|
Post by Charlie Huang on Mar 25, 2006 10:16:50 GMT
hahah, it's such an ugly piece. Who would put green color engraving on the old rosewood. I can't read half of the characters on it. It looks like its saying "Chinese Culture Instrument....." The Old Rosewood one in Wang Guoxing's shop looks a lot nicer, there is even an ivory or bone piece inlaid in the top. However, I think that one doesn't sound as nice, and I don't like the dirty smelly environment of his workshop. I bet none of the Erhu there are actully made by himself. Hmmm... I was mistaken about the dodgy character. Anyways, green is not a good colour on brown. Either gold or white is best. I guess I have different tastes to you Carol, I like seal script. BUT... is there really those arabic numbers and english letters inscribed on there as in the pic (they curve so it looks like so)? If so, then that completely destroys the whole elegance of the instrument in one big swoop! Ugly. (BTW, it says it was made in 2005)
|
|
|
Post by maaltan on Mar 25, 2006 17:07:46 GMT
Hi Maaltan: Suzhou is a town famous for making erhu. It's also the hometown of Abin. The writing on the neck only says "Suzhou First Folk Instrument Factory". I can't open your picture link! maaltan.freewebpage.org/erhutry again . . and again, enact a DOS against it if need be. that site has all of the sudden gotten quite crappy. It used to work great, i have had 5 unrelated problems with it in the last week. It redirected to the free webpage homepage 4 times and worked on the 5th try. no clue what the deal is. mine has suzhou, china enscribed in, i guess, seal or grass script on the neck. I was thinking it may have been a reject from the same factory as yours. It looks almost identical except for the poem on the side, mine is blank there.
|
|
|
Post by sanmenxia on Mar 25, 2006 17:10:02 GMT
Does loosening the strings or reducing the pressure on the bridge when not playing make the skin last longer? Or is it that the skin ages anyway regardless how much you play? Personally I don't like writing/engravings on an erhu, although the maker's name on the base would be OK. I just hope if i'm buying an erhu that I don't have to choose between a erhu that sounds good but ugly and one that's sounds OK but looks good.
If I'm not mistaken, I think Abing was from Wuxi, not far from Suzhou.
|
|
|
Post by carol on Mar 25, 2006 18:58:16 GMT
As far as I know, there are many brands that make Dragon head Erhu. It could be good or bad, people can't tell just by the design. I probably only have little knowledge on Erhu, cause I've never heard of Hangzhou making good erhu. The one on Cadenza says made in Hangzhou brand name Yun Long. I thought Hangzhou is famous for making dizi. The 3 major cities making erhu are Shanghai, Suzhou, and Beijing. I asked people on the Huain Chinese forum, and they've never heard of Hangzhou making good erhu. I saw quite a few Erhus by Wan Qin Xing, the other maker listed on Cadenza, and their quality is just mediocre comparing to the other ones I saw. Maybe it's just the ones I saw, not necessary the ones listed on Cadenza. Or maybe it's what I think as good tone is different from others. I think the sound quality of Wang Guoxing erhu is good, it's just that the factory environment is so bad, and I think they don't treat instruments sincerely. I can't find the news of a dragon head being sold to a collector for 10K yuan, but here is what I found: The award winning dragon head one that's selling for 6500 yuan. The brand name is Long Yun, the opposite characters of what's on Cadenza. They also have a video clip of this erhu. It sounds really like a violin to me. www.51erhu.com/Shop/mmzp/200602/77.html
|
|
|
Post by carol on Mar 25, 2006 19:07:30 GMT
Hi CCC:
I won't think it's so ugly if the characters are in white or gold, preferrable gold, cause gold color blends well with old rosewood.
The arbic number is the certificate number for the snake skin issued by the government. It says it's issued in March, 04. Where does it says it's made in 2005? Is that the Chinese character is about?
Hi Maaltan:
I saw the pictures now. I can't tell about the quality from the pictures, but it looks nice!
Yeah, Abing's hometown is Wuxi.
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Huang on Mar 25, 2006 20:26:13 GMT
Is it carved into the wood or is it just stuck on? To me, carving such a thing on an instrument is like writing 'made in China' on a Ming vase!
