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| Moderated by: Tony Provencher, Richard Hefner |
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| Silent Erhu! | Rate Topic |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17th, 2009 06:36 pm |
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1st Post |
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vvn Approved 
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I found this website, which is about Silent Erhu. http://www.ybcn.jp/seikodetail.htm Its price is attractive: JPY 38,000. I've tried to email them but the email was rejected. Does anyone know more about this beautiful piece? Last edited on Sat Jul 18th, 2009 08:24 pm by vvn |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 17th, 2009 11:01 pm |
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2nd Post |
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davidmdahl Approved
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I have seen bits and pieces about the Seiko erhu, but I have never seen or played one. Sung Wah at Eason listed an electronic or something erhu made of clear plastic. There should still be a blog entry about it on his website. I don't think that the Seiko is marketed in the USA, but you might check with Sung Wah to see if he can find a source that will deal with Singapore or China. It would be a lot cheaper and less trouble to use an erhu mute. <g> I hate using a mute since the sound is much less rich besides being diminished. My new cats do not object to my erhu practicing like the old sick one did, so I now can practice at full tilt without becoming a human scratching post. Best wishes, David
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18th, 2009 03:45 pm |
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3rd Post |
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vvn Approved
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Thanks David. Yes, I read Sung Wah's blog about the plexiglass erhu. Its US$ 2,000 price is really expensive and perhaps more suitable for professional performers than beginners. I posted to Sung Wah's blog and asked if he carries this seiko item. Or perhaps, I should ... make one. 
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18th, 2009 04:50 pm |
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4th Post |
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dsouthwood Approved 
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I bought one of those Seiko erhus, and I still haven't managed to get rid of the squeals and squeaks it produces. Nor have I been able to get the sound volume and clarity to be consistent. The problem is that the bridge fits loosely into a shallow depression in the piezo-electric pickup, and there is enough play so that tightening or loosening the strings causes the bridge to rock so that it no longer makes firm contact with the pickup. I have been reluctant to glue it down, but that might be what it takes. The metal qianjin has a slot too narrow for the strings to sit side by side, so one is always resting on another like crossed fingers. I have tried filing the opening to make it wider, but that doesn't seem to have helped the sound. On the theory that it just has lousy electronics, I am considering taking it to a shop and having it fitted with a pair of humbucking magnetic pickups and using a decent amplifier for the electronics. You would be much better off buying an erhu mute from Eason if you just want your erhu to be quieter. If you want to amplify your erhu, take another look at the clear plastic one. Dennis
____________________ Music contains all of life. |
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| Posted: Sat Jul 18th, 2009 08:19 pm |
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5th Post |
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vvn Approved
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Thank you very much Dennis. You just save me $400 and time thinking about it.
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19th, 2009 12:37 am |
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6th Post |
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davidmdahl Approved
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Hey, Dennis. In case you are interested, my teacher Dr. Yang has a pretty good knack at adjusting an erhu to get the best sound out of it. He would not be much use with the electronics, but he could see if it can be made to sound good. Regarding a pickup, I am not sure that a electromagnetic pickup is the way to go. Of course, that will depend on the strings. It might be interesting to try with some steel strings. I use an electromagnetic pickup on my dan bau, and it works great. I think that a transducer might sound better. For my own erhu, I use a K&K Sound Silver Bullet microphone, or whatever is better on site at a gig. I am not much interested in the funky sound processing on a electric erhu. The traditional erhu sound is just about perfect for me. I want a mic/sound system to make my erhu sound natural, and not obviously processed or harsh. Best wishes, David
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19th, 2009 08:26 pm |
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7th Post |
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dsouthwood Approved
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I agree about the traditional erhu sound, and I wouldn't trade that for anything. The Seiko erhu is strictly a toy--purchased pre-retirement and pre-recession--and not for anything that might be mistaken for serious music. I wouldn't spend $2000 for an electonic erhu, but someday I might sink a few more bucks into this one to raise its fun quotient a bit.
