The pipa with strong and loud volume and rich golden and stone timbre is the primary choice target of buyers. A pipa with good sound, you will never let go when you play it. The more I play, the more I like to play. It can be said that I never get tired of playing. Therefore, when buying a pipa, you must first play it and listen to its acoustic effects.

For the timbre of the pipa, the older generation of performers once listed five timbres of "sharp", "tang", "song", "brittle" and "explosive", and asked to match the five timbres of sharp, tang, loose, crisp and explosive on a pipa. Sound is available. "Sharp" means that the sound of the lower and treble is very bright; "Tang" means that the sound of the upper and lower bass areas is very strong; "Loose" means that the sound is very sensitive after strumming; The timbre of the handle is very crisp; "explosive" refers to the timbre that can emit the sound of gold and stone, the sound has thickness and weight, and the sound can be transmitted farther. Among them, there are great contradictions in the production of Tang, Song and Baku. For example, on the pipa that can produce the sound of tang and pine, most of them cannot hear the sound of explosion of gold and stone, and most of the pipa that can produce the sound of strong and rich sound of gold and stone have lost the sound effect of tang and pine. How to achieve a loud volume and a very sensitive response on a pipa, and at the same time have a sound of gold and stone, a solid and powerful tone, this is the goal of the pipa masters, and it is also a technical problem in production. No detailed introduction is given.

The technique used to make the panel and the quality of the panel have the most direct and closest relationship to the pronunciation of the pipa. In the past, the panels were made of sycamore wood from Zhejiang, Fujian, Anhui and other places. After many experiments and comparisons, all of them have now been made of sycamore boards grown in Lankao, Henan. However, Lankao's tungsten boards will also have advantages and disadvantages. And once on a high-quality Lankao tung tree, there are only two best boards. Whether the best tungsten wood can be selected, this is another knowledge that the masters have when choosing materials.

When purchasing a pipa, you can only see whether the wood grain on the outside of the panel is straight; whether the width between the grains is appropriate; whether there are knots on the panel; Sawed, remove the hard core part of the tree and the part with poor sound transmission or put it on the left and right sides), etc., others such as the depth, width, position of the beam and its thickness, width, sound column The position, size and shape of the slats, whether there are splayed beams, the radian and depth of the inner bore, etc. have all been done, and cannot be seen from the outside.

In the past, yellow croaker fat was used for sticking the board, and now pigskin glue is mixed into the yellow croaker fat, which is a glue containing water. A lute that uses glue containing moisture to stick the panel will change its volume and tone after playing it for five years and ten years. Because after a certain period of time, the water in the glue gradually evaporates, and the volume and tone will inevitably change. For this reason, when purchasing, it is necessary to ask whether a water-containing glue is used.

Chemical glue is also used when gluing panels. There are many types of chemical adhesives. Some of the panels that have just been glued have better sound effects, but they have not passed many years of practice and tests. Whether there is any change in the fastness of their adhesion and whether the sound has changed, etc., can not draw the correct conclusion.

When picking a pipa and listening to the sound, I generally like the pipa with a loud volume and a wide sound, ignoring the solid (explosive) sound of gold and stone. We have proved through practice that most of the pipa with high volume and wide sound lack the sound of gold and stone and solid timbre. After playing for a period of time, although the volume is still high, the sound gradually loses its "weight" and the sound becomes more "empty". Even very "woody", very ugly. This is because after a certain period of playing, the panel vibrates continuously, and the moisture and mucus in the panel wood have gradually decreased. Therefore, when choosing a new pipa, you must not only rely on the loud volume and wide sound, but also whether there is a sound of gold and stone, and whether the timbre is weighty and solid. Generally speaking, it is advisable to choose a volume that is not the largest, but the response is very sensitive, and the sound is thicker.

Pick the pipa, listen to the sound, and pay attention to the region. Is it the pipa made in the humid areas of the south, or the pipa made in the dry areas of the north. It is common in the south to choose a loud volume, a more sensitive response, and a timbre that is not "empty", but after being brought to a dry area in the north, the sound will become "empty" and "woody" after five days and ten days of dry climate. This is due to the rapid evaporation of water and mucus in the panel. For this reason, when choosing pipa in various musical instrument factories in the south, it must not only rely on the local pronunciation effect, but should take into account the changes that occur after it is brought to dry areas. Therefore, when choosing a pipa in the south, it is better to choose a pipa with a lower volume and a more solid tone (burst). Even if the pipa made in the dry area in the north is not used for performance immediately, it is better to choose a pipa with a solid (explosive) sound and some weight.

For this reason, those who choose pipa must learn to listen to the ability to distinguish the various timbres of "sharp", "tang", "loose", "brittle" and "explosive". You can only buy an ideal pipa with a long service life after hearing whether the above five timbres are available.