|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 10:33:18 GMT
1) The type of wood 2) The snake skin 3) Accessories: qiangin, ma (bridge), bow, etc 4) The design of the erhu
Let me know if there are other points you want to add in for this discussion
5) maker of the erhu (point added by eugene)
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 10:48:22 GMT
To me point 1 and 2 is the most important as it directly influence the sound of the erhu
Wood: From my recent recent research on the net, the quality (price) of wood seems to go in this order Small leaf Indian Sandalwood Old Qing/Ming Rosewood (redwood) build from old furnitures from the Qing and Ming dynasty Violet Sandalwood (There is a wider range of quality here but Small leaf is the top range) Old Rosewood (redwood) Black wood (Umu) Red Sandalwood and others lower quality wood which I am not interested to do research
Seems like the harder the wood, the better. A lot of erhu makers claimed that they will the wood material dry up for years before using them to make erhu. Small leaf indian Sandalwood erhu are more like US$4000 and above because the wood is very rare. The Old Qing / Ming Rosewood is also rare so good one are about US$1000 to $4000.
The problem with us customer is that we can't tell what actual wood is been used. Most of us can't tell the difference between them. We can only trust the seller's and the makers's word for it
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 11:07:02 GMT
Snake skin:
From something I read on the net, there are a few points about snake skin. First, the size of the scales. Most comments seems to compliment bigger scales. Second, the thickness of the snake skin. Thicker is better. Third, the degree of hardness the snake skin is attached to the erhu. Loose ones are a no no. Forth, the texture of the skin, smooth is good, rough is not. Fifth, the appearence, sharp contrast of colour is better. I have even hear some said there should be more yellow / lighter potion is better.
With that said, the extreme of the above said is also not good. Like overly big scales, overly thick skin, and etc. Now when I look at new erhu, I usually count the scales diaganally, there should be between 10-15 scales from edge to edge. Remember someone listing the difference in sound with different combination of numbers of scales.
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 11:15:44 GMT
Point 3 is easy to tackle. These are accessories that can to interchangable.
There are comments on how the sound differs from different brand of strings. There are even german made that is double the price. Personally, I have no experience with this.
The one thing I find a big difference is the Ma (bridge). The lighter colour one sound bright and the darker colour sound softer. Personally, I like the darker colour ones.
There are a wide range of bow. Cheap ones go for about US$15, expensive one US$70. There might be more expensive ones, I don't know. Some are heavy, some have more horse hair. Personally, I can't tell the difference.
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 11:24:47 GMT
Design/ Types: From what I have heard, there are 3 types of erhu. Suzhou, Shanghai, Beijing. In Singapore, there are more Suzhou than beijing. Beijing ones are lower in sound pitch, Suzhou is brighter. Shanghai is in between. Beijing also have the octogon erhu while 90% of Suzhou and Shanghai are hexagon (traditional shape). There is a debate online about which one is better but I guess a commentor sums it up best...from an erhu competition on china tv, all of the competitors (from diffenent region) all used hexagon one My first erhu is octogon. I still like it. If you are into the artwork of the erhu, check out the below link. www.wuyunerhu.com/Love the dragon and the taichi design. Notice the design of the base are also unique.
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 2, 2017 11:31:59 GMT
Forgot to metion the copper and wooden tuning peg.
Seems to me that copper tuning was popular in the 80s and 90s. The only good thing about them is they are easy to tune. Some complain about the metallic (undesirable) sound it produces. To me, I can't tell. Also, the internal mechanic may fail. Like my first erhu. Now, no one can fix it.
My teacher gave me an impression...professional don't use copper tuner erhu
|
|
|
Post by eugene on Jun 2, 2017 14:50:52 GMT
Thanks fatpanda for sharing so much to us. Beside all these point. The erhu marker is also very important. But FYI most of these famous erhu, are not made by them but by their discipline. And they normally will keep the best made erhu at their home unless you know the personally or you are worth their erhu. otherwise you cant get these erhu in the market. I'm very fortunate to try out one of them from my teacher. Its a mingMing golden Small leaf Indian Sandalwood with rare golden python skin and ivory craving. The sound and feel its a lot different from my Small leaf Sandalwood. Erhu bow are made from different type of bamboo. the most expensive are the Xiang Fei bamboo bow. I been using 李怀刚 bow and find it very good. But they are not cheap as well. there are also synthetic skin erhu. you might want to check it out as well www.ecoerhu.com/
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 3, 2017 1:57:04 GMT
Thanks eugene for adding the point. Yes, the maker of the erhu is another point that determine the price. I have not experience the chance to try different maker erhu so I don't know the difference. I promised myself that if I do improve to a certain level, I would invest in one erhu made by famous maker with good wood. It might cost US$3000-4000. But I can leave it to my next generations and treat it like a family treasure. But the problem is: even for such expensive erhu, a lot of them do not come with certification. Only with the maker name and wood type craved on the erhu. I would prefer something like these two done by dunhuang shop.dunhuangguoyue.com/product-633.htmlshop.dunhuangguoyue.com/product-632.html
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 3, 2017 2:03:48 GMT
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 3, 2017 11:53:00 GMT
|
|
|
Post by edcat7 on Jun 4, 2017 0:13:44 GMT
Thanks eugene for adding the point. Yes, the maker of the erhu is another point that determine the price. I have not experience the chance to try different maker erhu so I don't know the difference. I promised myself that if I do improve to a certain level, I would invest in one erhu made by famous maker with good wood. It might cost US$3000-4000. But I can leave it to my next generations and treat it like a family treasure. But the problem is: even for such expensive erhu, a lot of them do not come with certification. Only with the maker name and wood type craved on the erhu. I would prefer something like these two done by dunhuang shop.dunhuangguoyue.com/product-633.htmlshop.dunhuangguoyue.com/product-632.htmlThe above erhus are a heck of a lot of money. For that sum I'd rather get a Ming Qing aged rosewood by Hu Han Ru (and I did!) As to leaving instruments for the kids, I have several costly classical guitars and a costly erhu. Pity they aren't interested.
