Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Vevolis wrote:

I'm not sure if it's personal stress (very plausible) or the fact that the dry winter humidity has caused the flute to open up a bit, there is a pre-existing crack that has been thoroughly bound by Perry Yung, the crack widens on the Utaguchi and becomes narrow to a hairline as it enters the bore (At the most 1/2mm). I've noticed that there are some cracks slowly widening around the bell of the flute and the main crack going up the Utaguchi (It starts at the middle joint; in fact if I open the joint, it runs along the inside as well) has widened ever so slightly.

Scott, if you see a hairline in the bore, it may be leaking.

Any advise? The bindings are still holding strong… if they’ve unsuccessfully held the crack, I'm in trouble. There are a lot I’d have to replace with my lack in ability. I put the flute in the bathroom with my shower running. I could be seeing things, but it seemed to narrow a bit, temporarily... though it didn't make a difference.

First try placing a long strip of tape along the crack on the outside of the bamboo. Use your finger nail to press the tape against the crack. This some times works as a diagnostic to find the exact location of the leak. If this works, peel off the tape slowly and continue to blow. This will tell you where the leak is. I f it doesn't work, submerge the flute in a tub of warm water for about 10 seconds then blow. If it works, you can send it to me for repair.

If you find the leak with the tape method, there are things you can do your self.

Let me know what happens. Perry

I tried taping the bore, almost immediately Ri sounded. I can hit strong overtones of the other Otsu notes but they don't play properly. I'm going to play with it for a while longer. Often as a beginner my notes are intermittent; I don't want to send it away only to learn I simply can't play it I'll submerge it in water tonight.

Last edited by Vevolis (2009-01-26 08:13:48)

Ha!

No… I think I’ve learned my lesson there… I’ll leave the the dreams of owning a high end flute to the professionals. Either I figure out how to repair and use this one or I find a used David Brown or a precision cast bore student flute and start where I belong; the bottom.

Bas Nijenhuis wrote:

maybe someone suggested this: do you have access to another flute? (even pvc)
that way, you can try otsu on that one...it can help determine if it is your flute or the playing.

Bas

That's a good suggestion Bas.

Zakarius wrote:

Bas Nijenhuis wrote:

maybe someone suggested this: do you have access to another flute? (even pvc)
that way, you can try otsu on that one...it can help determine if it is your flute or the playing.

Picking up a flute which is new to you might not be "best way". I recently got a high-end flute which I couldn't get ANY sounds out of for the first 5 minutes. Just getting a simple scale took about an hour. Instead, if you can hand the flute to a more experienced player, (s)he might be able to more readily determine whether the flute has problems after a few minutes of blowing.

Zak

Ah, yes, I understand what you're staying here Zak, good points as well.

Did anyone mention the Yuu...  your saddness would vanish.