Kyle - Shamisen seeker questions

Store/Sales
#1

Hi Kyle,

I’m looking for an inexpensive sturdy Shamisen and found your site, and I have a few questions which I hope you can answer and provide some info & guidance based on certain criteria noted below, please and thank you! (BTW, you really shred! :slight_smile: ).

As concisely as possible, the context & nature of my inquiries is that I’m looking for a sturdy, low maintenance, play every day, inexpensive Shamisen that can sit in my living room on a guitar stand, and generally not be fragile or need babying. I saw your ocean video playing with synthetic skin and you referred to it here on this page as “rugged and waterproof”, looks like it’s $500. I think it must be the one linked to in the you-shredding-at-the-ocean video “Hibiki: Advanced Synthetic Skin”, but I’m not 100% sure… appreciate if you can clarify, provide link(s) etc. here.

More questions and stuff below: :slight_smile:

Note: I’m an experienced guitar player, my wife is an experienced Shamisen player, and suddenly I’m also interested in playing Shamisen - My wife owns 2 relatively expensive Shamisen I don’t want to break, especially the skin on the resonant chamber, and frankly they seem to me like they’re kind of high maintenance to me compared to axes I can just leave out year after year on my guitar stands.

I feel like I can’t be the first person to think "hey, someone has to have for sale a frankly pretty inexpensive Shamisen that sounds good, is not fragile, doesn’t need babying, that I can set out in a guitar stand and pick up whenever the mood strikes, and just shred away (I love to improv).

Also - ideally I can just string the damn thing with nylon guitar strings of the proper gauge instead of rare cat gut or whatever expensive scam materials Japanese usually sell / use (apologies if that sounds harsh, it’s more tongue and cheek than not) - as you may be able to tell, for my own Shamisen playing, I don’t intend to be traditional about things, and I’d rather use a guitar pick as well - are you aware of if a certain gauge of nylon guitar strings can be used?

The one you shred with at the ocean is black top, but the pictures on that page show one not black top, is only the black top the synthetic, rugged, waterpoof one?

Part of what I tried to express above is that the new Shamisen would be good enough for my experienced wife (sound good, play well) but “tough enough” for me and my non-traditional, more guitar oriented improv desires to bang out all kinds of stuff on it at my whim. Seem like that’d be fun, the couple of times I played my wife’s Shamisen’s a few years back it was fun, easy to just wail away given my longtime experience on guitar. But again, afraid to break them haha.

Which Shamisen(s) do you have / recommend that fits the situation(s) and conditions I’ve noted above? Lots of questions here/above… appreciate your help!

Thanks Kyle! :slight_smile:
David

#2

Hello i think the shamibuddy V2 would fit good☺️
Well that’s my humble opinion.

@Kyle_Abbott

#3

Hi David!
Great to have you here, and thank you for your questions! :smiley: Man, as @Brandon noted, the ShamiBuddy would be the perfect fit for you, as it’s streamlined shape and size makes it a worry-free way to get the full shamisen experience with little fear of breaking anything. :slight_smile: Only problem is I released the new batch of 50 ShamiBuddy on Wednesday and they sold out after 27 hours!

I plan to make more in January and hopefully have them available in Spring~Summer. If you don’t mind waiting a bit, that would probably be the perfect bet for you.

Also, although the shamisen is a bit delicate in certain aspects, it is also quite sturdy in other ways. If you found a used shamisen with broken skins on ebay, I can put the Hibiki synthetic skin on it and it’d be something you could leave on your guitar stands for the spontaneous improv session! :slight_smile:
Ah, Hibiki is available in both black and white,

Oh, I just read about the shamisen being something good enough for both you and your wife. A lot of my professional shamisen friends really like the ShamiBuddy, but they are in the tsugaru field (the modern style) and so are already pretty easy going. If your wife is more of a classical player and has high expectations on it’s sound, she might not enjoy it as much. :stuck_out_tongue:

Let’s see, the Beginner’s Shamisen (which you linked to) might be the best bet to satisfy both of you. It is a standard shamisen made in Japan (the size is probably the same as your wife’s), and with Hibiki synthetic skin, it could handle the wailings and be something your wife wouldn’t mind shredding on herself. :slight_smile: (not literally on herself, but you know what I mean)

Bachi on!
Kyle

#4

Thanks, @Kyle_Abbott! :slight_smile:

#5

Love your style, @Kyle_Abbott! :slight_smile: - what’s your input on putting nylon guitar strings on a Shamisen? Done it? Does it “work” and sound “right”? and if so, what gauges do you advise?

Also - given the beginner Shamisen with Hibiki at $500 and the ShamiBuddy at $420 (if I have those prices correct) are roughly equivalent in cost… how does the beginner vs. Buddy compare in the sturdy-let-it-sit-on-a-guitar-stand-forever-and-shred-at-will department?

Also: thanks for the tip on putting a Hibiki top on a broken Shamisen - my wife will be interested in that in case one of her 2 existing Shamisen breaks!

Shred on, brother in strings. :grin:

PS: that ShamiBuddy video is comedy gold. LOVE IT! :rofl:

#6

Thanks David! Ah, nylon guitar are a bit too thick, even to fit through the string holes in the tuning pegs. However, heavy gauge fishing line does work. :slight_smile: (using the same thickness as the strings currently on your wife’s shimsham)

Ah, the price of the Beginner’s Shamisen is just the bare-bones instrument with nothing included (because the maker we get it direct from doesn’t include accessories), whereas the ShamiBuddy comes with a full accessory set (without accessories, the price is $300)

Truly, both are just fine for the ‘leave on a guitar stand’ factor, especially if you fit it with Hibiki. The ShamiBuddy does have a wider fingerboard, but if you’re comfortable with your wife’s, the Beginner’s Shamisen should be no problem.

Together we shred, Sir Portney!

Glad you like it! :smiley: It was so much fun to film!

© 2020 Kyle Abbott