Post by Shimi ·⃝⃤ / Redsky

“I cant go out tonight, Sorry. I’m playing with my pipes.” My pipes. I would like to add a Shakuhachi to this little harem.

A soft sunlight filters over a collection of wooden flutes laid out on a tan cloth roll. The flutes vary in size and wood tone, with five prominently featured. Three larger flutes have wood animal fetishes tied near their mouthpieces—of a Leaping Salmon, a Yellowtail Bird and a Bear — these are Native American-style flutes crafted by Steve DeRuby. Another slightly smaller flute, gifted by a friend and made by LunaFlutes, shows signs of dryness and may need more oiling. The smallest flute, small and slender, piccolo in tone and size and without a fetish, is made of sassafras root and has a small blue stone inset near the mouthpiece. It is the octave pair of the largest flute (with a bear on it). The cloth roll beneath them, handmade and worn at the edges, was sewn by me in 1995. A textured grey blanket and soft shadows form the background.

jul 12, 2025, 5:27 pm • 20 0

Replies

ohh Shakuhachi is a blast! it's taken us a really long time to get proficient with ours, but the level of expression you can get is soo worth it! Funny enough; we're looking at some more NA native style flutes; though a 2.4 and 2.8 shakuhachi are also definitely needed.

jul 12, 2025, 5:36 pm • 0 0 • view

Ive been playing Shakuhachi since 1996 but I have never had the finances to own one, then I had a house fire that these were spared from. I suspect I will find the right one on my journey when the right one meets me, but until then I have plenty of ancient instruments to be getting along with.

jul 12, 2025, 5:42 pm • 2 0 • view

I completely get what you mean though, woodwinds have a way of multiplying a lot and a lot of things come down to how they feel in your paws. So sorry to hear that you had that house fire, I'm glad some things survived it; especially you.

jul 12, 2025, 5:59 pm • 1 0 • view

I've wanted theses kinds of flutes and shakuhachi for so long. i'd love to hear y'all play them also i didn't know you had a house fire too, Shimi. that's awful and we lost a lot in ours as well and we're glad you still have those wonderful instruments

jul 12, 2025, 6:05 pm • 1 0 • view

oh stars! you both had house fires?! We couldn't imagine how devastating that would be XO I definitely need to post more clips of us playing in general... TBH micing a shakuhachi and traditional flutes in a way that's true to their feel and timbre is my biggest white whale as an audio engineer.

jul 12, 2025, 6:17 pm • 2 0 • view

I should just post things tho so critters can hear *something* I just wish it wasn't so annoying syncing high quality audio to video.

jul 12, 2025, 6:17 pm • 1 0 • view

yeah. unfortunately all the best gear and techniques in the world can't ever capture the beauty of acoustic instruments as we hear them with our own ears

jul 12, 2025, 6:41 pm • 1 0 • view

The NTR ribbon mic and one of our tube mics in the right configuration get *close* part of the tough part with capturing things is just how dynamic playing can be... We're thinking of maybe getting a hold of an XY stereo pencil mic and using that to get a sense of where the shakuhachi is pointed.

jul 13, 2025, 3:57 am • 1 0 • view

I've been playing mine since 2018-19 or so: I've only just gotten to the point where I feel like I'm communicating with it. I take lessons with a really excellent maker local to the LA area. He does some fantastic work and I'd be happy to introduce you if you're in my corner of the world sometime

jul 12, 2025, 5:50 pm • 1 0 • view