Lunlun zou's selling 2nd hand guzhengs?

[Bryan]

I saw it and the guzheng looks quite ok, lol but the price is ex and the board looks quite dark? Dun get me wrong but i have this feeling that she actually custom made this one and is selling it first hand Haha if eu seriously doubt me.....iitx fine...iim just 13 =.= HAHA

[carol]

That's a steel-stringed.

[davidmdahl]

I don't recall ever seeing or hearing a steel-stringed guzheng. Are they much like the Vietnamese dan tranh? A tranh is more delicate and is strung relatively lightly compared to guzheng with nylon and wrapped strings. Is a steel-stringed guzheng just as powerful as the nylon-strung variety?

Best wishes,

David

[YouLanFengChune]

steel string guzheng was last made as a Henan Qin Zheng. whether or not its old or new i am not to comment.

IN Singapore, many elderly people use it to play Teochew music

[carol]

Yes, steel-stringed guzheng sounds like a dan tranh.

You can check the picture of my Tianyi steel stringed guzheng. pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/carolchang/album?.dir=8a64&.src=ph&store=&prodid=&.done=http%3a//pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph /carolchang/my_photos

Steel-stringed is still very popular. It normally has 16 strings, some 18-stringed or 21-stringed ones are available. In Taiwan, every student has to learn steel-stringed first, then move on to the nylon-stringed.

I think all traditional pieces sound better in steel-stringed guzheng.

Currently, the major makers all have steel-stringed guzhengs available.

[sleepy]

Powerful or not, it has more to do with the individual player's technical level & artistry than the instrument's built-in quality.

Many senior virtuosi still use steel-stringed. To name a few, Qu Yun, Cao Guifen, Gao Zicheng, Rao Ningxin, Lin Maogen etc have published recordings (eg for Hugo CD) played with steel-stringed zhengs. And if you're able to get hold of the VCD that's given as a complementary item as you buy a new Dunhuang zheng (or Yun? not too sure), you'll be able to see and hear steel-stringed zhengs. The VCD features some of the above named musicians playing traditional pieces with steel-stringed.

davidmdahl said:

I don't recall ever seeing or hearing a steel-stringed guzheng. Are they much like the Vietnamese dan tranh? A tranh is more delicate and is strung relatively lightly compared to guzheng with nylon and wrapped strings. Is a steel-stringed guzheng just as powerful as the nylon-strung variety?

Best wishes,

David

[davidmdahl]

sleepy said:

Powerful or not, it has more to do with the individual player's technical level & artistry than the instrument's built-in quality.

I am just wondering about the nature of the steel stringed guzheng. Is it strung at high tension with thick strings like the nylon string version, or more like the Vietnamese zither (dan tranh) which uses comparatively light gauges of steel strings?

Thank you.

Best wishes,

David

[carol]

An old version of steel-stringed guzheng. See a trace of dan tranh.



The strings are not tightened as nylon-stinged. Steel string is used on traditional pieces where lots of left hand technique is applied to express the subtle nuance of each note.

In the newer steel-stringed guzhengs, the makers use different methods to bring out some bass. The one in the Lunlun's website has nylon strings at the bass part. My Tianyi guzheng uses copper-wrapped-steel strings for the bass. I think copper-wrapped-steel strings are better as the sound is in line with pure steel strings.

[carol]

[davidmdahl]

carol said:

An old version of steel-stringed guzheng. See a trace of dan tranh.

The strings are not tightened as nylon-stinged. Steel string is used on traditional pieces where lots of left hand technique is applied to express the subtle nuance of each note. <snip>

Wow, thank you! That does look just like a dan tranh, much more than a trace. Now I am even more interested to hear some Chinese music on steel string guzheng. I find the nuances typical of VN dan tranh music to be particularly delicious. Once I can get along on my own tranh, I will have to try out some Chinese music on it.

Best wishes,

David

[Vi An]

Carol: I'd like to purchace a set of strings like you mentioned for the bass strings for steel stringed zheng -- to place on my tranh, I wonder if the gauge would be too heavy and my tranh can't take it hmmmmmmmmm. Please inform me where..

Thank you,

Vi An

[carol]

I bought the strings from Chunghwa factory in Taiwan. It's rather difficult to obtain steel strings in China. I think people use yanqin strings instead. Maybe you can try harp or zither strings?

[davidmdahl]

Hello Vi An,

The tranh I just got from Thay Nguyen Vinh Bao has copper wound strings for the two lowest strings. Apparently these are guitar strings. You might try that.

Best wishes,

David

[Vi An]

ah ofcourse, thanks David..