If i were to buy your book, would I need to buy an updated version when the newer ones come out? or am i best to wait for the latest?
Really interested in getting it ^.^
would be abit expensive to hafta keep buying the next update though
Cana, you’re my favorite forum flooder.
To support bachido you should buy current and every next book edition 
And a few books for your friends, of course.
What are you expecting to see in the updated version?
All you could need to start with shamisen is already there.
If it is all about inevitable mistakes in book, then the common practice is to make an errata sheet somewhere on the site, just to know which book edition has errors and where. Don’t know if it is really needed for this book.
XD lmao, Thank you K H
I just heard a rumor is all about having dics in the book aswell, on shamisen making ^^
#1 forum flooder <3
Well , maybe you can wait , but the updates would be very little things i think , i just got the book last friday , and i already finished to read it twice .
To me this version is perfect , very funny as well and very well described , you find everything to start learning music and crafting your shamisen . I was even surprised to see that every brass and metal pieces were home made and quite easy to make.
In my opinion you should get it if your really want it . And all the measures are in millimeters and centimeters , thank you for this Kyle i don’t have to convert everything 
!
The very very big problem about this book is that you should get some wood , tools and time before you buy the book , trust me , i have to wait until next february to start crafting the shamisen , i work on guitars right know and i don’t even care about it , the only think i talk about everyday is shamisen , everyone is bored at the shop because of me talking about how cool Shamisen of Japan is !
Just get the book , it’s an order !
hehe ^.^ definatly going to get it whenever the jobcentre decide to finally pay me the 4 months they owe me xD
i will have a full shop of tools to play with soon 
Kyle, have you thought about making an electronic edition of the book available? Might be easier to update that way.
Haha! #1 Forum flooder! Congratulations! I’m a fan as well. I appreciate people like you keeping the board really active and alive. My participation on the forum is going to lessen a bit when I’m in Japan, and once I become actively occupied with making crash courses (I hope to start once I return to SC). Of course, I will still read everything daily and respond what I can, but it will be up to you guys to keep it up while I get back to Bachido Development.
If i were to buy your book, would I need to buy an updated version when the newer ones come out? or am i best to wait for the latest?
The only major update will be the kawahari section. (which I can send you when completed) I haven’t changed, nor plan on changing, the playing/technique section in a while. (Except for one typo which K H noted)
These days, the only updates are little typos. (only two in the past year) Most of the major errors were fixed in 2010, and any updates have been minor changes or a new picture, mostly to the construction section.
So yeah. It’d be safe to get the book at it’s current state. Except for the kawahari section, nothing will change (knock on wood)
I was even surprised to see that every brass and metal pieces were home made and quite easy to make.
Woot! I’m glad you thought so. Yeah, the only skill needed in making azuma sawari is folding the metal at the right lengths and drilling straight. Very simple.
And all the measures are in millimeters and centimeters
Actually, making the book made me switch to metrics. Before then, Papa had always encouraged me to use metrics but I found inches/feet much easier. However, all the shamisen info I received from Gerry/Linda (their wealth of knowledge was invaluable in my learning about shamisen construction and such) and other online sources was in metrics, and I got so confused trying to convert it into inches/feet. Thus, I had no choice but to switch. Glad I did. Much more logical. I realized why the whole world uses it.
If it is all about inevitable mistakes in book, then the common practice is to make an errata sheet somewhere on the site, just to know which book edition has errors and where. Don’t know if it is really needed for this book.
I used to have that in the old website shamisenofjapan.com. It’s been so long since I made any major changes, I wonder if it’s necessary to bring back?
Kyle, have you thought about making an electronic edition of the book available? Might be easier to update that way.
Ah! Making an eBook would be much easier than before. I wasn’t too hot about it a few years ago because I thought that meant just selling a PDF and so was worried about piracy. 
I think now it can be made easily with Createspace. We already use Createspace for our books, so updating would be the same method (very easy). Anywho, an ebook would still a good option to add. I’ll add it to my To Do list.
The azuma sawari is going to be a little bit tricky for sure , but it’ll be good experience in soldering and bending!
Of course , if you were used to inches it was easier for you , actually in guitars i was used to inches , when i started to calculate radius and neck scale in millimeters i was totally lost ! “what 500mm radius ? I want my 25.5” fender neck !"
Sounds good thankies ^.^
I look forward to getting paid and buying a copy <3
may need a kyles blessed special eddition book though
just to be safe
I don’t think you really need to worry about piracy at all, especially not with a project like this, that has such a strong community element.
You will always get hit by piracy. The question is if you lose or gain sales by having it, as a person finding the book can find the site and might decide on getting a shamisen. For this type of profit, you would need those cheap shamisen made because we are talking piracy people
The thing is, someone can always scan your book.
Someone can always take the PDF and share it.
Someone can always steal your stuff, make their own version and then sell it for themselves.
The loyal fanbase will be there for you and will pay, as long as they don’t have to take the impact from piracy, which is what is happening in some other digital distribution areas when companies raise the price due to less people buying.
One thing that you can do if you don’t want to help people who have stolen your book is to create a customer number for each buyer and if the questions are more than just a few small questions, you could ask for the number. I’m not putting any opinion here, just an option.
Finally, I agree with Eric that in the current state you should have nothing to worry about. One thing though… Don’t we all already own the book?
Everything Karl said is what I was hinting at. I agree 100%. Also, I don’t own the book yet. If there was an ebook, I would, but I’m waiting until I return to the states for now.
If there was an ebook, I would, but I’m waiting until I return to the states for now.
Let me share a PDF.
j/k
Piracy is back side of popularity. Nothing venture nothing have.
Of course , if you were used to inches it was easier for you ,
For the basic form, inches was fine. However, getting into fine details (1/2mm details, for neck angle and such), metrics ended up very beneficial.
may need a kyles blessed special eddition book though just to be safe
Because I have about eleven books left to sell, I’ll include a printout of the revision and include it in your order.
You will always get hit by piracy. The question is if you lose or gain sales by having it, as a person finding the book can find the site and might decide on getting a shamisen. For this type of profit, you would need those cheap shamisen made because we are talking piracy people
Ah, very very true! Luke had found an interesting statistic. Apparently, authors who offered a free PDF of their entire book ended up with 20% more sales than those who didn’t. Other factors may be at play, but it’s still intriguing. And yes, the book is simply an introduction to the wallet purging world of shamisen. Recently, I was hesitant about selling it on Amazon (‘cause they take a sizable cut of profit. After all, Big K needs his Espresso money), but Papa said that Amazon is mostly for the promotion, as they go to Bachido for everything else. That puts everything in perspective, though I always have to be reminded of that.
The thing is, someone can always scan your book. Someone can always take the PDF and share it.
Yeah, someone’s done that with Blowing Zen, but Papa didn’t care enough to go after the guy.
Let me share a PDF.
Haha! Actually, that’s how I used to think eBooks were sold, which made me against it. (As you can tell, I’ve never purchased an eBook before)
Piracy is back side of popularity. Nothing venture nothing have.
Right! The moral is, if your product isn’t getting pirated, it means it’s so crappy that nobody wants it.
i could have bought the book a bajillion times over since it came out, but my biggest problem is that i’d want a signed copy !!! XD and amazon uk don’t offer that version.
I’ve got all the various editions of the book, and the important updates have all been made (minus kawahari, obviously).
It’s an invaluable resource, and even though I helped with a lot of the book, I find myself referencing it frequently for shamisen vocabulary and notation.
It has a note for note transcription of Kita no Hibiki, that is reason enough to buy it! It’s a invaluable learning resource and genuinely funny in places.