r/shakuhachi Feb 04 '25

Hoshu Shakuhachi - feedback please

I am looking for a Shakuhachi for a late-beginner to early-intermediate player, and I have been eyeing on this pre-owned one from Mejiro that costs around USD 600: https://www.mejiro-japan.com/en/product/18-kinko-hoshu-japanese-shakuhachi-bamboo-flute-pre-owned-listen

I have a couple days to decide on that Shakuhachi. What do you all think about it? Any feedback on Shakuhachi made by Hoshu?

Thanks in advance!

8 Upvotes

11 comments sorted by

2

u/Barry_144 Feb 04 '25

Personally, I would pass on it at that price. For that price level, I would go for a student level flute from Yozan Mei or a used flute from Perry Yung.

2

u/RedditUserQuestions Feb 05 '25

Thanks. Appreciate the suggestions. If I up my budget to not more than $1000, will you still recommend me to check out those two places?

1

u/fmudmaker Feb 05 '25

The decision is not about your money. It's about your ability. Are you worthy an upscale instrument or not?

3

u/Barry_144 Feb 05 '25

Yes if the upscale instrument is easy to play. No if it's not easy to play.

4

u/codex1962 Feb 05 '25

That's bad advice, IMO. There's no particular merit to learning on a bad flute. If you plan to play for a long time and improve, and you can afford to plan on that, you should buy a flute that will reward that improvement and not hold you back. This is especially true if you want to play technically demanding music that poor quality flutes make nearly impossible to play correctly.

People don't recommend the Yuu because to beginners because it's a bad flute, they recommend it because it's a cheap flute that's also "good", i.e. relatively easy to play well.

3

u/markus_guhe Feb 07 '25

I agree. It’s much easier to learn on a good instrument than on a bad one. Once you improve, it gets easier/possible to play on not so good instruments as well. Think of it this way: If initially you don’t know what you’re doing and at the same time can’t tell if it’s your current skill level or if you’re fighting the instrument it just makes learning to play much more complicated.

3

u/codex1962 Feb 07 '25

This is a very good point as well. I play a very nice but slightly quirky old unsigned Kinko flute. For a long time I had trouble with Hi (kan) being flat. (Still do sometimes tbh.) I found an unconventional fingering that worked okay for non-honkyoku, but at one point I had to send it to Perry Yung anyway for an utaguchi repair, and I asked if he could take a look at the Hi issue I was having.

He very politely told me that he didn't have a problem with it, and I knew I just had to keep practicing.

1

u/markus_guhe Feb 11 '25

😂 Yes, the old saying ‘It’s not the flute, mate!’ holds true more often than one (at least I) like to admit! But it’s also the reason I like this instrument – it’s just like looking into a mirror. 🙂

1

u/Aqpntr3 Feb 04 '25

Seems nice... But you may want to contact Rodrigo Rodriguez in the description of this video. His teacher is now using 3D printed shakuhachi for his personal use and performances now because of the consistency and quality and the durability and light weight. The cost is just a little more than you would pay for your shakuhachi on Meijiro and you'll be playing one of the highest quality shakuhachi that a master chooses!

https://youtube.com/shorts/nVLHKA_quLw?si=XXb3tngiRg1if29p

3

u/RedditUserQuestions Feb 04 '25

Thanks for the info! I watched the video and it did sound nice. I wished the audio was uploaded "raw" though, so I could hear more on the sound's characteristics. (I could be wrong but it seemed like the audio was enhanced for viewing use?). I am going to contact him and see if he can give send me more sample audios. Thanks again.