Ooh, I love that rose gold. Very nice touch!
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More updates, things are moving faster than I can post! Last night I made the final adjustments to the sawari and installed it! After some oiling and moving it up and down, the action is very smooth with no friction or play. The extra large damascus style textured screw cap adds a nice feel and complimentary touch to the zagane and rindou.
Tonight I also ended up getting the 3D printed prototype itomaki from my friend. They came out so nice that I am actually working with him to fine tweak and customize the design to make them as my final itomaki for Masamune. I will post more info about the itomaki soon!
With the itomaki in and useable, I decided to try finally stringing Masamune. I took an old neo from one of my other used shamisen, stretched the knot out a bit to fit on the larger rindou to string the shamisen. I started playing it for the very first time tonight, far sooner than I was expecting.
Wow. Just wow. I donāt know what to say, words canāt describe it. I have waited so, so long for this moment. It just feels amazing to have a legit, pro-level shamisen finally. The tone is crisp and bright. The sawari adjusts from nothing to a screaming buzz. And the whole thing just plays itself. The feel is smooth and balanced, and there is no buzzing or anything along the neck. What an absolute difference. I have never played a true high quality tsugaru shamisen before, and have never even experienced things like the buzz of the sawari, but everything I have put into this instrument finally shows. I couldnātā be happier, and wouldnāt change anything about it. And I can tell this is something that I can really grow into and enjoy for many years to come. Already whatever I have learned to play immediately sounds so much better, and it just makes other techniques just flow more naturally. The journey to make Masamune has been grueling, but now I see it has been absolutely worth the effort, and I am glad I finally committed to finishing it.
I plan on making the new neo hopefully this Friday, and will continue working on the itomaki with my friend, while also making my own koma and bachi eventually. I also plan on doing a legit photo shoot of the shamisen once the itomaki, neo, and koma are finalized. Still plenty more updates on this build to come!
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The itomaki, the last piece to the puzzle. I have been working on sculpting a unique spiral for over a year now. The design has probably gone through over a dozen iterations. While the tapered spiral is pretty common with itomaki for tsugaru shamisen, I wanted to create a unique design that I have not seen before, something that really stands out with Masamune.
Over the course of the design process, I have bounced around a ton of different ideas. Sharp spirals, smooth spirals, spirals with high twists, and minimal twist spirals, everything from triangular profile to octagonal. Due to the design I have settled on, manufacturing has become a huge challenge, as the shape is extremely complex and organic, and far beyond my ability to carve. I have looked at making it from a number of different woods, brass with a hollowed out handle, and a combination of the two, anywhere from 1 to 4 pieces for a single itomaki.
I was originally going to go with a brass itomaki, with an ebony taper, but it would be quite heavy, even with optimal hollowing, which would also force me to reduce the size of some of the features and make it smaller than I would like.
Next, I looked at making it from wood with brass joints and accents. Having reached out to over 10 specialty wood shops, both professional carving as well as up to 5 axis CNC, literally only a single shop was willing to take it, and they wanted over $1k per itomaki!
Discussing the design with my friends, one of my friends offered to do some prototyping with his 3D printer. We went back and forth over some of the specs and materials he had available. Last night he delivered the first prototype set of itomaki. I originally was just going to use the 3D printed itomaki as temporary ones while I figured out the logistics for the final version, and never really considered plastic or much less 3D printed itomaki. However, I was absolutely blown away by the itomaki my friend made, and immediately fell in love with the look, so much so that I am working with him to tweak the design to make them my final versions. Here is a look at the first 3D printed version, aka the āflowing spiral itomakiā.
The itomaki are made from Onyx carbon fiber reinforced nylon. My friend has his printer so well tuned and dialed in that the layering is so fine you canāt even tell it is 3D printed. As a result, the silky matte black carbon fiber texture also plays beautifully with the organic spiral, creating a very nice sheen along its curves when light hits it.
Putting them in the shamisen, the fit is perfect, and I didnāt need any adjustments. Because my zagane are made from pattern welded carbon steel, I have to take extra care of them to prevent rusting, and as such, have coated the entire surface, including the bore with camelia oil. Despite the surface being oiled, the light etched texture combined with the texture and fit of the itomaki creates a very tight grip. I have had the shamisen up to full tuning, and the itomaki do not budge or slip one bit.
