i am planning to purchase the akatsuki.
please list all the accessories i need to purchase
in order to complete the shamisen. thank you.
Well assuming you’d like everything and don’t have anything yet, the way the Akatsuki comes is totally barebones aside from the shamisen itself so in order to play Tsugaru style
You’ll need:
- A neo (rope tail thing that the strings attach to)
- Strings (ichi, ni, and san no ito)
- A koma (a bridge)
----------------------------------------------------------- ^ the above are absolutely necessary to make any sound - A doukake (armrest/body cover)
- A bachi (plectrum)
- A yubikake (finger sleeve to prevent friction)
- A dou gomu (rubber stick-on pad to keep the body of the shamisen from slipping)
---------------------------------------------------------- ^ these are highly recommended, (a bachi is necessary to play pieces traditionally and with proper technique in any style except kouta, but if tradition isn’t too important for you atm you can still make sound without one. All this stuff makes playing a ton easier, and it’s pretty much impossible to play ‘properly’ without them.)
Some other things to consider
- In my experience, a bachigawa (thin sheet applied to the body to prevent the skin from wearing. The Akatsuki can come in durable synthetic skins, but even with FiberSen I’ve seen mine kinda get worn away without using one)
- If you’re an absolute beginner, you might want a fujaku (position marker strip). It lines up the numerical positions along the neck so you can read tablature and apply it by looking at the numbers until you’re comfortable enough with where they are.
- A good case is important to protect the instrument for travel
- If you get natural skin, a dou fukuro and maybe that humidity slab thing would be a good idea to prevent moisture. With synthetic skin, this doesn’t really matter.
- A microfiber cleaning cloth is good to keep it nice and shiny
Hope this helps!
Thanks Ian S.
This was very helpful!
My pleasure, I’m glad! 