Testimonial from a Hulusi customer

Recently we sold a rosewood hulusi to a customer in Portland, USA.  He was so happy with the hulusi that he wrote us a testimonial.  I just want to share it here.  The below is in no part edited by me.

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I am EXCEPTIONALLY pleased with my concert-grade rosewoood hulusi from Eason Music. I had previously bought another hulusi from a different company in the same price range, also of rosewood, and had to return it to China at my own expense because it was improperly tuned, hard to blow, and smelled strongly of toxic chemicals that gave me a sore throat. After returning it I searched some more on the Internet and found positive reviews about Eason music, so I contacted them.

Tan Sung Wah at Eason graciously answered all my questions and concerns before I placed my order. He even took videos of the exact instrument being played on his iPhone and e-mailed them to me so I could ensure that the tuning was acceptable. Exceptional customer service.

When I first held my hulusi from Eason music I was very pleased with how much more solid it feels compared to the hulusi from the other company. It weighs at least twice as much as the other instrument, which to me indicates higher quality materials and construction. It has a wood wind chamber instead of a gourd, which of course would add weight, but even the pipes are heavier when hefted separately. 

Then I tried playing it. The other hulusi was very hard to blow (the reeds probably needed adjusting, something I'm not familiar with yet). The Eason instrument played beautifully right out of the box. And while the other instrument's tuning was not internally consistent (two notes were off by more than 1/4 step), The Eason instrument's scale sounded perfect. All the notes are a little bit sharp (I knew this already from the videos I was sent) but they're in the acceptable range and can be played with other instruments well enough. Most importantly, the tuning is internally consistent.

Then I turned on the drones. They use a nice twisting tube with hole mechanism that's easy to use, and most importantly, they're in tune with the main pipe. The other instrument used a flimsy hinge mechanism that, while easy to open and close, would probably wear out quickly, and the drones were way off pitch from the main pipe.

Within 30 minutes of opening the package I was improvising and truly enjoying my wonderful new hulusi. 

And now I know to go to Eason for all Chinese musical instruments. THANK YOU EASON!

Paul Erdman

Portland, USA

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So if you are thinking of buying a Chinese musical instrument and need more information or need to hear how the actual thing sounds like, please feel free to drop us an email at tansungwah@gmail.com.

The heavier the erhu, the better?

A lot of times I hear customers commenting that the heavier the wood the better the erhu.

While it may be true in some sense, there are still other factors affecting the sound of the erhu like the snakeskin, type of wood, skill of the maker etc.

But most importantly, the weight that you feel in your arms while holding the erhu may not be the actual weight of the erhu.

Take a look at this:

Yes the round silverish thing in the centre of the baseplate is a piece of lead.

This piece of lead will make the erhu feel heavier than it actually is.  Some even inserts 2 blobs of lead instead of one.

I don't think it is the intention of the makers is to mislead buyers, but to give it a heavier base so that it feels more stable on your lap when playing.

So the next time you hold a very heavy erhu, it might be because of the lead in the baseplate.  

Thus, do look at other factors in buying an erhu other than the weight.