Right now, the itomaki handle length is a bit too long, so I am reworking the design to shorten it. So far they are holding up fantastically, and have allowed me to start playing Masamune far sooner than I was ever anticipating.
The matte black textured itomaki also perfectly compliments the black Hibiki skins, and I think really ties the whole look together. Once I work out the final itomaki designs, finalize the koma, and make the neo, I will have a proper photoshoot of Masamune for the final reveal.
For the final design, in addition to slightly reducing the length, I will also be adding a machined brass cap which continues through the spiral at the end seamlessly, which will be heat press fit into an indexed hole.
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oh man! Itās been a while since Iāve commented, but Iāve been looking all along, and man oh man, I have been liking. So, your finishing process is quite the process Michael! I would love to see and feel this finish in person. I gotta say that I kind of wish I had put a bit more effort and time on my finish, even though I really like it, since itās pretty ānaturalā looking and feeling to the touch, almost like plain wood. Iāve basically gradually wet sand up to 3000 grit while burnishing with dry cloth between each sanding, then do 4 to 5 coats of Camellia oil. My 2nd dou though, I did fill the pores and it made a nice difference. Maybe burnishing now would be a nice extra step. Anyways, back to your creation. You couldnāt have chosen a better title for this thread. The fact that in the end you went with 3D printed Itomaki is so fitting to this whole build! I have to say that I was hesitant when I read that thatās what you were going with since I have seen plenty of 3D printed things and would not pick plastic over wood in general, but man, now that I see the pictures, I understand! They look awesome! They do complement the Hibiki so well! They look particularly cool on the instrument. Canāt wait to see the final design. I canāt believe you are now playing your instrument! Congratulations man! What an accomplishment! I love how well the zagane are sitting on the side of the Tenjin. That rose gold is indeed a beautiful touch. Itās very interesting and bold to have all these different colored metals on the Tenjin. Again, pushing boundaries. BTW, are you thinking of making a Tenjin cover and a Doukake? Thatās something I want to make for my builds but havenāt gotten into doing the thorough research, etc., yet. Anyways, I had to comment after seeing the itomaki installed on the instrument. PURE AWESOMENESS! This whole build is really inspiring me to do something more original with my 3rd build (not sure when I will start it). Thank you so much for sharing!
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Thanks a lot! We definitely need to meet up at some point and share shamisen and experiences first hand! I think the major things I have been missing with shamisen to really motivate me and push me harder has been a high quality tsugaru shamisen, proper instruction, and others to play with. Having a really good shamisen now is driving me to want to get really good at it and has completely rekindled the fire for shamisen, but it would still be nice to actually meet up and play with other tsugaru shamisen players eventually one day.
Finishing was honestly quite challenging and frustrating at times, but definitely worth the effort in the end. In terms of finish though, I think it ultimately comes down to preference. Some people prefer a very natural wood feel, others want super high gloss, and everything in between. I think as long as you are happy with the result at the end of the day thatās what matters most. For me, I knew that Masamune needed a high gloss finish. The nice thing about a building oil varnish like this is that even though you can buff it to a high gloss, because it is so thin it doesnāt look or feel plasticky at all. At least for me, gliding up and down the neck (yubikake is still needed) feels so insanely smooth, like riding on glass, and I like it way better than the bare wood shamisen I made back in high school, and even the standard urushi finish on the cheap ebay shamisen I have.
Honestly, I am quite surprised myself I have gone with 3D printed itomaki. I know a lot of shamisen itomaki are plastic, but I never considered it before, I was just so intent on using some super fine high end materials like Kyle is using for his premium itomaki. But moving forward, I think the shape and form is also as important aesthetically. It also happened by chance that the texture and color of the material blended perfectly with the shape to create a unique effect with light. Now, while 3D printing is immensely useful, it can definitely create rather sub-par looking parts, particularly with standard printer setting and filaments. While it can be used to make temporary or quick itomaki, for some final, higher end ones I think you need to go with some more advanced printer materials and fine tuning to look more than just typical 3D prints. If done well, 3D printing can be amazing. There are also countless materials and processes that can be used, and opens up a really diverse array of very modern, fully customizable designs. Fortunately, my friend is extremely gifted at engineering and manufacturing technologies, and spends a great deal of time himself at his day job working with advanced 3D printing at a biomedical company, so he really knows his stuff. I also have a bunch of experience designing functional engineering components with more advanced 3D printing materials (I run a company, Applied Ion Systems, from home in my spare time for fun on the side of my day job, developing open source plasma and ion thrusters for the nanosatellite community, and leverage a lot of space-grade 3D printed materials for these various thruster systems.)