|
|
|
Post by eugene on Jun 8, 2017 4:59:55 GMT
For that price you can get a Small leaf Indian Sandalwood erhu. i dont think its worth it just for that certification. For erhu i not quite sure it can last that long even if you take care of it. Because the wood of the sound box and the skin are using adhesive. So it might get loosen or wear off. Plus the skin will also get softens and the sound starts to deteriorate. Maybe 30 yrs depending on how often you play.
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jun 8, 2017 13:26:21 GMT
Yes, I think so. But the problem is how do we know that the maker really used Indian Small Leaf Sandalwood and such? The second erhu that I bought recently from my school have "Blood" Sandalwood engraved at the bottom. After doing a reseach online, found that someone claimed that 90% of the so call "Blood" Sandalwood are not real. Real "Blood" Sandalwood quality is close to Indian Small Leaf but they claimed that 90% of the "Blood Sandalwood" is actually African small leaf sandalwood. Still a good wood but a big difference from Indian Small Leaf.
So, what can we do? My second erhu was made by a famous erhu maker and if it is one of the 90%, who can we trust? Maybe buying from Dunhuang is better? Maybe they are reputable? But the only good one they listed is "12A Small Leaf Sandalwood" but not mention if it is Indian or Africa.
|
|
|
Post by davidmdahl on Jun 8, 2017 21:02:53 GMT
When you can play-test an erhu, the only important factor is how it plays and sounds. When you have to order blind, I suggest the important factors are in order: the reputation and knowledgeability of the vendor, the reputation and skill of the maker, the snake skin, and wood. After that, the setup of the erhu, including strings, bridge, qianjin, and pad are critical. Something wrong with any aspect of the above can be trouble.
It is likely that the best snake skin will be used for top grade small leave sandalwood, but that could happen on other good wood. I would not be surprised if a premium grade of rosewood, or old wood, might not yield superior results than a lessor grade of small leaf sandalwood, Indian or not. I don't think I could tell the difference by looking at the wood.
I like Dunhuang for quzheng, but prefer other makers for erhu. If I were shopping for an erhu upgrade, I would ask Sung Wah at Eason Music what he has at my budget range that is particularly special. I would not be overly concerned about the wood.
Best wishes,
David
|
|
|
Post by yuhongmei123 on Jul 21, 2017 20:18:51 GMT
Design/ Types: From what I have heard, there are 3 types of erhu. Suzhou, Shanghai, Beijing. In Singapore, there are more Suzhou than beijing. Beijing ones are lower in sound pitch, Suzhou is brighter. Shanghai is in between. Beijing also have the octogon erhu while 90% of Suzhou and Shanghai are hexagon (traditional shape). There is a debate online about which one is better but I guess a commentor sums it up best...from an erhu competition on china tv, all of the competitors (from diffenent region) all used hexagon one My first erhu is octogon. I still like it. If you are into the artwork of the erhu, check out the below link. www.wuyunerhu.com/Love the dragon and the taichi design. Notice the design of the base are also unique. There are some REALLY cool erhus on this website! So tempting . . .
|
|
|
Post by fatpanda on Jul 26, 2017 2:22:01 GMT
Recently, discover Yu Kai Ming, an famous erhu maker is also a wood sculptor. See some of the beautiful erhu designs of his! shop1493398705791.1688.com/
|
|
|
Post by paulv on Jul 26, 2017 11:15:49 GMT
The above erhus are a heck of a lot of money. For that sum I'd rather get a Ming Qing aged rosewood by Hu Han Ru (and I did!) As to leaving instruments for the kids, I have several costly classical guitars and a costly erhu. Pity they aren't interested. Ed, You need to trade in those classical guitars for a nice 1958 Gibson Les Paul Standard, and then you'll get the kids' attention:) Regards, paul...
|
|