk! Please help with any specific recommendations, trusted websites to purchase, any advice at all!

Thanks so much in advance!

[davidmdahl]

Welcome to the forum, lk. What a wonderful son to give such a gift to his father! Good on you!

Well, you can get a decent enough entry level erhu for around $300, but realistically speaking, it would not be "the best". You can check out the line-up at Eason Music. I have ordered a lot of instruments and supplies from Eason, and have confidence in the quality of their instruments. They are quick to resolve problems.

www.eason.com.sg/products/products_erhu.jsp

I recommend starting out in the "Professional Grade" group, such as MMK3. Maybe an option for you is to offer to contribute to the purchase of an erhu. That way, if your father wants something better, he can cover the rest of the cost.

Best wishes,

David

[mikegbn]

Hi lk,

Looks we we have something in common; I buy an erhu for my dad every other christmas or so. Not sure if your dad is involved in any local chinese music societies? The standard way around here of getting a decent erhu at a reasonable price is to know other musicians who play erhu that may be travelling to china to bring one or two back. They need to know how to play or at least have an ear for what to listen/look for to make sure it sounds good and is of good quality (a non-musician could get majorly ripped off). When they bring it back they would usually add something to the cost to cover their trouble etc getting one for you.
This is kind of the tried and tru method around here of getting an erhu...

Note also that if you live in Canada like I do, bringing erhus back (or even by mailorder) without a CITES export permit, the erhu may be confiscated or snake skin punctured by customs when it lands in Canada.