Let's talk about string breaking!

Building/Repair
#61

On the topic of strings…why are they always yellow?

Hello, Tegan!
They used to mix egg yolk with silk for the purpose of make it sound sweet. And also a kind of yellow ginger called UKON was mixed to avoid moth. The color is the relic of such custom.

UKON is also known as turmeric. It is both a spice and a dye, which you might discover if you spill curry on clothes, and then find a new color that won’t wash out. Turmeric came to Japan on the Silk Road, I think. It is rarely used in Japanese food, but common as a dye. In Okinawa, they grow turmeric and make tea and such with it. Ironically, it is not used in the sanshin strings.

#62

Interesting. I wouldn’t think fishing line be worth the loss of tone, but perhaps they use it just for practicing? I’d suspect that fishing line for deep sea fishing is used for the ichi no ito, as it’s quite thick.

Have you heard a real shamisen with fishing line? How does it sound?

I suspect there is no difference between fishing line and tetoron shamisen strings except maybe the gauge (and color). Once I went to a small hot spring town in Izu, expecting to play at my company’s party there. I forgot to bring replacement strings. Of course, no shamisen shop in that town. Somebody got on the phone and discovered that the local fishing tackle shop sold shamisen strings as well.

#63

Masahiro Nitta uses fishing line sometimes. At least I know he experimented with it a while back. Kevin Kmetz has tried it out as well (oh wait…that’s ME!)
I’ll let you guys in on a little secret…
Fishing line + Electric Shamisen + effects (distortion) =FAT FAT TONE!

#64

Ah… I see. When I think of fishing line, the light 15~20lb test line (probably half the thickness of san no ito) I used as a kid comes to mind. So I guess the line you guys used must be a bit thicker. Like, 60lb test?

That’s funny that the tackle shop would sell shamisen strings as well! Perhaps a relative/family member was in the shamisen business. There’s a local pharmacy (Tom’s Pharmacy) which also sells Kona coffee, because the family has a small coffee farm in Hawaii.

That’s fascinating about the silk san no ito! What you say makes sense, so I stand corrected. :slight_smile: It reminds me of what Taichi san said about nagauta players coming in after a performance to have their cat skin replaced for the next concert.

#65

Ladies and gents…
It finally happened!

I finally broke a San no ito!

Can’t believe it took this long lol

Funny thing is I broke it within 3 days of breaking both an Ichi and a ni!

That’s all for now

Stay tuned for an announcement…

#66

Do you remove your koma after playing Norm?

It’s when I remove and put it on again that I see some marks on the string.

#67

#68

Oh,my!!! (>_

#69

Like a boss.

As you might realize, its good to have more of the string around the itomaki than hanging at the neo because you can then do this.

One thing btw. When I changed my ichi-no-ito, not due to breaking but being used for a year, I noticed that the new string was veeeeery long. It was also painted red in the middle. I quickly realized that this was actually two strings which I was supposed to cut in the middle.

Is this the common way? I can afford to change my ichi-no-ito more often then because I have more strings :slight_smile:

#70

Oh snap! (no pun intended) If you add even just a paragraph of text, this video could be an official article, bro! Information like this shouldn’t get lost in the threads.

Gerry also made a point that if you see the ichi no ito start to fray, you can unwind it and retie the unworn tenjin end to the neo end. That helps lengthen the life of the string.
I’m lazy though. :stuck_out_tongue: (and might pay for it, as I’m down to my last ichi no ito!)

Kevin, are you preparing for your taikai piece? I couldn’t help but notice the official Monsters kitchen timer used for tournament preparation.

#71

One thing btw. When I changed my ichi-no-ito, not due to breaking but being used for a year, I noticed that the new string was veeeeery long. It was also painted red in the middle. I quickly realized that this was actually two strings which I was supposed to cut in the middle.

Is this the common way? I can afford to change my ichi-no-ito more often then because I have more strings :slight_smile:

It depends on the brand of string. I used to always get Marusan strings (not for any particular reason, they were just the ones they had at the store), and they came as singles, but when I stocked up on strings my last time in Japan, the guy had a different brand that came in double lengths. shrugs Quirks of the trade, I guess.

© 2020 Kyle Abbott