Golden Duduk Armenian Professional Instrument with 3 Reeds and Playing Instructions Included, Made in Armenia from Apricot Wood and Brass rings

Considering most duduks for sale in other places can reach an upwards of 200-300+ dollars, this duduk is priced relatively cheap, and is quite the bargain; especially for somebody who's interested in the instrument, but doesn't necessarily want to drop several hundred dollars on one. It's a lovely, well-constructed instrument. It did not come with instructions, however, so you'll have to either find a teacher or online tutorial to help you figure out how to play it; it can be difficult. I had the advantage of having played clarinet, so I was familiar with reeded instruments, but it is still a hard instrument to become proficient with. If you're not used to playing an instrument that requires as much lung-capacity, cheek and lip control as this instrument, then it will be quite an endeavor to play at first. However, with enough practice and proper care, this low-priced duduk can take you a long way and get you started on mastering this instrument: a challenging, yet very rewarding ordeal.

I've long been enchanted by the sound of this instrument, so I finally reached the point that I had to have one. There are plenty of online resources to give a basic idea how it should be played, and if you're musical to begin with (I play several instruments) then you'll find your way through. It certainly has its foibles (I'm speaking in general terms--not about this specific instrument) and you'll find intonation to be the biggest challenge you face. Playing with a drone tone has certainly been helpful to me. It's easy to wonder where the tradeoffs are in an instrument this inexpensive. While I don't really have a frame of reference yet, it would appear to me that the reeds are the weakest link. Looking straight into the gap, it's quite easy to see irregularities in the aperture: a bit different for each reed. The reeds that come with this instrument are pretty soft, so I'm currently aiming for consistency of tone rather than beauty. I suspect I'll go for harder reeds pretty soon and then for a better instrument later on. But none of these remarks should be interpreted as criticism. At a hundred bucks, this is a perfectly serviceable instrument for learning. When it comes time to move on, I'll retire it with honor. And one last remark. After purchase I had a question for the seller. I had an answer within a couple of minutes of the time the question went out.

My Duduk arrived with a crack between the seventh and eighth holes which ran all the way through its body. It took the vendor one month to ship me a replacement instrument, and only after I reminded him five times via email. Additionally, the vendor was very rude via email. He did however replace the damaged instrument. Only one of the three included reeds are playable. One is cracked beneath its leather strap and buzzes very loudly and the other does not seal correctly into the body of the instrument. The third plays well. Additionally, all components were just tossed in a box and shipped to me from across the country. The duduk had one layer of bubble wrap scotch-taped around it, but the reeds were just clattering around inside the box (perhaps why two of them were compromised). The instrument is not tuned to concert pitch, it's octaves are split by about 25 cents and it's notes, on average, are about 25 cents sharp. If you are looking for an instrument to do studio work with or to bring on stage, this isn't it, unfortunately. Qualification: professional saxophonist, pianist and producer with 18 years of experience.

I purchased the duduk from the seller for my recording, the instrument quality is good to me. This is my first duduk, I can't tell whether it is high quality one or not. BUT as a professional musician, it really work to me. The seller asked for my email for the finger chart, I replied immediately, but never get the chart since I purchased it. SO, SERVICE IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT TO THE CUSTOMERS! Please see melodyofchina dot com, they always answer your questions immediately, even you don't buy anything from them.

It's a beautiful piece,but I was hoping it was in the key of A.....

I was a little nervous ordering this set but was pleasantly surprised by the craftsmanship. I kind of feel bad for paying so little for it. All three reeds worked great out of the box and the different sizes made for different tones. I've been playing the highland pipes for almost 10 years, so setting up reeds was no biggie, but I'd highly recommend watching some of the how-to videos on youtube for getting the reeds ready to play and for technique. My only concern was the packaging it came in, but all was ok on arrival. Definitely a happy customer!

In great condition and a beautiful instrument. Good pitch range, especially with the different tones. The only problem is, the mouth pieces were a little crisp and hard to play, but nothing a little treatment and practice won't fix!

I bought a novelty one years ago and it worked but it didn't have the professional features this one has such as the tip protector so the read doesn't split as it dries out. It is beautiful. Now with all the lessons and the internet exploding, I need to actually start learning how to play it.