Guzheng making

[Bryan]

Can anyone give a guide on how people build guzhengs in point form please? ;D

[carol]

Here is the Making of Jinyun I got from my friend in Shanghai.

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/album?.dir=8306&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/my_photos

Here is another similar making process:

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/album?.dir=7540&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/my_photos

The process looks very different from Scarlet Bird's. They all boil and bake the sound board first then flame it. Treat it like a piece of chicken meat. LOL.

Also, they grade and decorate the guzhengs first before they put on the strings. SB put on the strings first to test the sound, then do the model grading.

[carol]

Making of Dunhuang:

pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/album?.dir=b97c&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/my_photos


I didn't take too many pictures as I was busy talking to the manager.
One note is picture #5. See the guzhengs at the far end? Those ones look like zitan models but actually not. Those are basic-mid grade model with rosewood painted in zitan's color. One can tell by looking at the sound board. The quality of paulownia is not good.
I know stores in China trick people by selling those as real zitan model.

[blonderedhead]

very interesting. does anyone read japanese?
www.morigakki.com/k4.htm
thanks for your help in advance if someone translate tell & tell me how the tree is cut for a piece of wood to produce a good koto? the keep referring the 4/6th section or something like that. what do they mean by this cut?

[Bryan]

go to www.cameraslens.com and ask around, they're japanese translators there ii guess...

[gili]

Carol-san. Great post. Thanks for sharing.