Hey everybody,
I’m Phil from Germany.
I know its a little bit late to ask. I already started building a tsugaru shamisen with Kyle’s guide.
I am using Indian apple wood also known as Tineo. Did somebody has experience with that kind of wood or knows if the sound will be good ?
In fact it is a pleasure to work with that wood because of its hardness and
it feels like it will be a good instrument.
What do you think about it ?
Regards
Phil
tineo … i have no idea but sounds cool did you get it at an online wood store you could recommend? I wanted to get koa acacia wood cause its a tone wood also used (earlier times) for surfboards and from hawaii too so that struck me as cool enough but the local wood supply scene is awful you mainly get soft fichte or buche if youre lucky and also online didn’t work out koa guitar sets i have no use for and plain wood parts did not work out at a store i asked about a custom piece …
and welcome if this is still valid i run the danger of missing out on some stuff on here lately occupied with less interesting stuff mostly
Yeah I just saw some acoustic guitars in a shop made with tineo and then informed myself a little bit about this tone wood. Yes I have found a very nice wood store in germany. It has a huge amount of all kinds of wood, even Padouk and other recommended tone woods. I dont really know if they have Koa acacia but maybe take a look for yourself. http://www.designholz.com/
thanks no koa but maybe sth else sometime
Hi Phil!
BH beat me to it, but welcome to Bachido! 
I’ve never heard of Tineo, but taking a look online, it’d be interesting to use! Judging by the janka rating, it appears to be softer than most woods used for shamisen, but that wouldn’t necessarily be a problem, just different. If you like that wood, I would heartily recommend trying it out!
Let us know how you progress!
All the best,
Kyle
Yeah thanks Kyle ! I already finished Sao & Tenjin and now make my way to create the Dou.
Oh my… it’s the hardest wood I ever worked with and it’s a tough job.
I didn’t knew about janka rating, thx for the advise. For the the next shamisen I’ll take a look for harder wood 
Finally I really look forward to hear how it sounds some day
Regards
Phil
Hi guys, I just want to keep updated I’m barely done with some parts. I just have to finish them with sandpaper and stuff… here are some images
the nakago
I’m sure I have to conform the joints
the dou curves
I hope it’s not to much spam ! 
please let me know what you’re thinking fam.
best regards
Hibari
Wow! Beautiful work, Phil! I really like the color and grain of the wood, and your craftsmanship!
I might recommend hollowing the inside of the dou boards a little more. Maybe just 3mm more perhaps…
It does look quite hard. Any problems with natural oil saturation of the wood, or cracking?
yeah thank you ! I really asked myself if the dou should be more hollow. Thanks for ur advise !!
The wood is really really nice to work with, there are no problems with the saturation neither cracks or something else.
It looks awesome after the finishing with paper and I think even more after lacquer it. It also smells kinda exotic after cutting.
For the beginner bachi I will use purple heart do u think its ok ?
I will make a bachi out of tineo too, but it will be very flexible,
I tried it already.
Excellent! I’m glad the wood works well for you. I will most likely be going to Germany next year to give a workshop series for Bachido member Martina’s new shamisen group (Shamisen Berlin e.V.), so I hope to be able to hear your shamisen in person!
Hmm… you could try Purpleheart, though I would recommend oak, as I tend to see wooden bachi made from that.
It’s a slow progress, but it slightly turns into a shamisen. ^^
Very nice, Phil! Your shamisen is coming together great. It reminds me of my first model.
here’s an update