____________________ Music contains all of life. |
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| Posted: Sun Jul 19th, 2009 09:01 pm |
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8th Post |
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davidmdahl Approved
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vvn wrote: Thanks David. I am kind of interested to know what sort of player actually uses an electric erhu, especially the plexi for ~$2000. I find it hard to believe you would see it at a traditional music concert, or even played by a soloist in an orchestra. It seems more likely to fit in with a pop group featuring other electric and electronic sounds. The mob of erhu babes on the field at the Beijing Olympics is the only other purpose that comes to mind. Best wishes, David
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| Posted: Mon Jul 20th, 2009 01:06 am |
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9th Post |
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vvn Approved
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davidmdahl wrote: vvn wrote:Thanks David. I've seen a show called 'Hua In', i.e. Chinese Sound, on CCTV9. The performers used plexiglass instruments like Erhu, Pipa, Ruan, etc. The performance was normal, just arousing curiosity about transparent instruments. It was just the same as transparent wristwatch, transparent PC we saw before. Electric Erhu, or Silent Erhu, if there is a good quality one, should be similar to Silent Guitar or Silent Violin. It is not only help to reduce the sound volume to people around but also help the player to enjoy the full quality of the instrument through headphone. I have an Arias Sisinido Guitar and its sound quality is far better than some acoustic guitars I've had. I also had a cheap version of silent violin which I got from eBay. It is nothing but a toy. Its sound is full of squeals and squeaks. Perhaps when I have time, I'll try to build an electric Erhu for my own experiment. I already got a pre-amp and sensor stick, which are supposed for electric mandolin or Ukulele. Last edited on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 03:21 pm by vvn |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 02:13 pm |
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10th Post |
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Clyde Approved 
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There are a few of us experimenting in the electric Erhu's, though similar to tradition it is very different in techniques fascinating to play silently and rare to come across, though I have stopped making these it was a challenge to find quality pickups and costly as well so the only alternative was to manufacture our own, one thing I can say they are extremely addictive one soon finds that there is nothing like them at all and your creative abilities in music writing seems to up a level. God Bless Do to the amount of interest in this I am not taking any questions on this obviously there is much in the way of paten rights and design. There are less then a dozen of these made this one here is a low cost experimental instrument and is one of the first models, three are in the hands of musicians two in professional hands and one is in a very good friends possession. Please I am not manufacturing these anymore sorry. Attachment: in case.JPG (Downloaded 73 times) Last edited on Thu Aug 13th, 2009 12:12 pm by Clyde |
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| Posted: Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 03:24 pm |
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11th Post |
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vvn Approved
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Clyde wrote: There are a few of us experimenting in the electric Erhu's, though similar to tradition it is very different in techniques fascinating to play silently and rare to come across, though I have stopped making these it was a challenge to find quality pickups and costly as well so the only alternative was to manufacture our own, one thing I can say they are extremely addictive one soon finds that there is nothing like them at all and your creative abilities in music writing seems to up a level. Thanks, Clyde. Can you please also post some close up pictures of the resonate box? Espcially the front side. Do you cover with snake skin or some material else? Vincent. Last edited on Wed Jul 22nd, 2009 03:27 pm by vvn |
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| Posted: Fri Jul 24th, 2009 01:01 pm |
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12th Post |
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kaze Approved
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静音二胡「静胡」in Japanese. =seion niko ="seiko"
____________________ ♪二胡大好き♪ 
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| Posted: Thu Aug 13th, 2009 01:46 am |
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13th Post |
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zheng Approved 
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Thank. Now I know there is erhu mute. I will get one from Eason so that I can practice at night without my wife making noise. dsouthwood wrote: I bought one of those Seiko erhus, and I still haven't managed to get rid of the squeals and squeaks it produces. Nor have I been able to get the sound volume and clarity to be consistent. The problem is that the bridge fits loosely into a shallow depression in the piezo-electric pickup, and there is enough play so that tightening or loosening the strings causes the bridge to rock so that it no longer makes firm contact with the pickup. I have been reluctant to glue it down, but that might be what it takes. The metal qianjin has a slot too narrow for the strings to sit side by side, so one is always resting on another like crossed fingers. I have tried filing the opening to make it wider, but that doesn't seem to have helped the sound.
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