Mujitsu and Tairaku's Shakuhachi BBQ

Is it 1.8 in length?

Just use it the way it is if it sounds good.

Taldaran wrote:

I know that student models should be D. Do any of you find when you refurbish wooden shakuhachi that many are that far out of fundamental tuning?

I've purchased 3 wooden shakuhachi off of Ebay. Two are commercial ones and play very well in tune, the third was made by an individual in China and had some tuning problems but not nearly as severe as what you are describing.   

Taldaran wrote:

Could anyone shed any light on the subject?

I'm not familiar with Zen-on flutes but it's apparently not all that dificult for makers to get their mass-produced wooden shakuhachi to play reasonably in tune and it's not likely to need major modifications like you are considering. If you're mostly only used to shakuhachi that you were only concerned with being in tune with themselves you could have possibly developed an embouchure that tends to play flat. I still think a full half step is kind of severe for the problem being a user error, but there are plenty of people here on the forum that say it's easy to play that flat unintentionally. Since there's a chance that is where the problem is I'd try to rule out that possibility somehow before making any major modifications to the flute.

I'm not certain about Zen-on but I had one of Yoshizawa Masakazu's shakuhachi made from laminated bamboo (the cheaper striped look) and that was a 1.7 tuned to Eb. The flute was stolen in a car burglary, so I don't have it to reference the maker. Might Zen-on have made a maple 1.7 in the past but now discontinued?

That should be 550 millimeters, what is the bore diameter at the blowing end ?
I don't think 5mm will reduce the pitch a whole semitone. Still querie your blow, have you compared this flute with another 1.8 that plays a D fundamental ?

Kel.

That 21mm diameter is good for a D tuning. So the flute really looks like it fits a standard 1.8 that should play in D. IMO.
Thoughts on checking whether you are blowing sharp enough.
1. angle of flute, perhaps lower it and observe pitch.
2.Knead your lips bringing the lower forward.
3. distance of lips from utaguchi edge.Tighten and they will ppull away from the edge raising the pitch.
4.position on chin, check raising it slightly up your chin..
5. the pitch is influenced by the angle the air is hitting the edge, plus the speed of the jet. If you are blowing too softly the pitch can be lowered. Are you blowing from your abdomen ?

Kel.

Taldaran wrote:

I won't mess with the flute, and just enjoy it in Db!

Probably the best bet Christopher. That could be an invasive project!

One way to go at these things is to go nuts on your own flutes and experiment away. Make huge errors, trash flutes but also experience the occasional breakthrough.

Then, when it comes to flutes by other makers, respect their integrity and let them be.

One way to look at it.

Tairaku wrote:

Is it 1.8 in length?

Just use it the way it is if it sounds good.

I agree with the master...just use it the way it is and make it sound good

Taldaran wrote:

Yungflutes wrote:

Hi Taldran sorry for chiming in so late.

Try this: blow Ro at Db and then open finger holes # 3, 4 and 5. What pitch to you get?

Hmm. Interesting The octave is a tiny bit flat of D.

I'm not entirely sure, but would a leaky joint cause the Ro to be flat? The reason I'm asking is that I have a flute I was having problems with a flat Ro. I just bound what I thought was a surface crack near the joint as a preventative measure to keep the crack from becoming bigger and now I think the Ro is playing better in tune.   Maybe try some plumber's tape on the male part of the joint and see if it helps. My tone production capabilities aren't all that consistent so I'm not sure the binding really helped my flute but plumber's tape is cheap and it wouldn't hurt to try it.

I have been playing my David Brown 1.8 for weeks now (absolutely love it!) and now that I have gotten used to a great wooden shakuhachi, I can see that that zen-on has tuning issues. There is no leakage though.

I know Perry has tweaked wooden shakuhachi, so I may go that route. No rush though.

I agree. I can't see how a single exemplar of a machine-made, mass-produced flute could have one note 50 cents flat.

Toby

Taldaran wrote:

Well frankly, unless the flutes are completely CNC machined, human error is possible.

Hi Taldran, Wooden flutes made in Japan can be like bamboo shakuhachi - each with it's own flavor (within a ball park). The end result is dependent upon the amount of finishing work at the final stage.  As you all know, minute differences on the bore profile can affect all aspects of the playability - resonance, balance, tuning and tone color. How well the finisher plays (and how hard he/she wants to work) will affect the final product. To use an analogy, the process can be like automobiles at the plant. They say cars finished on Fridays by tired workers may not run as well as ones finished on Mondays when the workers have fresh energy.

This is why there is a wide range in quality for wooden flutes also. The ones starting at $200 in Japan can be fine for a beginner, but they may be a little uninspiring compared to the ones that sell for around $600. The bores can be similar, even from different companies, but the level of playability is almost always dependent upon the finisher's skill.  I have an old one made in the 1970's. It's probably from the first wave. I did some minor refurbishing and adjustments on it but it was always a fantastic player, on par with a very fine bamboo instrument. I could see that there was some amount of hand adjustments done to the bore.

Many entry level wooden flutes have sharp Thumb holes in Otsu to make up for the flat Kan note. Sounds like the case with your flute. I have seen some modern wooden flute with a 54.5 length that came in a little flat for experienced players, but not a semi tone flat. The reasons were narrow bores and small openings at the top and bottom.

Hope this helps.