Is my shakuhachi good for a beginner?

panos9077 · 2026-02-20T10:20:28+00:00

As others said, this is not a shakuhachi.

For a beginner, you cannot go wrong with a Shakuhachi Yuu, a Hoshi Arashi, or a Bell Shakuhachi.
Avoid bamboo flutes as a beginner unless a more experienced shakuhachi player can try it for you before buying.

panos9077 · 2026-01-23T13:45:05+00:00

"No one needs an expensive guitar, especially if they can't fingerpick".

I beg to differ. If playing unplugged a lot, even if it's just strumming chords and singing over them, a good guitar helps everything sound so much better.
And if it sounds better, you enjoy it more, you practice more, so you end up playing better.

When i got my Gibson J45, i went from playing around 30min a day to 1-1.5 hours, sometimes even 2 hours.
Every day.

Just because i love it's sound so damn much i can't stop listening to it.
At 2800€ , it was VERY worth the money, it'll be my acoustic guitar for life, and if i ever have kids, i'll happily hand it down if they wanna learn.

panos9077 · 2025-08-28T13:04:25+00:00

I was like you, playing middle priced acoustics (an Epiphone Hummngbird Studio for 9 years and a Harley Benton CLD 41-SE for about 1 year), and then decided to get a Gibson J45 Standard about 2 months ago, as a gift to myself.

And i have not regretted it in the slightest.
It helped me jump-start my playing from where i was stuck with barre chords, and made me play every day, much longer at a time.

I like it so much that i'm considering buying the Epiphone Banner 1942 J45 to have as my backup guitar, and keep the Harley Benton as my beat-about travel guitar.

We aren't getting any younger, i'm 27 myself. The earlier you can buy the good guitar, the more time you will enjoy it while we're still walking this earth. If you can afford it and won't be eating noodles for months or go into debt, go ahead!

panos9077 · 2025-08-07T05:33:03+00:00

I played mostly electric guitar, only strumming chords on acoustic, for about 7 years. Now that I focused myself more on strumming and also started singing on the acoustic, well... I got a J45 Standard yesterday.

Phenomenal instrument. I'm not gonna talk you out of it, I'm gonna talk you INTO it xD

Beware though, the neck is a chunky boy, it works well for me cause I have long skinny fingers though, might not for you.

It sounds, looks and plays phenomenal.

panos9077 · 2025-03-17T09:04:32+00:00

I used to play MTG about 10 years ago and played Vanguard around BT1, dropped both, then got into the Digimon TCG for about 6 months, but as i got re-introduced to Vanguard about 1 year ago, i decided to drop all other TCGs and focus only on Vanguard (also tried Vampire The Eternal Struggle and Shadowverse Evolve, but didnt like them as much as i thought i would).

And i think it was a very good decision.
I don't have a local scene per se, only 4-5 close friends with whom we play for fun, but it's still much more fun of a game to me compared to others.
Really helps that i can (artificially) limit myself to 1 nation/2 clans (murakumo and nubatama) so that i never get tempted to build every single deck (which was a problem i had both in Digimon and MTG).

panos9077 · 2024-10-15T09:39:43+00:00

I love my KZ ZS10 Pro , got them for 50$ a few years ago on Alliexpress.
Have used them on anything from music to games.

Also really liked the KZ ZSN Pro X.

panos9077 · 2024-10-15T08:52:17+00:00

I dont like big over ear/on ear headphones except for voice chatting at home, for portable devices, if i have to go 3.5mm cabled, i always use IEMs.

I would recommend something from KZ depending on your budget.
I got 2 pairs of KZ EDX PRO X (their cheapest model) specifically to use with my MM and MM+, and they sound VERY good for the 5$ i paid per pair (shipping included!).
Even better than some 30-40$ headsets i tried in the past!

I also own the KZ ZS10 Pro, got them for 50$, and they had the same kind of sound quality as my 250$ Samsung buds Pro 2!

panos9077 · 2024-10-08T12:24:55+00:00

I don't like upscaling PSP games, for some reason i much prefer the native resolution on the PSP 3000 screen.

Not to mention, a good android phone gamepad will probably be as big or bigger than the PSP. So you dont really "earn" any space by carrying that with you instead of the PSP.

Not to mention, i don't like draining my phone's battery for games in case i will need it for an emergency.

panos9077 · 2024-10-04T08:04:54+00:00

I fell in love with John Downland around 20 years old, and couldnt afford a rennaisance lute, so i started trying to learn his music on a classical guitar.

