Have I been sold a defective dizi

[draistlin]

Hi, guys just bought a dizi as i've always wanted to learn it and so finally took the plunge. Problem i have is, in the photo attached i've noticed that the bamboo inside the dizi is peeling. Now the response i got from the store i bought it from is:

'thanks for your enquiry. Don't worry, the things that peel out inside the dizi is the natural bamboo membrane, it is formed after air-dried the bamboo, this natural bamboo membrane only appeared one time, after you play the dizi for a period of time, it will not be appeared again.'

So is this an acceptable reason, or should i play it safe and ask for a refund? Thanks again for any help.

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[xindi]

Hi,

welcome to the forum and great to see another dizi player here.

Some flutes have the bamboo membrane still remaining - it's no big issue and the seller is honest and correct in saying that the membrane will come off in time.

This is usually the kind of average but decent quality bitter bamboo which does have its natural membrane. Most bamboo makers use a mandrel or something long to rake out the membrane and smooth off the finish. It will come off with moisture, and/or light oiling before you play with it.

It won't alter the sound quality much - yours has a double lined metal tenon joint, which will help tune the dizi, and this makes more of an impact than the remainder of the membrane. There are some threads here in this subforum about different finishes - I like the natural bamboo (uncoated) finish, but it is more likely to crack if exposed to greater humidity shifts.

Enjoy your flute!