Wooden dizi

[camellia]

After my first cheap dizi from Aliexpress cracked, I've invested into a DXH one and wow it instantly felt as if I learned how to play, the sound quality was just so much better. I'm very happy with the flute I have right now and don't feel like I need to upgrade it anytime soon, if ever.

However, the first flute fiasco makes me worried that one day it will crack too. And I read that wooden dizi are more durable. While they still can crack they do it less than bamboo. I live in a place where climate is not very good for bamboo flutes, even though I keep my flute in plastic bag, winter temperatures can get low + houses have heating which makes the air very dry.

So I decided to get an extra flute but wooden this time, just so that I had alternative especially for winter times.

I never had any experience with wooden dizi and honestly can't tell the difference from Youtube videos. 
So I'm curious if there are people who used various wooden dizi, what do you think?  I checked what was written on the forums so far and feel like there is a mixed opinion on them, some people like them and some don't but the general consensus is that bamboo flutes are better, yet wooden can still sound just fine.

Also there are so many types of wood, I'm wondering which of them people would prefer if they got a wooden dizi? I've seen rosewood, black sandalwood, yellow sandalwood, green sandalwood and a few other types of wood on sale... They can't all be the same, but I have no idea what I should look for in a wooden dizi. I know they're heavier, but would that make them harder to play? I'm still a beginner (learning for about a year or so). 

I will still have my DXH bamboo one as my main flute, and I'm looking for a flute that would be more durable in bad temperature condidtions and not be too unwieldy for a beginner. Maybe there are any recommendations on what type of wood would fit better for this purpose? 

Thanks in advance! 

[edcat7]

A friend of mine has a good sounding wooden flute but he bought it in person and selected one out of many. If you are buying unseen over the internet then there's always a risk you may not like it.

Personally if I had to buy another dizi again I wouldn't buy wood.

Ed

[davidmdahl]

I have a wood dizi that I purchased several years ago from Sound of Mountain. I think it was one of their more expensive models. I like it quite well, although a dizi master that I showed it to didn't like it much. He much preferred my bamboo DXH. I have to admit that I like the bamboo DXH better myself, but not dramatically so.

My take is that it is quite possible to make an outstanding dizi out of wood. In fact, the Taiwanese master Winson Liao makes dizi and xiao in all sorts of materials, and from all accounts they are outstanding. Unfortunately, they are expensive, although probably justifiably so. For many of the other dizi makers, their experience is mostly with bamboo, so they make better bamboo flutes. It's quite a different process to make a wood flute, and takes different equipment.

A bamboo dizi is probably more likely to crack than wood, but it is possible with both. Most of us simply take care the best we can and hope for the best. For a special dizi, it is possible to fix. I sent a special xiao to Monty Levenson and he fixed the crack. It would not have been worthwhile for a cheap instrument.

Best wishes,
David

[camellia]

Thank you both for your input!
 I guess it only proved the point that bamboo is preferrable and I should rather stick to it.

Jul 29, 2020 5:59:56 GMT davidmdahl said:

I have a wood dizi that I purchased several years ago from Sound of Mountain. I think it was one of their more expensive models. I like it quite well, although a dizi master that I showed it to didn't like it much. He much preferred my bamboo DXH. I have to admit that I like the bamboo DXH better myself, but not dramatically so.

It gives me some hope, however, I was going to order from Sound of Mountain too. They had a few wood dizi with good reviews and I already ordered instruments there that I'm happy with.  

I'm not planning to have it as a replacement for my DXH, more like a backup. So I guess it should still serve the purpose unless I completely hate it when I see it.  Which can also happen. 

[camellia]

I ended up getting a sandalwood dizi from Sound of Mountain.

I still prefer my bamboo DXH sound-wise. However, the sound of this new flute is very nice and I find playing some notes easier on it.
Overall, I'm really happy with it and don't regret getting it. It will also give me some peace of mind in winter and I'm glad I have a spare flute anyway in case something happens to my main one.