Can anybody tell me what type of shamisen this is?

General
#1

Hello,
I’m an absolute beginner at playing, learning about shamisen. I just received my first used shamisen from ebay that the lister said was tsugaru style. I’ve broken the ichi no ito that was already attatched to the neo when it arrived and the spare :T. The other two strings are on there just fine but I’m having problem with the top itomake. Everytime I try to tune it, the itomake slips out or I break the string before I even get to C. I’ve looked around on forums and such so I’m trying to figure out if I have a different style shamisen (maybe juita because the hatomune) and the strings are tsugaru, it might be a different style of shamisen with tsugaru itomake that won’t fit properly, if it’s maybe a defective hole where you put the first itomake, or if I’m just doing it incorrectly. Thank you, any info will be appreciated!!

This is the shamisen I purchased:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111731741485

#2

Hi Connie. I may be wrong but I think it is a karin tsugaru. The doukake looks tsugaru and if it fits, that’s a good indication. The itomaki are certainely not juita, even bigger than minyo (I have one). Anyway the measurements (dou, sao, itomaki) could be helpful to be sure.

Edit : Well, I didn’t see the seller’s details : you can be sure it is a karin tsugaru. The itomaki problem doesn’t come from an inappropriate ito or itomaki… Does it always cut at the same place ? Did you try to make a hook around the itomaki to avoid the slipping ?

#3

string shouldnt break so easily hm maybe one of the contact points of the string with the shamisen on top or bottom bridge is too sharp or rough so that the wood there cuts into the string making it snap … slippy itomaki is a common problem others have more experience with that and may offer tips … welcome

#4

Thank you!
I’m not too sure, and I haven’t tried to make a hook, how do I do that? The wood doesn’t feel too sharp anywhere. The strings broke close to the middle closer to the itomaki. Thank you both again for the info it’s reassuring to know that it’s not the shamisen.

#5

Did your ichi no ito break once or several times ? If only once you should not have to worry about that. It could be an old one even not used before…

#6

Hi Connie. It is definitely a tsugaru shamisen. The ichi-no-ito will put a lot of force on the itomaki and slippage is typical. I find i have to push the itomaki in and give it short twits back and forth to force it to grab. Once you get the tuning right push it in again. This should be a very thick and strong string. It is unusual to break it, especially in the middle. This wasn’t at a contact point? If a new string broke without rubbing, it was defective.

#7

You could try violin peg paste on your slipping peg,or ground up violin rosin works well too,where it grips in the hole. If that fails lightly rough up the shiny,slipping part of the peg with a nail file,not to remove anything,just to take the smoothness away.
I always tune a new string slowly and leave it to stretch overnight,then retune. This pulls it gradually rather than suddenly putting a lot of strain on an unused string.
Also if the string is wound too close to the peghole it pushes the peg out.yours look fine in the photo.

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