How long do Shamisen last?

[LegendaryRooster]

Hi, new member and possibly new learner. The price of a new shamisen doesn’t deter me, but the prospect of constant maintenance has me a little concerned.

I know it’s more maintenance intensive than something more contemporary like an electric guitar, but how often do skins need to be replaced? Is that something you can do yourself at home? I’m concerned that in the event a serious bit of work needs to be done on my shamisen that I won’t have the skill to do it, and it’s not like my little nowhere city in the US is exactly bustling with Japanese artisans.

What are the most frequent maintenance jobs required on the Shamisen besides extremely minor things like changing strings? I know Kyle has a video of Shamisen assembly, and a few videos for modification / maintenance. Could I follow this / other resources and probably keep a Shamisen I purchase in playable condition for a long time?

[Brown]

Howdy, welcome.

A shamisen can last a day if you drop it, a century if well cared for.

But things wear out and need to be replaced. Same as anything.

A natural skin will usually last years but it will maintain its fresh sound for just around two. As the skin ages, it warms and slackens. Over time, the glue that holds it to the body may breakdown due to humidity or accident. If the skin slips off, it usually must be replaced. Due to the high tension, it may also rupture along an unseen weak or tense point. Tighter skinnings are more likely to do so.

Professional players might try to replace the skin every six months for absolute ideal sound. Most others will likely do so every two or three years.

But if you do not mind a warmer skin (I do not), and practice good, basic care (a little climate control, a little common sense) it can remain playable for upwards of ten years. Rear skins can last even longer, since they’re not being beaten up constantly.

Alternatively, you can get a synthetic skin. Most modern synthetics can last a very long time (and are less subject to environmental woes) - but they have their quirks. Hibiki, the bachido original skin, is basically bomb proof. It has a very loud, boomy sound and an extremely rough texture. Hakuho is less sturdy, but is often preferred in Japan for its smoother surface. It has a very high pitched tone to it that I do not much like.

On that note: all of my instruments, save one, are skinned with dog. But… New skins are being developed all the time, so maybe I’ll make the jump some day.

Skin replacement requires a special tool that can be built at home (check out Kyle’s book!), so most of us just leave it to the pros. Less hassle, more expense, fewer headaches.

Itomaki (and less frequently, their metal fittings called zagane) need to be replaced now and again, but they’re usually repaired multiple times first. Odds are, you’ll tire of their appearance before they fully breakdown.

Same deal with the neo (the tail piece) and doukake (arm rest). These wear out over time, but it takes quite a while! I have bought exactly 1 replacement neo in 10 years of playing and 2 replacement doukake. Both were spurred by appearance over function.

Strings break frequently, especially when you begin playing. But its hard to give good guidance on how often. It depends on the player and their music.

The neck will eventually need replaneing - this is called kanberi. I have had kanberi done twice, Both were on instruments which I purchased used and then proceeded to really put to use. Some players will look for replaning every couple of years, others much less frequently (say once in 10 years). It depends on your technique and the wood (and of course, your care routine!).

Other frequent points of repair are the action (called “ha”) and the various joints. There’s really no barometer for these, they just fail when they fail (and usually after many years of loving use). Most of these can be repaired with shims, clamps, and glue.

[jonnyfive]

TL:DR at the end, if you must, but the info here is interesting.

I second everything Brown said, and would like to add a few things:

The most important, which is meant as an encouragement for you to take on SHamisen, is that you don’t need to do constant “maintenance”. You need to do constant care, as with most things you want to last a long time. Care is very easy, from simply paying attention and developing a routine, to doing one small task every few months.

How much a shamisen will last depends on preventative care, yes, as Brown said, but also on amount of use, which will lead to repairs needed from “wear and tear”. I am not considering the skin as “the Shamisen”, as it is a part that needs replacement every 1 to 20 years, depending on your choice of skin and the care you have with it. So I’ll talk about the wood of the instrument, and briefly mention the other parts.

So, if you are a professional player who plays (between stage and rehearsal, plus the coerced free party performance) several hours per day, your shamisen can last between one and three decades. More on this below.
If you are an amateur or hobbyist, or if Shamisen is not your stage instrument and you are getting it to have happy times with it, it may last a lifetime, or five. A good Shamisen can easily become a cherished inheritance to a couple of generations down the line.

In my opinion, a well cared for Shamisen played by an amateur with the proper techniques, and with a de-sharpened nail, can last a very long time indeed, not unlikely to reach 200 years. If it’s a Kouki Shamisen (or it has a Kouki fingerboard) I’d say you may need kanberi once in your life, if much.

Another thing people don’t think about is Shamisen retirement. A Shamisen is usually a gorgeous instrument, and it can become a marvelous decorative piece, still perfectly playable occasionally if retired while still in good condition. Most musicians will upgrade a couple of times, maybe not by wear, but to get the next best thing. Amateurs with a budget may upgrade for the experience of a different class of instrument (say a Jiuta if you own a Tsugaru), or to get the next best thing (better wood, etc). My point is, a good and beautiful Shamisen must never go to the trash.

