# NGD: Another Exotic Acquisition



## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 17, 2015)

Another browse in the usual pawn store and I saw this dirt cheap. So I went and grabbed it. 







New Guqin Day. 

For those who don't know, the Guqin is a Chinese variation of the zither, this time without the moveable string trees. It uses silk or nylon strings (in my case the latter), tuned to a bass/cello register and played like a lap steel using finger slides. 

TL/DR, it's the instrument used in this scene in Hero.



At the moment the tuning pegs are slightly loose so I currently can't tune it high enough for it's traditional tuning so I've got it in low A, B, D, E, F#, A, B. Of course if I get too lazy, I can always tune it in 4ths.


----------



## M3CHK1LLA (Oct 17, 2015)

congrats!

looks like fun...I'd love to try one out.


----------



## ilyti (Oct 17, 2015)

Who knew the Chinese figured out headless, fretless ERGs years ago!?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 17, 2015)

Years is an understatement. This dates back to nearly 3000 years of history and considered one of if not the oldest instruments instruments in China. Hell, Confucius played one apparently.


----------



## Skyblue (Oct 19, 2015)

Dayum. I wish any place near me would have cool instruments to grab dirt-cheap. 

We demand videos! Well, ok, not demand, but ask nicely. Please?


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 19, 2015)

Ok, it's not much, but I tried to do a half assed phone vid and this was what I came up with.

https://www.facebook.com/jp.glovasa/videos/1053171521393664/?l=4903252349909321769

I just leaned the phone on the bridge and what I came up with was completely improvised. Notice the noobish index finger technique.


----------



## Skyblue (Oct 19, 2015)

Duuuude! That's awesome! You should totally start a Jambinai-style post rock band!


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 20, 2015)

Cheers mate! 

I was a little pitchy, but considering I only played it for 10 minutes prior before attempting to improvise something cold, I guess it's not too bad. 

Starting a Jambinai/Zhaoze style post rock band is indeed tempting, but it's the last thing on my schedule right now. My prog band where I play bass in is currently in the process of recording an album so this and my erhu is gonna be incorporated into the music.


----------



## Harry (Oct 26, 2015)

This thing is quite ridiculous. You'll be the first known Australian virtuoso on the Guqin I hope


----------



## Bloodshredder (Oct 27, 2015)

That sounds so... calming 
What an incredible instrument. 
-->I'm off to youtube


----------



## Bloody_Inferno (Oct 28, 2015)

Harry said:


> This thing is quite ridiculous. You'll be the first known Australian virtuoso on the Guqin I hope



That's a nice prospect, but I'm struggling on the guitar as it is.  Plus I've also committed to at least playing the erhu at an acceptable level. 

I have used the erhu for recording and I've already written a song with the guqin with Vitruvian Man. So... I hope it works too.


----------