I also think the material selection here really shows how far embracing very modern techniques can go. After all, the Hibiki skins are advanced synthetic nylon woven skins, which are still quite new in the shamisen world. Having carbon fiber based itomaki using complex geometries also pairs well with this merging of themes between traditional and modern.
I havenāt started looking into it, but I really think I should make a Tenjin cover and doukake. Playing more, the Hibiki skins are a bit rough on the forearm, so it would be nice to have the cover there. I am also quite paranoid about shattering the edge of the tenjin, which as you know first hand is a very delicate area. No idea how I will approach it yet, but I do think I will be looking to make them myself as well.
On the subject of protection, I also decided to spend a bit extra and buy a super heavy duty case to protect this shamisen. I ended up going with the Pelican iM3300 case. Pelican cases are some of the best in the world, and are often used for transporting delicate scientific and research grade equipment. The internal dimensions of the iM3300 are 50.5"x14"x6", so there should be plenty of room for a tsugaru shamisen with the foam padding. I will need to cut out the foam to hold the shamisen, as well as slots for accessories, and will line the foam after with some nice silk fabric. The case is not elegant on the outside by any means, and are quite large and on the heavier side, but they are essentially built like tanks, and I want to keep this instrument as protected as possible when not in use.
I am glad to hear this build has inspired you to try something new with your 3rd shamisen build! And I absolutely encourage you and everyone else looking to build their own shamisen to try new things! I hope that sharing this process with the community, more people (and perhaps even professional makers!) might be inspired to really push shamisen design to new levels, even further than where it is now. While dimensionally Masamune is fairly standard, every other aspect and feature otherwise is completely unique, without getting too wild and out-there. I think in this way, the physical shamisen itself can continue to grow and evolve, embracing alternative materials and unique personalized features, much like tsugaru shamisen music itself has evolved over the decades. We already see this in many other instruments like guitars, and I think shamisen can be every bit as diverse.
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I finally got around to upgrading my old ebay neo for a brand new one! Tying the neo was not as hard as I was expecting. I did it years ago for my first shamisen, but the proportions were horribly off and it was way stretched out. I followed Kyleās original video he posted, which despite being old, is very clear and really great for following along. It took a couple of tries (mainly due to the thickness of the cord) but I am really happy with how it came out. Once you get it down, itās actually a simple knot, but very clever in how it holds everything together while allowing for full adjustment on all the loops.
The original 4mm paracord I got for the neo ended up being way too thin and soft. I got the knot tied nicely, but because the core wasnāt solid enough it kind of crushed down and ended up much smaller than it should have. So, I opted for some thicker and heavier duty 5mm polyester braided cord. This was much better, giving a larger, more sturdy and full knot. I went with a bright royal blue to compliment the darker red tones of the wood and the black skin. I have always liked this particular contrast, and have used a bright turquoise thread for the tassels on my guqin build, which also follows the same theme of deep red figured woods and black accents.
Here is the new neo on Masamune. I have been playing for a few days now with it, and really like both the look and how it is holding up. There is no stretch in the cord, and it holds tuning without issue. Since I got a bunch of this blue cord leftover, I will probably make myself several additional neo for backup (doesnāt hurt to have extra accessories lying around!)
I also finalized the itomaki design, so I will be getting the final version made, which will take a few weeks, but at least the test itomaki I am using work as a perfect backup. Playing Masamune more now, I definitely know that this is the only shamisen for me, and will really be able to grow with it over the years to come.
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Itās been a while since I lasted posted on the build, but things have been starting to move again on the final accessories!
Last week I got the final versions of the 3D printed carbon fiber reinforced nylon itomaki from my friend. He printed 4 so I would have an extra one (never hurts to have some spares!) The length was adjusted to where I wanted, and the itomaki were printed to a more full density, making them heavier and more rigid than the first prototypes.
I am absolutely blown away by the quality. I thought the first prototypes he made (which I am currently using now) were amazing, but he really upped the quality even more on these ones!
Here is a bit of a close up of the print detail on the itomaki. The layering was further tuned down to 0.1mm height, but he got the process so dialed in with the layer fusion, coupled with the spiral of the design that the layers are so fine you canāt even tell the layers apart! I have honestly never seen or held such fine standard FDM printed parts before. The first prototypes were already really good, but he took these ones to a whole new level of print quality.
