The Scarlet Bird brand from the Xi'an Conservatory of Music is a highly respected brand that follows traditional guzheng-making methods.
This beautiful instrument is made with paulownia wood that has been naturally air-dried for a minimum of six years and framed with blackwood for added depth. It is the concert-grade travel-size guzheng from the Scarlet Bird factory, with a length of only 53 inches, offering unrivaled bass compared to other travel-size models.
The body structure of this guzheng is unique. The paulownia (pao-tong) body board, which is artificially hollowed out in the middle, is made from wood naturally grown in the Henan Province and greatly improves the sound quality of the instrument. In fact, it takes almost an entire tree to make just one guzheng.
First, a thick paulownia tree with the same size as the body is used, and the back is engraved with sound grooves. There is no strut in the acoustical resonator to ensure unobstructed sound waves. Secondly, the radian of the board is formatted naturally so that the grain and pores of the wood are not distorted. When playing the "Zhuque" zheng, the board vibrates regularly, producing a clear, bright, magnetic sound with a unified tone. Thirdly, the board's thickness is determined by the different parts of the tree-high, middle, and low ranges of the sound. These three parts function separately as well as harmoniously, ensuring the effective lingering sound does not drain easily and the volume increases with good acoustics. The sound of the "Zhuque" Zheng has a three-dimensional effect.
The sound of this instrument is warm and rich, with robust bass, and is considered by many to be a "grand guzheng".