New beginner erhu :)

[albertogmtz]

Hi guys, a couple years ago I purchased an very very cheap erhu out of curiosity and fondness of that melancholic sound...

The instrument itself was bad, at the time of the purchase was about 60 usd, so it's not hard to imagine.

I began to try some excercises but then some massive wolftones and the lack of teacher discouraged the continuity of keep practicing basics. And the erhu shaped object was stored for more than a year.

But then a couple months ago I began with the basics again, open bowing and D scale first octave very basics and I found a cheap erhu on ebay (us)(about 178 usd), it was a very basic and beginner erhu again but it seems as a jump in quality if compared with my current toy, the wood not stained and varnished, better skin at least visually.

I took the risk, purchased and tried to import it to Mexico, where I live, with the risk of being retained by customs.

To my surprise the import procedure went without any issue and when received I immediately inspected the quality, and all I can say is that the quality was amazing compared to my current one, the wood looks nicer, more dense and hard, the erhu itself is very heavy compared to the old one, the skin is very tense (actual erhu skin is saggy³) the pegs are bronze Wich I wanted to try.

Even with all the upgrades, it's incredible how one gets used to things and feels of the tools and instruments so I must get used to the new erhu but differences that I noticed are:

It's LOUDER, the high notes are clearer.
I do not like the hassle of tuning with wooden pegs, but I have to say that bronze tunners are not as acurate as I imagined.

The bow th ass t come with this erhu was fine but it aoud a little bit raspy, so I exchanged with a new better quality bow that was purchased a couple years ago from Eason

Overall I think it was a good upgrade, I know I should aim for a better range but for someone that has not access to lessons, a teacher and can't afford a better one for now I think it will work ok for now.

Some pictures of my old erhu (toy quality):

drive.google.com/file/d/14QL-TiNaEBkK94s92OvPK_OejyUv_CDq/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14Tbi2NUAehKBVWFFL4tInL-qFrYjZ-BE/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14SGopXnC4YSU2FNxV7xknchRdToorXI3/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14WN6AuUoJU2cTo12_EPU9X_H4Aghvmcc/view?usp=drivesdk


The new one:


drive.google.com/file/d/14YrtjtO-5EW7Jay6BMWZo75oityiRw7N/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14epOcdKCtlXiIvQFhORzu5DnUGWq6Yt5/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14fiwjVNrH0M6VfX-cuiwkRiLhbY6o9Y7/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14XltmgCdxXuKUTMsuSrAm7Zc-BWylnJ8/view?usp=drivesdk

drive.google.com/file/d/14WW0r7bNAdw5fWymY_XnmhR2tKKNUnfd/view?usp=drivesdk


If there's any issue with the picture links, let me know!

Thanks!

[edcat7]

The difference between your new erhu and old one is like day and night. My music teacher has a similar erhu which he has been playing for decades. I tried it and it sounds fine. Congratulations on your new erhu.

[albertogmtz]

Dec 25, 2021 0:10:16 GMT edcat7 said:

The difference between your new erhu and old one is like day and night. My music teacher has a similar erhu which he has been playing for decades. I tried it and it sounds fine. Congratulations on your new erhu.

Yeah!, even if the new erhu isn't between the recommended ones, the quality jump in relation to the old one is huge.

One thing that I noticed, is that I feel a little Less responsive the new one, just a little, this feel is normal? Is this the feel of a new erhu? (break in process??)

Also with this one I have the issue of different pitch when bowing in and out, I know that this is generally caused by the qian jin, it happened after I adjusted the distance, following forum recommendation (elbow to first pinky joint) as originally the note distance was uncomfortable. Maybe I'm doing something wrong?

Thanks!

[edcat7]

Are you able to put a video of your bowing on YT? From memory I think Eason has videos on YT .