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Post by edcat7 on May 25, 2012 15:11:32 GMT
The weather has been playing around with the tone of my new dizi. Sometimes it's loud, clear and resonate whilst other times it has been dull and quiet.
My 'professional' quality dimo varies in thickness; my teacher uses only one brand of dimo which he gets from China.
I've used some of Xindi's dimo and it's like getting a better dizi. Does anyone recommend a brand of dimo which is available over the internet?
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Post by wenceslas on May 25, 2012 20:11:23 GMT
Hello Ed! All the while I'm using Professional Ming Gui Dimo, www.eason.com.sg/products/wind_access/mdz7.jsp alot of flute player are using this dimo as well. Eason is selling it a bit more expensive as they select the Dimo from the better batch from the production line. I guess you should be able to buy this on some other sites, maybe it is cheaper. |
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Post by xindi on May 26, 2012 20:33:36 GMT
It's all gone Ed.
That was the last batch - the bamboo crop wasn't as good this year.
You'll have to try some of the Eason one. I've tried 6 other brands, and they're nowhere near as good as that pack you had. Even the one I'm using now isn't as delicate and finely nuanced.
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Post by edcat7 on May 26, 2012 23:08:37 GMT
I used the dimo supplied with my sandalwood dizi and it is a pain a get just right. The one you gave me, i have only 2 strips left and is absoultely wonderful.
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Post by xindi on May 26, 2012 23:24:07 GMT
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Post by xindi on May 27, 2012 0:24:38 GMT
Oops Ed -
forget the Eason one. That is 明 Ｇui - same as the red packs that I bought. I have some spare packs of those - they are nowhere near as good, but they are acceptable in the absence of the top notch ones :/
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Post by edcat7 on May 27, 2012 0:43:15 GMT
I never bothered looking before but I have those too. The quality is variable; no wonder my teacher prefers to use his own dimo.
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Post by edcat7 on May 27, 2012 13:25:23 GMT
I broke the dimo so I got my teacher to change it....using xindi's dimo. He loves it. Bring me back some the next time you're in china?
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Post by wenceslas on May 28, 2012 21:09:48 GMT
According to what I know, Eason do keep the batch of dimo which were produced during a good season... the only thing is... it's not so worthwhile to buy and ship to UK... too expensive. And yupz ming gui dimo's quality varies just like any other brands... it all depends on the season. The only thing I realized is that no matter how the quality of the ming gui dimo varies, its still within my acceptable range. One more brand I can think of is the Dunhung dimo.
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Post by edcat7 on May 28, 2012 21:27:14 GMT
I'm lucky to have Xindi as a friend who goes back quite frequently and Allen is coming over too.
The above brand I have had good results, but equally I've had less tha good results too.
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Post by wenceslas on May 28, 2012 21:36:36 GMT
Yupz... I hate it... the quality of dimo depends on season. When there is a good batch of dimo, you can't buy alot as you cannot keep them for too long. Really envy you guys, so near to each other and xindi travels to china often and Allen going over to UK. =)
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Post by xindi on Jun 2, 2012 12:00:55 GMT
I broke the dimo so I got my teacher to change it....using xindi's dimo. He loves it. Bring me back some the next time you're in china? Ed - you must've missed the subliminal message in the you tube link above .... It's GONE!!! Unlike the Ming Gui people ...the higher quality dimo one just dries up for that year, until the next batch. It's true that quality control in China isn't what it is in western countries, but when it comes to a natural product like bamboo, I guess we just have to make do with what there is...... Btw - I've opened up 4 packs of the Ming Gui bought from different stores across China/Hong Kong. They are all as acceptable as each other, with no noticeable difference in quality. |
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Post by xindi on Jun 2, 2012 12:05:54 GMT
Yupz... I hate it... the quality of dimo depends on season. When there is a good batch of dimo, you can't buy alot as you cannot keep them for too long. Really envy you guys, so near to each other and xindi travels to china often and Allen going over to UK. =) Where do you live Wenceslas? I really envy people who get to stay in one place for their home/career without having to travel like a yo yo lol. Do you store them in an airtight container with silica gel (not touching of course), it keeps them well. Muji do nice little plastic boxes which are reasonably airtight for storing dimo. Well, that's not what they were designed for lol. If you want some of my Ming Gui rejects, I'll post them to you, so that you can compare them with your ones, and let us know whether they are worse or better than the higher quality batch ones reported from the Eason site. I don't think the quality of these approaches the other ones I've discovered. It's been insect/midge/mosquito larvae season so I've been trying to avoid playing outdoors and wear my isolation headphones when playing. That could be the reason the di mo doesn't sound as good lol |
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Post by edcat7 on Jun 2, 2012 14:11:41 GMT
When my teacher buys dimo in China he opens up all the packs ...before buying. If we did that we would likely to be thrown out of the shop!
