Hello!
I’ve been playing my beginners shamisen for a little over a year now and I think I’ve finally outgrown it as it is. I specifically have difficulty getting notes higher up the neck to ring out due to maybe the action/intonation.
Are there any upgrades I could do to my existing shamisen? Or should I look at saving for one of the mid level ones in the bachido shop?
Thanks!
The Beginner’s Shamisen is a karin (花梨) nagauta. Your issue isn’t so much the quality of the instrument but the form factor - if my assumptions are correct.
A nagauta shamisen’s hatomune neck is ill-suited to hitting much past position 14 or 15.
In principle, you really cannot do much to change this characteristic. I have seen modifications to hatomune necks to extend the playable space - but they’re a definite rarity and would require some degree of wood working ability.
That being the case, you’ll likely need to change to a new instrument.
I am very glad about this answer as I am learning on a nagauta for 7 months now and I can’t get anything really clean after the 16th tsubo.
Waiting for saving enough for a tsugaru shamisen 