a karin shamisen exactly like the one in bachido is for 1000 USD
There is always a lot of risk buying used. Most of the time the seller does not know anything about shamisen or the different types. This is true whether it is coming from the US or Japan. When it is from a Japanese source you also have to be careful about their language skills. For this shamisen’s description I read “cassa” as a typo for “casse” which means “speaker” - he is talking about the dou and has given the dimensions of a typical dou. This is followed by “total length 94 cm”. This is a standard length for a minyo instrument. Jiuta are normally 100cm. Tsugaru are around 102 cm total length.
I have found that there are reasonable standards for the different styles. Both minyo and tsugaru typically have plain hexagonal itomaki. When you look at the diameter of the handle versus the shaft it is very clear.
You can often get a good idea by price alone. I have found that middle thickness shamisen are 1.3-1.5X the cost of a thin neck one. And wide necks like tsugaru are 1.5X that. Bottom line is that even used tsugaru shamisen are expensive.
Regarding the skin, they are not that fragile. An average person should expect many years from a good skin regardless of cat or dog.
Cana, when you get the shamisen look inside the dou for the skinning sticker. It will tell you what type of skin was used (cat 猫, or dog 犬). It will also have the date it was done. Dates are usually Japanese so it should say Heisei (平成) XX where XX is usually Arabic numerals. As a point of reference, this year is Heisei 24. The shamisen I currently use for practice was skinned with dog in Heisei 5!
Willl do Thank you 
hmms i will need a bachi, my shamisens not coming with one
a seller told me this, if you want an extra new set of cords silk, bachi they will cost 18+16 = 34Euro +shipping
I dont have that currently though…
Does anyone know if thats a good price?
(dead broke really i needa save for when i move in a couple weeks to wellingborough ) will be the 13th time ive moved in the uk and ive only lived here 1-2 years.
Cana, go to Kameya’s website in English.
http://www.e-kameya.com/english/accessory.html
You will have to email them for what you want but you can get jiuta or minyo strings. The ichi no ito is about $3 but the others are cheap ($1-2). Since you don’t break the ichi no ito you don’t need very many. Order several of the others. Get nylon strings as they will last much longer. Shipping will be inexpensive too since they can put them in a small envelope. However if you want any other accessories, they have it. I have bought a lot of stuff from them. Unfortunately their main website is in Japanese. If you have questions email them. I can help you out too if you need it.
With you moving around so much how will you know to which address to have things shipped?
Hi Cana,
When you look at the sticker, it might also read 四つ if its cat. Cat is the thinnest and most fragile skin, and yours doesn’t appear to be super thin, so its probably dog or perhaps even kangaroo?
I think 16 Euro is actually really reasonable for a bachi. A Nagauta bachi is at least 35-40 USD for a Plastic or Wood one. Is the bachi the seller offering used?
If you do end up buying from Kameya, you should ask about their tetoron san-no-ito! When I was there, the manufacturer had just ended their trial phase and was going to start mass producing them later that summer. They last a lot longer (Ive only been through two in a year!), have a better tone, and I find they’re actually easier on your bachi than nylon. (They’re also cheap!)
Michael, I buy all of my things from Kameya too, but actually found that Hyotan-ya in Asakusa along Senso-ji’s Nakamise Dori was a bit cheaper when it comes to bachi and smaller accessories. Next time you’re in Japan, you should head over there and check them out! Plus, visiting Senso-ji never gets old. Also, if you don’t mind me asking, who do you study with?
Cana, go to Kameya’s website in English.
Accessory | KAMEYA Shamisen OnlineShop
You will have to email them for what you want but you can get jiuta or minyo strings. The ichi no ito is about $3 but the others are cheap ($1-2). Since you don’t break the ichi no ito you don’t need very many. Order several of the others. Get nylon strings as they will last much longer. Shipping will be inexpensive too since they can put them in a small envelope. However if you want any other accessories, they have it. I have bought a lot of stuff from them. Unfortunately their main website is in Japanese. If you have questions email them. I can help you out too if you need it.
