Help with Shamisen

Store/Sales
#1

Hello, I am new in this site and as you can understand i want to make a shamisen.
i always liked the shamisen (i play guitar myself :D) and because, unfortunately my family is poor, i can’t afford to buy one,so i decided to make one. But. I can’t find the materials.

I don’t know where to buy:

  1. wood (what kind of wood should use?)
  2. skin for the body (dou) (can i use something else than skin?)
    3)silk strings (can i use nylon strings?).

Are there any sites to buy these things? I went to music stores but they don’t have/sell
things like these.
And something last, What in the god’s name is that thing that help you stretch the skin?
i mean those things that you tie the rope around them. . .(hard to explain :stuck_out_tongue: i hope you understand what i mean haha)

Thanks for your help in advance.

#2

Sorry Kyle i know that all my questions (or the most of them) are answered in your book but i have to save money to buy it (you are excellent). I just want to learn shamisen so badly, so before i start i want to know a things or two.

#3

i’ll just leave the questions to kyle :smiley:

Welcome “Thunder” good to have you on the site :stuck_out_tongue:

but you should change your name to your real one like everyone else here :slight_smile: we’re all friendly. And while you’re at it let us know atleast from which country you are from? it would help if there would be someone living close to you don’t you think?

#4

Hey Thunder,

Really, any affordable hardwood you can find will work. Maple is quite hard and relatively cheap, so I would recommend that. Whatever hardwood is available to you.

For the skin, I’d recommend thick (5-6 paper sheets thick) calf skin.

You can use nylon strings (like for nylon stringed guitar). It won’t sound like shamisen strings, but it will be close enough. Buying real shamisen strings will help get you closer to the shamisen sound, when you can afford it.

The clamps used to hold the skin during stretching is called “kisen.”

Hope that helps,

Kyle

1 Like
#5

And yeah to add something… I think you should go for the usual Shamisen strings (silk etc) they don’t cost any more than guitar strings and will get you the authentic sound :slight_smile: Unless you really just WANT to go for nylon and try out things :stuck_out_tongue:

#6

I can’t comment on how to build a shamisen that is close to what is available for purchase but in case money is really tight and you want to play something :slight_smile:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZgDV0lYI4RM (great sound actually I think)

I have been lacking behind big time as for my second stick with strings but I got a more or less junk piece of some kind of acacia wood from a local joiner/carpenter who also roughly cut it and well that wood is harder than spruce and looks a lot like shamisen dark as it is . . .

:slight_smile:

© 2020 Kyle Abbott