Apart from maintenance that is within the class of “care”, like oiling the wood every 6~12 months, not leaving it in the sun ever, doing moisture control, always using the proper support when not being played (and ideally putting inside a fabric bag known as Naga Fukuro), never ever bumping or banging it, always traveling with it disassembled (even if you have a long hard case), using a good Doukake and tenjin cap, replacing anything stuck/adhered to the wood every 6 to 12 months, not playing it with a kitchen spatula if you lost your bachi behind the couch, etc, there are a few repairs that are in the “wear and tear” realm, and within those, only two that are destructive, affecting the longevity of the Shamisen.

Small repairs like the change of a Kamigoma, Zagane, Itomaki or Neo is, up to a point, destructive, as you are tossing the old part, but all are easy and cheap (unless you go for luxury-class parts). Bachido sells pre-shaped itomaki, and all you need to do is sand the tip until it fits, hardly a one hour task. A Neo is a drop in replacement, and so is a Kamigoma. Replacing a Zagane is better done by a pro, but you can also do it if you follow instructions to the letter. And if your Nakago or Tenjin ever fall off of the joint (it may happen as the glue ages), regluing it is easy peasy.

Now, there are two destructive repairs done on a Shamisen:

1. Skin replacement.
   For every skin change, the Dou edge is likely to be scratched and/or sanded a bit. Some luthier (like me and a few others) will take the utmost care to avoid removing wood, even if the process of removal of old skin takes longer. Some others will just scrape away to get it done quickly. Leather (dog/cat/goat/kangaroo) requires much more frequent skin changes (as Brown said), but the glue used is rice-based, and that glue can be fully removed without losing any wood at all. But for those luthiers who will remove excess rice glue with water then scrape away the rest, those view the Dou as a long-term consumable (a point of view I dislike), and a good Shamisen may have two or more Dou along its 4~5 decades of service under one professional player.
   Some synthetics last much longer. Hibiki can last 10~20 years, but Hakuho can last as little as 2 years, almost the same as leather. The Hakuho skin was created like this “for optimal sound”, but (as confirmed to me by a well known player) also for repeat business for the luthier. New synthetics are coming up, but those developed by Japanese are likely to follow the short longevity standard (an unfortunate reality caused by the lack of global reach from Japanese luthier, and a limited scope commercial point of view in my opinion).
   Moving on, synthetics skins are glued with much harsher synthetic glues, as rice glue can’t withstand the tension. Me, and I imagine a few other luthier, remove it using more laborious methods that don’t remove any wood, but most will just scrape away. A Dou can lose up to 1mm of wood from a synthetic skin removal, per side (!!!), though usually 0.5mm per side. With a wasteful luthier, your Dou can lose one and a half centimeters (just above half an inch) over just more than a decade, which will make it lose power and some of the sound character. Hence the point of view of a Dou being a long term consumable.
   Still, the Sao (neck) is the most important part of the Shamisen, so a good Dou change, although expensive, is not bad in itself, just wasteful. On the good side of a Dou change is an upgrade: You can get better or prettier wood, thicker walls if that’s your sound profile vibe, and even a Dou with Ayasugi carving, for the 0.1% gain in sound quality.

2. Sao replaning (Kanberi)
   Depending on the wood of your Sao, on your playing technique, on how sharp your nails are, and on how hard you press the strings against the Sao (especially if you do it with the tip of the nails), the wood under the string and immediately around it will either be scraped away or be compressed, forming a groove. That will cause the note in that position to sound anything from funky to awful (there’s a good video from Kyle on this), after the depth of the groove goes beyond a couple tenths of millimetre.
   The repair will cause your Sao to lose, in the best case scenario, exactly the thickness of the deepest groove, but usually a tenth of a millimetre or two more. Depending on your Shamisen type (hosozao, chuuzao or futozao) and the heft of the build (within the limits of the style), you can lose between 4mm and 8mm of thickness before your Sao becomes weird to play, and your Shamisen need to be retired, or gain a new fingerboard.
   So, if your Shamisen loses enough thickness that it needs a new fingerboard (that may come after thousands of hours of playing), that’s a major repair, and it can get expensive, as it needs to be done by a seasoned pro. Depending on the wood of your Shamisen, it can also affect its easthetics. The application of a new fingerboard consists of planing your Shamisen to around 8mm~1cm very even loss of Sao thickness, then applying a layer of wood to restore the original thickness, and shaping it to match the original aesthetics. It’s a complex repair because that loss of wood goes on top of the tenjin, which must remain a detachable part. In any case, some people like the aesthetics of two different woods (say, a kouki or ebony fingerboard on a karin or oak shamisen).

Now, all of the repairs you may need are within easy reach to you, with Bachido being in California. Local US shipping is very cheap, and Bachido has quick repair times.

TL:DR
You can keep a Shamisen playable for a century or more. Your needs of repairs will depend on your care and frequency of use, but can be once every 5~15 years, maybe more. Your choice of skin will dictate how often it must be replaced, and improving your technique will make the Sao last much longer. But for anything you need, Bachido is right there in California, and local US shipping is cheap and quick. Shamisen is definitely not a burden when it comes to maintenance.

Note: Edited to add info on new fingerboards.