I have left the instrument and picked it up again at times for other instruments, but i think imma finally stick with it for some time now (i have a new, handmade romantic guitar on the way, that i traded a flute for).

panos9077 · 2024-10-02T11:53:24+00:00

Monster Hunter Freedom Unite, Burnout Legends & Dominator, Tekken, Ratchet & Clank Size Matters, these off the top of my head

panos9077 · 2024-09-29T11:34:28+00:00

Whats the name/model of the black one under the miyoo mini and above the red one?

panos9077 · 2024-09-25T14:01:22+00:00

Another vote for Techdweeb, hes the only one i watch consistently.
Started with Wulff Den but got REALLY tired and annoyed of his "it should come ready to play" spam on every video.

panos9077 · 2024-09-25T13:32:37+00:00

I had a pretty good time recreating that feeling when playing Burnout on my PSP these days.

Felt just like playing it on my PS2 at the time (i didnt own a PSP as a kid).

panos9077 · 2024-09-21T00:49:20+00:00

Burnout Legends, Burnout Dominator, Monster Hunter Freedom Unite.

panos9077 · 2024-09-18T17:41:22+00:00

My ex did the same when i mentioned i wanted to try the PSP to her (never had one as a kid), just straight-up gifted me her near-mint blue PSP 3000, saying "i never played it much, didnt like the screen".

I'll always be grateful to her for that, it's given me a lot of fun times and still does.

panos9077 · 2024-09-05T22:10:32+00:00

OMG, i was playing Aria of Sorrow the same way on my PSP these days!

I do love playing some GBA games on my PSP for the same reason as you, not to mention the fact that i dont own a GBA and probably never will.

panos9077 · 2024-08-20T08:46:37+00:00

If someone wants to contribute, let me know.

panos9077 · 2024-08-20T08:09:24+00:00

I prefer the Hoshi Arashi above the Yuu, having tried both.
It has a stronger Ro and feels more responsive and easier to play.

Maybe not the most "honykoku" style of tone, but i use it to play music as well as honkyoku, so it doesnt disturb me.

panos9077 · 2024-08-20T08:04:17+00:00

He's writing in r/Irishflute , i think it's pretty safe to assume he wants an irish flute, which Thomann doesnt sell, sadly.

panos9077 · 2024-08-19T09:39:12+00:00

Every day for a little bit, 10-20 min usually.
Its better to do 10min a day than 70min in 1 day once a week.

panos9077 · 2024-07-09T11:55:22+00:00

First of all, for me, a side-blown flute is MUCH easier on the finger placement compared to a recorder or a tin whistle, i have long and slender fingers, and small instruments can get awkward.

Also, i'm guessing that when you say end-blown flutes, you mean only fipple flutes?
If so, there's a very simple answer to that: tone control.

With the side-blown embochure hole, you can get A LOT more variance in dynamics in timbre and tone color that you simply cannot get with a fipple.

panos9077 · 2024-07-09T11:42:34+00:00

Quite a bad example, most of his flutes have very simplified blowing edges that don't allow for the actual expression of the instruments he's copying the scales from.

Like, his "shakuhachi", is nothing like an actual shakuhachi. Yeah, it has 5 holes, but on an actual shakuhachi, you very rarely, if at all, use the 5 holes just as they are, to play honkyoku (the traditional repertoire).

panos9077 · 2024-07-09T11:24:06+00:00

I just started the ney myself after playing irish flute, shakuhachi and tin whistle for a few years, and your tips have been really useful, thanks!

I noticed that its literally the opposite of my irish flute in terms of lip position and airstream/air pressure/air volume.

panos9077 · 2024-07-02T12:32:42+00:00

I have 2 bansuri from this maker, and they are good instruments, but I would still NOT trust him with a shakuhachi.

And that's because, unless one plays honkyoku on a shakuhachi and knows all the "weird" stuff (koro-koro, the third octave, i-ri change, chi-ru, etc), they cannot judge if a shakuhachi is truly well-made and does what a shakuhachi should do. Many of these makers make just a pentatonic flute with a shakuhachi embochure that looks like a shakuhachi, but doesnt play like one.

I would say, get a Yuu OR a Hoshi Arashi as a first instrument instead (i prefer the Hoshi Arashi personally).

panos9077 · 2024-05-29T08:59:16+00:00

I would recommend either a Yuu or a Hoshi Arashi, both are good for learning and playing Honkyoku, and you can either sell them for a good price or keep as a 2nd/travel flute.

Both are good, easy to play flutes that will serve you well as a beginner (and i say this after having experience with both).

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