With you moving around so much how will you know to which address to have things shipped?
Oooo great prices
Are minyo strings similar to tsugaru?
Also getting my shamisen shipped to my bf in england its close ish to where i will be moving and im going to visit soon anyways for a week or two before i move (will be 5 mins away by train in wellingborough)
Hmm might need to reconfirm what type of shamisen i have before i order spare strings though… i really do love the price £1.75 ish for spares ^.^ will definately order a bunch from them…
wanting a pink yubikake and will need a bachi
still really glad to hear my shamisen is chuzao minyo shamisen
The bachi i’m talking of earlier i just got a reply back its a waterbufflo horn bachi for 36 euros, so £29 roughly
… never heard of a shamisen bachi made out of waterbufflo horn though… Could it be just a sanshin bachi and the dude is clueless about it?
Trying to immagine a bachi made out of horn… i guess it could work… but that would be 1 bachi per horn really… and it wouldnt be a nice part of horn it would be closest to skull i think… and even then it would probably be an odd cut o:
OKAY sorry for tripple post but this thing is beautiful ^^
uploading pic… 
if that doesnt work heres a link http://i48.tinypic.com/1248x7d.jpg
I’m tempted to get it. it comes with a silk case aswell
Hey Joe, I study Ikuta Ryu jiuta shamisen with Masazumi Mizuno Sensei.
Cana, in my experience the horn is just the handle portion of the bachi. This is actually common in Japan. The tip is bekkou. Based on the pictures you posted I am willing to bet that this is a very dark bekkou.
On the other hand I don’t know why horn isn’t used for the playing end. Both horn and turtle shell are keratin (different types though). I am currently working on making a horn end bacchi. We will see how it goes.
hmms may be right micheal i see bits of orange.
Okay guys what type is my shamisen o: ? ive had everyone say atleast one of each, is it some voltron shamisen thats mixed with everything? or?
its a hard call right now ^.^ it being chuzao minyo shamisen would make sense i think.
Cana, I’d agree with Michael’s opinion that it’s a minyo shamisen.
Hey Michael! Let us know how your horn end bachi goes! I’m intrigued. If you know your way around a camera, feel free to show it off on the blogcast.
awesome ^.^ glad to hear
Would be awsome to listen to the differences of bachi, dont recall having seen a blogcast for different bachi…
Michael, nice to find another jiuta player here. I think that might make, oh, maybe three of us(?)…
Thanks Linda. That’s the reason I decided to join.
Though your non-tsugaru (if I may so discriminatory 
) congregation is small, it has inspired me to find some way of opening the theme of the site to be not quite as Tsugaru focused. At least, definitely something for the future.
I think that’s a great idea, Kyle! Why not be THE news source for all non-denominational shamisen happenings?! Incidentally, I met a great Jiuta player in Alaska recently and he taught me a song called “Yamadera no Osho-san,” which is about a mountain priest who, basically, uses a cat as a football due to the fact that he can’t find a proper ball to kick. Having covered “Nyan Cat” on futozao a while back, I pitied poor Simba’s punted soul and thought I could and should regale him with his own requiem. I plan to post a Youtube cover soon…
Very pleased to have so many prestigious shamisen players comment on my threads haha ^^
and to have aquired Mike pennys virgin post, i believe my post did quite well
cant wait for my shamisen on the way <3
Cana:
and to have aquired Mike pennys virgin post, i believe my post did quite well
Coup!! (^o^)
hehe Thanks linda still cant believe i had you comment first though ^.^ ive been looking at buying from your site for a long time
sadly cant afford a koto or a Guqin , somehow ended up with an Erhu off amazon haha
Hey Mike!! Finally you grace us with your presence! Please make it a regular thing.
Yeah, definitely there is no reason not to cover the other styles. Just getting time to start the tsugaru instruction section in hard enough, so learning sections for the other styles might have to be done by someone else.
Looking forward to your cover!