Zhou Lin Sheng and other famous tantalising dizi

[xindi]

One of our friends here told me about Zhou Lin Sheng and his relationship with his famous students who have gone on to make their own flutes.

I found this one on the internet usual ... a snip at US$525.90 (the 90 cents must be very important!)





Now I don't know the music of Zhou Lin Sheng very well, but I suppose if he has had great students like DXH, then his flutes should be great too, right?

Hmmm.

Somethings wrong. I look at those images .... and nothing about the manufacture of the flute ... the flute's materials...nor the flute's design...the embouchure design .. nothing suggests that this flute is worth anything more than US$52.90 ... unless the flute's name takes up 10x the cost of a standard G flute.

I'm not completely oblivious to flute manufacturing, however as far as I know, these are flutes, which are not made by Zhou Lin Sheng himself: they are made by a factory, which may have the rights to his name in the same way that Justin Bieber perfume, is not made by Master Bieber himself :lol:

More than likely, these are flutes made by apprentices in the factory, or maybe, visually checked by Zhou Lin Sheng (is he still alive?!). the opaque black oxhorn is hardly expensive too; for purple bamboo .. this is hardly the best quality I've seen. 'Silver copper joint' is a great marketing term for 'metal alloy tuning joint because the flute is probably not in tune, despite its high price).

Grief - how can sellers like this rip people off, trading on someone's name only?!

(Rant over )

[edcat7]

I considered getting the above flute. I made an offer of £200 which was flatly rejected. The lowest the vendor would go was around £250.

Does Zhou Lin sheng guarentee his flutes against cracking? even after say, 10-15 years. if not that is indeed an expensive dizi.

[xindi]

Wow. I don.t doubt that the seller thinks he can ge more for it. The internet has opened up a huge market for those who have no access to such flutes to buy sight unseen, unheard too.

Its kind of limiting being trapped with the Roman languages ... I bet the chinese language flute forums are awash with comments as to whether such a high price tag for what looks like a simple unkeyed bamboo flute, whose brilliance can only ever be a function of the selected natural bamboo really merits it.

If I find a dizi tutor whom I can understand, come January, I'm going to find out what he thinks of these hyped market flutes. Maybe he'll tell me to sell everything and buy one lol

[xindi]

.....because two would cost too much :-P

[edcat7]

My teacher came back from the Shanghai Expo. With all the different manufacturers there selling at bargain basement prices one would have thought he would have bought the most exclusive of dizis.

He bought a XB dizi, haggled from £20 to £15. It's not the best sounding dizi I've heard but it is certainly the fattest dizi I've seen! He rates loudness or 'Chi' more importantly than sound quality.

[xindi]

I guess your tutor is performer which might be why he prefers volume?

Any louder the neighbours will be knocking, not to wish me Merry Christmas either!

If I ever go back to Shanghai, I'll bring an air filter mask....the Expo is really something. Don't think anything like it exists....maybr the Early Music Festival in London, or the Lorient Interceltique festival in France.

[phillipr]

Dec 13, 2011 14:07:35 GMT edcat7 said:

He rates loudness or 'Chi' more importantly than sound quality.

Hahahaha!!! Sounds like me and Irish flutes. I've been told that when someone walks away from a session that I'm playing in, I'm the last musician they can hear before everything fades into silence. ;D Perhaps this also explains why I like the XB dizis that I have.