Identifying huqin type, wood and tone

[NikoLeo]

Hi everyone, I wonder if you can help me identify what kind of huqin is used in this song by Yue Jin (金玥):



Is it a zhonghu? A tuned-down/Erquan-style erhu? Or just a normal erhu that's been played a lot so it achieved this deep low sound?
And can you say anything about possible wood type and regional tone (Shanghai, Beijing, Suzhou)?

I found another video by Yue Jin that has a similar (kinda?) sound which I like. Would you say he uses the same instrument here?



And I'm also curious about Jia Peng Fang (贾鹏芳). Do you think he's using a Shanghai-style erhu? Is it possible to guess the wood?



It's probably not easy to know it just from the sound. But I'll be grateful if you could still try

Nik

[edcat7]

From my untrained ears the first one sounds like a zhonghu. I have no idea what wood the erhus are made from or what region they're from.

Even though I have an erhu from Beijing, Shanghai and Suzhou it's not easy comparing them side to side. My MRX has been permanently lent to a friend and all three erhus are at various price points and made from different woods.

MRX- Beijing ebony
LLS Suzhou African small leaf sandalwood (though who knows what it's really made from)
HHR Shanghai Ming Qing rosewood.

As you would expect they sound better as the price increases but I would be happy if I had just stopped buying erhus after the first one.. My previous erhu teacher has a budget erhu with brass tuners and after 50 years of playing sound great. So the moral of the story is, it's 95% player and 5% instrument.

Erhus compared to Western instruments are relatively cheap and so a professional erhu soloist would definitely be able to afford an Indian small leaf sandalwood erhu from a top tier maker.

Btw thanks for uploading the videos (I have no idea how it's done) and when I'm ready I'll ask my teacher to teach me the first one.

Ed

[NikoLeo]

Thanks, Ed!

Sharon, who's an erhu teacher from Hong Kong (now resides in the UK), also said that zhonghu is used in the first video.

All the more reason for me to try and learn it in future, haha. But only if (or after) I feel confident with an erhu first.

It's quite easy to embed videos here on the forum. You just need to click Reply to see the full form (instead of Quick Reply), copy the video link from YouTube, click this button and paste it there. More info here. Hope it helps!

Nik

[edcat7]

Hi Nik I recommend you don't consider getting a zhonghu, the budget ones are notoriously difficult to play. Instead use different strings (erquan type) on your erhu.

I bought a budget erquan erhu and it's very unresponsive, so much so I get better results with putting erquan strings on an erhu. Curiously the dimensions of my erquan erhu are exactly the same as my other erhus.

[ychent]

Jun 6, 2022 20:04:21 GMT edcat7 said:

....So the moral of the story is, it's 95% player and 5% instrument.

Oh no! I was afraid you were going to say that.....

[ychent]

Nik, if you are interested in getting a zhonghu, I would recommend consider zhonghu by Taiwanese huqin maker Mr. Shi-San Lee (李十三, literally Mr. Lee "Thirteen"). His zhonghu is reputed to be responsive and sweet-sounding even at higher positions; poor timbre higher positions is notorious in zhonghus.

www.lee13.com.tw

[NikoLeo]

edcat7 , that's good to know! I will definitely think twice before ordering another instrument.

Also I didn't know that with erquan strings you can go as low as a normal zhonghu (G-D), so that's great. This video from Eason was helpful:



I would really like to know the sound differences between these 3 setups:

1. A normal erhu with erquan strings tuned to A-E and G-D
2. An erquan erhu with erquan strings tuned to A-E and G-D
3. A zhonghu with zhonghu strings tuned to A-E and G-D

Left a comment under Eason's blog post. Maybe he'll consider doing such a comparison in future

I found that Sung Wah actually recorded some sample videos back in 2007: erquan erhu vs small zhonghu vs big zhonghu (for this post).
But it would be nice to have an up-to-date video with improved sound quality.

---

ychent , thanks a lot for your recommendation! Actually just yesterday someone from the Discord also recommended Lee13's erhu. They got it for 18000 TWD, plus 4000 TWD shipping (~$740 in total).

But I looked at the price of this master's zhonghu and I don't think I'll be able to afford it anytime soon Lowest price is 80k TWD (~$2700). Though I enjoy the sound and how seemingly responsive these zhonghus are.

Also it looks like Lee13 is one of the few craftsmen or factories who can provide a CITES certificate and ship an erhu internationally. All other stores are just resellers, not direct sales shops.

[paulv]

Jun 8, 2022 13:12:11 GMT ychent said:

Jun 6, 2022 20:04:21 GMT edcat7 said:

....So the moral of the story is, it's 95% player and 5% instrument.

Oh no! I was afraid you were going to say that.....

A long time ago when I was learning/playing erhu, my teacher made an erhu from a tin can, broom stick handle, and a small dried tree branch for a bridge. I was amazed of the sound that came out when he played a couple of songs!! If I consider that tin-can erhu as empirical evidence, I might adjust Ed's numbers to 99% player/1% instrument. I once saw Andre Rieu being interviewed where he talked about his Stradivarius violin. I'm sure if I had that violin my music would sound like "organic" fertilizer!!

Regards,

paul...