So I was searching on eBay for cheap Shamisen, perferably a Nagauta since I love the Nagauta style, and I came across this Shamisen that looked like a Nagauta. The tuning pegs were thin and the neck curved down as it came to the dou. It also has good cat skin because you can see the cat nipples, and none of the skins are broken. It’s also a good price. But I noticed the Shamisen was labled as a “Cyuzao”, which I think they mean Chuzao, and I noticed the neck was a bit thick. But in Chuzao Shamisen, the neck cuts off at an angle where it meets the dou, while this curves down as it meets the Dou. Could this be some kind of franken-Shamisen? Here’s the link to the page: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japanese-Vintage-SHAMISEN-Set-Classic-Stringed-Instrument-w-Softcase-6503-/111447492969?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item19f2c9c969
Wowee! That is one attractive monster! And a good price! Bid, bid, bid!
It seems that the three divisions of shamisen construction are constructions themselves with a range of variation within each. Think Japanese tatami - used as a unit of measure to build houses, the actual size of a tatami varied from locale to locale. I suppose the local carpenter had to huddle with the local tatami maker to figure out how big to make rooms so that the tatami would fit.
Gonna need a new nut if you get it. Jeez Louise, those close-up photos are awful - hard to believe in this day of fabulous cheap digital cameras.