Eason Music Store Concert Grade Rosewood Beijing Daruan With Alloy Frets By Song Guang Ning

What it is

Being the biggest in the ruan family, the Daruan has the lowest pitch and is also known as the bass ruan.

Song Guang Ning Ruans are the most popular brand of Ruans in China at the moment. They are endorsed by Liuqin / Zhongruan master Zhang Xin Hua.

Their instruments produce a tone that is sweet, resonant and clear. The frets are in tune and the tone and volume of different strings sound very balanced.

The Beijing rosewood Daruan is made using premium rosewood with alloy frets. Alloy frets do not wear out as quickly as bone frets and do not sound as metallic as steel frets. The tone of the Rosewood Daruan sounds much richer than that of its whitewood counter part.

The latest version comes with oval sound holes instead of bird-shaped ones.

At a glance

 A resonant and clear Daruan with a sweet tone.

Suitable for

• Professional/performance level ruan players.

Why you should buy it

• The quality and workmanship of this Daruan far exceeds its inexpensive price tag.

Why some might not want it

• Entry level players might want something less pricey to start with.

About the Maker

Song Guang Ning was born in 1934 to a family of farmers. Seeking to improve his family’s well-being after years of drought, he ventured to Beijing at the age of 15 and through fate, got into contact with a small Chinese instrument workshop. In those days, there were no machinery suitable for making Chinese instruments, so every single instrument was hand crafted from start to finish. Only after many long arduous years did he first start a new factory, the “Beijing Chinese Instrument Factory”. Song’s crafts include a vast range of Chinese instruments, with his Zhongruan and Sanxian being the most sought after instruments.