Pipa

Start with the back wood. Padauk is light and quick to respond, which is why it carries the entry instruments and the children's sizes; rosewood and suanzhi are denser, with a thicker tone and a longer tail that asks more of the right hand; red sandalwood and aged rosewood open slowly and hold up in a hall. Shell carving on the back and the head is decoration and does not change the sound, so a limited budget is better spent on the timber and on how cleanly the frets are set. Instruments signed by a maker such as Gao Zhanchun or Wang Gongjian carry the cost of the hand that chose the wood and built them. Bring one passage and play it on every instrument you try in our Taipei shop; the differences arrive faster than any specification.