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Post by wenceslas on Jun 7, 2012 17:26:37 GMT
Hey Xindi, I mainly stay in Malaysia... but I travels to Singapore often =) Thats the only place I can get good dizi and dimo. =) Erm ok, I store my dimo in a normal container then place it in my dizi bag. In the bag I place a pack of charcoal and tea bag. As long as there is no moisture, generally a good dimo can last up to 1 year before it is spoiled. Erm just beware when you buy ming gui dimo, buy it from trusted source as I know that there are quite a number of fake ming gui dimo being sold in the market. Wah wearing isolating headphones!!! Of course it will affect the sound. >.<
Haha Edcat7!!! Yea sure get chased out of the shop. Oh the last time round when I went to Mr Ng Teck Seng's house to buy dizi, I bought a few packs of ming gui from him... he opened a few pack to show me then sell me the rest.
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Post by edcat7 on Jun 7, 2012 17:33:22 GMT
Wow! to buy your dizi directly from Ng tech Seng's house.
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Post by xindi on Jun 7, 2012 21:00:27 GMT
Hey Xindi, I mainly stay in Malaysia... but I travels to Singapore often =) Thats the only place I can get good dizi and dimo. =) Erm ok, I store my dimo in a normal container then place it in my dizi bag. In the bag I place a pack of charcoal and tea bag. As long as there is no moisture, generally a good dimo can last up to 1 year before it is spoiled. Erm just beware when you buy ming gui dimo, buy it from trusted source as I know that there are quite a number of fake ming gui dimo being sold in the market. Wah wearing isolating headphones!!! Of course it will affect the sound. >.< Sounds like Eason is one of your largest/friendliest suppliers then. The Ming Gui di mo packs which I picked up, were from Guangzhou; Beijing and Hong Kong. The Hong Kong ones are authentic - imported by the largest chinese retailer in Hong Kong. It's not that the Ming Gui are fake; they just aren't as good, as other scarce brands. I guess in less humid countries, the di mo will last longer? Maybe I lead a charmed life, but the shopkeepers don't actually object to opening up the dimo pack to show the thinness of the dimo, and to prove that it has not yellowed in the pack through long storage. I don't know about the internet, but I gather the most popular auction site allows a fixed time approval for items purchased if the buyer changes their mind within a fixed time? I find my ears hurt after playing high pitched dizis - I rarely play without ear defenders of some sort. I know it robs the pleasure of listening to the dizi, but it also stops the pain. |
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Post by wenceslas on Jun 9, 2012 13:18:40 GMT
Hey edcat7, yupz his house... you can only get his dizi from his house or from eason. Hence I prefer to go down to his house to choose the flutes personally. He makes very good flutes. I had a G, F & D (RM 290 plus = USD 90 plus) each made by him; I bought the flute 2 years ago, not sure if the price had gone up... all the octaves are easy to play, in tune, sings beautifully. A very good & decent professional level flute I should say but I never got a chance to buy his purple bamboo flutes as they are way too expensive.
Hey Xindi, erm I don't usually get from eason. Only buy from them when I really can't find decent ones in Malaysia. Eason's dimo is way too expensive... it like about RM 12... I love playing with dizi but I'm not willing to go to that extend of paying so much for dimo. =) Haha... =) "... its ok, as long as you are happy with it..." cited from Fandizhi. It's ok to wear ear defenders as long as you are happy playing with your dizi. I'm getting myself a pair of Hertz earplug soon. =)
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Post by xindi on Jun 11, 2012 13:00:31 GMT
12 Malaysia Ringgit is rather pricey... :/ Are there many dizi flute outlets in Malaysia? Apart from Michelle Yeoh I didn't think there was much of a Malaysian chinese export market  |
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jock
Intermediate
Posts: 44
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Post by jock on Dec 25, 2012 9:02:23 GMT
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