At the back of each itomaki is also an indexed hole for the decorative brass end cap. The design was adjusted to have the tapered spiral seamlessly continue through the brass cap. I am actually expecting the brass pieces to arrive in the next day or two, and should have the itomaki assembled, drilled, and installed on Masamune very soon.
So far I have been using the prototype itomaki for the past couple of weeks, and they have held up amazingly. In fact, between the etched surface of the zagane, textured surface of the itomaki, and tight tapered fit, despite the fact that the zagane are lightly oiled to prevent rusting, the itomaki do not slip or detune one bit. I actually really donāt ever have to retune, it is quite shocking how stable tuning is. I play one night, take the koma out, put the shamisen in the case, then the next night I take it out to play and it is at the same exact tuning, no adjustments needed. I have never had a shamisen with this level of tuning stability. I have been playing with standard C-G-C tuning, and it is really nice to just pick up and play whenever without the need to adjust or worry about itomaki slipping.
In addition to the itomaki, I have started to plan and experiment with making the doukake and tenjin cover. Iām still playing around with how Iād like to do it, but I think I have an idea, and have some interesting materials on the way that I would like to explore using. I will post more about the doukake and tenjin cover builds once I have made more progress on them.
I also have material coming in for my own custom bachi. I will be using a matching wood from the actual build itself, and will be shaping the tips from color-streaked buffalo horn. It will probably take a while to fully finish it, but I will post updates as I go on that too. I will at least be starting the koma build, which I have been putting off for a while. Iāve been enjoying playing so much lately that I have slacked on starting it since I already have a standard bamboo koma, but Iād really like to get this special koma finished for this build.
Finally, I am finishing up my case build. I cut out the foam in the pelican case for the shamisen, and have been already storing it there with a temporary cloth to protect it. I want to get a couple of decorative boxes to house all the accessories so I can cut out all the slots in the case foam before layering it with silk. There should be more than enough room inside to store every accessory and spare I would possibly need for this shamisen, and I will share further details of the case when then fabrics and accessory boxes arrive.
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Those itomaki are slick! I canāt wait to see it all put together. Would you consider making a new post specifically for your bachi build? Iāve been think about trying to make my own bachi using wood and a box turtle shell I found a long time ago but could use some inspiration/knolwedge. Anyways Iām looking forward to seeing the finished Masamuneāand hearing it played!
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Thanks! And sure, Iād be happy to make a separate post for the bachi build! Actually what I will probably do is post everything here as well as a separate post for each new accessory build (that ways everything is both together with the Masamune build as well as separately searchable to make it easier for just specific accessories.) I still havenāt decided how Iād like to join the bachi together, but ideally Iād like to do it in a way that is somewhat reversible so I can replace the tips should they get damaged without making a whole new bachi (probably with hide glue or something along those lines.) I got 4 pieces of horn knife scales coming in to make the tips, so I should have enough to make a few bachi (or in the event I really mess up.) I just got the notification that the horn pieces have shipped today, so hopefully I can start on it in the next week!
I have only ever used the hard plastic bachi, but playing more now I definitely see that the stiffness can make certain techniques more of a challenge, and having some flex in the tips would really help. If this bachi build doesnāt work out, Iāll probably order one of the nice faux-bekkou bachi eventually, but it would be much more preferable to have my own custom bachi that doesnāt cost so much (the horn was only like $20 for 2 slabs, and the bachi itself is so small that even fancy wood is pretty negligible in price.)
There will definitely be a chance to hear Masamune in action. I decided to give it a shot and enter the Bachido Cup to really try and push to get better now that I have a serious instrument to learn on. Granted I only just started playing again literally like a couple weeks before the tournament announcement, after having not touched the shamisen in years (which I was ok at but never really great to begin with), but Kyle has made this event such an amazing opportunity for learning and feedback I think it is absolutely worth giving it a try. I thought 3 months would be enough time to cobble together my own jongara but it is definitely a challenge to piece something together that is coherent and Iām happy with. I expect to get thoroughly thrashed by the judges and competition, but what better way to improve quickly and debut a new shamisen build! If only winning pieces are shown on the Bachido Cup YouTube, then I will still share my entry to let others hear how Masamune sounds.
