Problem with my Hulusi... help!!

[fahd]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to this forum, and found it while looking for help to troubleshoot an issue that just started with my Hulusi.

I bought my Hulusi a few months ago...  and I've fallen in love with it!   a week ago I decided to play it for some of my colleagues at work... at a holiday part.   everything was going according to plan for the party yesterday.   I even practiced playing on it the night before, and it sounded so good.    about an hour before the party I noticed that one of the notes wasn't "clean" or "pure" enough... but I didn't think too much of it.

an hour later... during the performance however... the sound was suddenly really bad ... but on only ONE note...  and I had no idea what was going on!!  terrible timing if you ask me.  but honestly I don't even care about the performance itself or the party.. i'm worried that something is really wrong with my hulusi and I have no idea how to troubleshoot the issue or fix it.    Since then, the horrible sound seems to be contagious and is growing... now I'm getting it on a couple of notes... almost three!!  that's just a day later!

the best way to describe it is that it sounds like two reeds are playing, but horribly out of tune!...but only on a couple of notes.... basically when I open the bottom two or three holes of the hulusi...   and no... I'm not engaging the drones.    every other note sounds perfectly fine...    the drones sound perfectly fine.   I've unattached the middle flute, and played it by itself, and it's producing the same behavior...  something is definitely wrong


I'm including a sound sample that I just took right now, and a few photos of the instrument... hopefully someone can give me some idea of what to do.    I love my hulusi and I want its beautiful sound back    please help

Hulusi sound.m4a (587.61 KB)

[fahd]

a couple more photos

[zarnaik]

I have had the same problem with my bawu (hulusi without the drones).
You could try checking if the reed is ok. If I recall correctly I fixed it by gently pushing the reed around. I've also had some dust/small hair partly block the reed's movement.
Warning, I am not at all an expert so perhaps it is best to wait for an answer from more experienced players.

[edcat7]

Hi Fahd and welcome,

As Zarnaik has suggested, try gently flicking out the reed with a pin. The reed lasts only for a couple of years before it become oxidised and you lose the high notes. Reeds can be easily replaced, try Redmusicshop.

Ed

[fahd]

thank you guys for the reply.

I've inspected the reed, and it looks fine to me. again, i don't know how it's supposed to look... the pictures I attached are exactly what I'm seeing. and as I said before, and as you can hear from the recording, most of the notes, specially the high ones, sound perfectly fine. it's the middle notes that sound bad!

i thought it might be moisture build up... but I'm not sure how to drain the moisture... i've been airing it out the past couple of days... but it's not sounding any better. i'm fearful it's a lost cause at this point.

what other ideas do you guys have from your experience?

thanks again for the replies.

Fahd

[edcat7]

That's an unusual Hulusi you have. is it chromatic? I only use my hulusi to play tunes specifically written for it, ie pentatonic, and so have no need for a chromatic one.

The fact that it played well and all of a sudden only one note is badly out of tune leaves me puzzled. I once bought a rosewood hulusi and from the start one note was completely out of tune. I think I gave it away.

You don't need to spend an awful amount on one, but to choose one for yourself from a whole pile of hulusis. Unfortunately I guess like me you don't have that luxury.