You can get a fine brush and a pot of paint and ink it in yourself. My qin had horrible emerald green painted into the carving, so I first painting over it in gold, and a year after, in white. Musicians should be able to make minor mods on their instruments.
At the end (left) it says 'made in Yiyou year' which is either 2005, or 1945 (which I doubt on reasonable grounds)... The rest of the carving is not a poem but where it was made (can't see some of the characters properly to do a full translation).
|
|
|
Post by YouLanFengChune on Mar 26, 2006 11:19:20 GMT
Carol,
CCC is right. the erhu was made in 2005. The year 2004 on the erhu, is the year license was approved. In China, usually licenses are approved b4 erhu is made.
Hmm.. That erhu on Long Yun is very good. Nice skin, great grains, and clean, clean sounds. Its price is also same as Cadenza's, at 6500 yuan, or 814 USD.
to sell for 1oK yuan, you need to have specialties. It had an albino snake, shimmering gold in colour, and it was sold to a very rich guy who doesn't really play much.
Haiz, sometimes i have to refrain from being judgemental on names. Erhus must be accpeted on sound and not names. Wang Guo xing, sadly has dissapointed me on his erhu in singapore. Perhaps those are not his best.
Wan Qi Xing is another name i'm not promoting, though its on my site. 1 man, 1500 erhu into singapore last yr, 5000 into Taiwan.... I'm doubting his quality. Even if he spends 20mins on 1 erhu, it takes forever to do all those. 1 high quality erhu requires at least 30 hours of intense undivided attention over a peiod of 5 days. Me and my guys, there's even someone who sleeps over in the workshop to check on the drying tension of all skins.
|
|
|
Post by lumry on Mar 26, 2006 14:31:32 GMT
hahah, it's such an ugly piece. Who would put green color engraving on the old rosewood. I can't read half of the characters on it. It looks like its saying "Chinese Culture Instrument....." The Old Rosewood one in Wang Guoxing's shop looks a lot nicer, there is even an ivory or bone piece inlaid in the top. However, I think that one doesn't sound as nice, and I don't like the dirty smelly environment of his workshop. I bet none of the Erhu there are actully made by himself. ewww.that is the ugliest peice of writing i have ever seen...if their going to put some type of writing on their it has to be in traditional chinese....simpified just makes it look like a another erhu that came out of a mass producing factory.
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Huang on Mar 26, 2006 16:19:00 GMT
hahah, it's such an ugly piece. Who would put green color engraving on the old rosewood. I can't read half of the characters on it. It looks like its saying "Chinese Culture Instrument....." The Old Rosewood one in Wang Guoxing's shop looks a lot nicer, there is even an ivory or bone piece inlaid in the top. However, I think that one doesn't sound as nice, and I don't like the dirty smelly environment of his workshop. I bet none of the Erhu there are actully made by himself. ewww.that is the ugliest peice of writing i have ever seen...if their going to put some type of writing on their it has to be in traditional chinese....simpified just makes it look like a another erhu that came out of a mass producing factory. Unless the Zhou dynasty and the Qin dynasty was a meer myth, then those ARE traditional Chinese characters (except the Arabic numbers and Roman letters of course)! That's Xiao Zhuanwen in proper terms; the stuff we write today (with a brush) is standard script or Kaishu. And they are not simplified either... *gives Lumry a History of Chinese Calligraphy book* en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_calligraphyen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_Scripten.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaishu
|
|
|
Post by carol on Mar 26, 2006 19:23:16 GMT
Unfortunately, the characters are carved into it. I'll try to make them gold instead of green. Ah, how can I miss the "Yiyou" characters. I've spent so much time in studying fortune telling!
|
|
|
Post by Charlie Huang on Mar 26, 2006 23:48:25 GMT
Oh God, that is sacralige! What were they thinking? What's wrong with a sticker or certificate?
*shakes head*
I'd have left that on the shelf for crimes against elegance and culture!
|
|
|
Post by maaltan on Mar 27, 2006 3:13:51 GMT
if i traveled alot i would appreciate licensing information carved into the object in question. Just one slip up in customs and they get to keep it forever (or so i have been told).
I agree, on the side is just horrible. On the bottom, or better yet enscribed inside the resonator box would be better.
|
|
|
Post by damien on Sept 12, 2006 16:49:30 GMT
|
|