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February 28, 2007
The Shak Doc
My Wife called me the shak doc today. I was talking to two different people about repairing their cracked flutes over the phone earlier. A third drove up for a repair last week.
This Senshu came in by overnight Express. The frantic owner told me that the top was cracked wide open. "You can see light through it and the utagcuhi was falling off!" "It's fixable." I said. "It'll play like the day it was finished." I instructed him to find a non fuzzy piece of cloth like a T-shirt, get it wet and wrap it around the flute and then send it to me ASAP.
This is what it looked like when I removed it from the box. A little bit of moisture goes a long way.
Senshu's hanko
Black Nylon looks good on this one.
The next one up wasn't so lucky. We lost the utaguchi.
Stay tuned (ouch) to see what the shak doc finds for a replacement.
Until then, I'll leave you with my POV this week.
Remember, store your flutes in an airtight container.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 10:52 PM | Comments (1)
Why Monofilament?
Hi All, Winter is here. I get really busy this time of year with crack repairs. I try to tell people to keep their flutes humidfied and stored in an airtight container but cracks still happen.
I have been using 20 lbs monofilament line for binding shakuhachi for over 10 years. Some like it, some do not. Why do I use it?
Monofilament line grips the flute better than nylon thread. It also has a higher PSI than nylon and can be pulled much tigheter without snapping the line. This means the bamboo is bound tighter.
Mono also resists oils so it's not as necessary to lacquer over the nylon thread..unless you like colored mono. Here, I lacquered over it with red mostly for cosmetics. But it does help to hold the edges together in case the flute is handled agressively (who would do that?) or oiled often
Mono is a great option for those who do not mind a different aesthetic.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 10:29 PM | Comments (0)
February 27, 2007
Green Abalone Utaguchi Inlay
Hi All, I had a lot of fun doing this inlay last week.
This was originally a Hocchiku style flute but the person who purchased it wanted red lacquer in the bore and a Green Abalone shell inlay. Shell is more difficult to work with but the results can be pleasing. I hope you like it.
Namaste, PEerry
Posted by Perry Yung at 01:48 AM | Comments (0)
February 13, 2007
Retuning Shakuhachi
Hi all,
I re-tune flutes often for many reasons. Sometimes, if the niero, or tone color, is very good but the pitch is questionable. I discuss retuning with the owner. Especially on older or fine antique shakuhachi where tone color was what the old time makers were after. The modern shakuhachi was made to play in a more "Western" approach with an emphasis on proper Western pitch. When is modern flute needs retuning, it usually about how fast the flute can access the proper Western pitch without too much embouchure adjustments.
This is a modern jiari flute made by a a Japanese maker. The Ro is tuned well to D at A=440 but all the holes are about 30 cents flat from Ro. They were also very flat in Kan. I noticed the holes were on the small side at 10mm. They were also not under cut, which helps the Kan notes play better in pitch.
I've seen the maker's hanko before. His flutes are known to be in the entry level.
Stay tuned (ouch) for the results.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 10:07 AM | Comments (0)
February 07, 2007
Special Myoan shakuhachi
Hi all, I recently had the great pleasure of restoring a fine old Myoan shakuhachi made by Yasumoto Gozan, a former head priest of Shin-nyoji temple in Kyoto. Yasumoto was also a student of Koyzumi Shizan, the 38th head of Myoanji, home of the Komuso.
The beautiful hand made shakuhachi bag it came in.
I designed my Classic Obi bags after these fine bags.
The patina was a dark orange red.
The front opposite of the thumb hole had a huge crack. Since there is a hole on the other side, it's impossible to bind over that spot. We just have to be aware and care for it properly.
The hanko of Yasimoto
Here's what it looked liked th eday it came into the shop.
The area with the largest crack was sealed in scotch and electrical tape. It actually looked kinda sporty with th black and green strip.
The adhesive was old and difficult to get off but a little fine steel wool and elbow grease did the job. I wanted to stay clear of chemical solvents on the beauty.
I enjoyed playing it until I sent it off last week.
Namaste, Perry
Posted by Perry Yung at 09:04 PM | Comments (0)