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The decorative brass caps for the itomaki arrived last night! They came out absolutely flawless, and I am super happy with them. They are pretty beefy and have some good heft to them, which adds some nice weight to the 3D printed itomaki themselves.
For anyone who is curious, and has experience designing parts via cad, I got these pieces, as well as the brass pieces for the sawari housing machined through Xometry. I use them for everything from 3D printing to CNC, and have gotten parts made for everything from ion thrusters for satellites to custom parts for the Masamune build. They have been absolutely incredible, with a wide range of processes and materials, and are quite reasonably priced with quick turnaround times. All you need is to upload your cad file and select the options for material and process for real-time quoting, then just submit the order and are good to go! Their technical support staff is also amazing, and do design reviews and work with you to correct any manufacturing issues prior to starting the process.
I actually already fitted the caps to the itomaki, installed them to the shamisen, and drilled out the holes for the strings last night, but the final itomaki pictures will have to wait for another day! I can say for now though that wow, they really came together amazing, and are definitely a one of a kind set of itomaki! Itās been a challenging process to get these special itomaki made, but they are finally done! I will post pictures of the full set tomorrow!
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Iāve used Xometry as well (for work stuff), Iāll second the recommendation.
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As promised, here is a look at the finished itomaki for Masamune! The brass insert pieces are exactly matched for an interference fit with the keyed bore, and using a soldering pre-heating station to warm up the brass, they fit right in by hand with a good amount of strong, careful, even force, locking them in place, with the spiral seamlessly continuing from the 3D printed section to the brass.
Iāve got to say, it has been absolutely worth the effort getting this design made. It took a year of bouncing around countless ideas while sculpting the shape as I figured out the best way to get it manufactured, but the results speak for themselves. I also think it is a great example of engineering and art coming together to create both a highly aesthetic and functional design, leveraging alternative materials and modern manufacturing techniques to create something new.
The itomaki are already fitted to Masamune and hold tuning as tight as the prototypes. I really think this final unique touch pulls the whole look together, complimenting both the Hibiki skin and unique brass and ebony sawari design. Now that this is done, I can work on getting some actual high quality shots of the whole build for the final reveal!
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no.wordsā¦ wow? Canāt wait for the high quality shotsā¦ Bravo Michael. Congratulations. What an instrument you built. Insane.
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I will say that I have a folder with a bunch of pictures of your instrument. It is that inspiring and beautiful to me.
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Those look absolutely stunning. I cannot wait to see the shots of the final build. I have a serious case of jealousy.
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Pablo and Brian, as always thank you for your kind words and support! Iām really hoping to get the final pictures done soon and wrap this up! Itās been a heck of a journey, and Iām glad I could share it with the Bachido community!
Now that Masamune is finished, I will be focusing on some high end accessories for it (in addition to prepping for the Bachido Cup!) Since they are accessories but not really the shamisen build itself, I will post different threads for each category. I plan on doing similar (albeit much shorter posts) on the koma, bachi, doukake and tenjin cover, and the pelican case mod. So far I have 6 koma in the works from various matching materials and themes to the shamisen itself, and have also started work on 2 matching bachi. Since they are fairly small they should be relatively quick builds, and will be fun to try out a number of materials and styles for them.
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This is insane! (in a good way 
) Congrats on the finished build!!! CanĀ“t wait to hear the sound! AND see the matching accessories 
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Thanks Stefanie! Iām actually just about finished with the first koma and have already started refining the shape of the second one, so I will be posting about the koma builds pretty soon. It is the first koma I have ever made, and I am super happy with how it came out. I think it ended up really nice and is exactly what I was aiming for. I also have not seen the material selection for the body and saddle before for a koma, so it should be interesting to see the final results! Having a standard koma for reference is a big help, and I have been looking back at your koma build specifically a bunch for reference as well! Iām also really looking forward to trying out all of these koma and seeing how they change the tone, especially using such a diverse array of woods and saddle materials for them.
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This past weekend I had a chance to get some real shots of Masamune for the final build reveal! My younger brother who does some amazing amateur photography on the side, along with my incredible wife, and I spent many hours getting the shots in late at night in my parentās computer room, playing around with a super pop-up and makeshift studio. Because of the odd curves and super high gloss finish, it ended up being a massive challenge to keep the glare, reflections, and lighting under control, however we pulled it off, and I think we got some really nice shots in. Before I do the final reveal however, I want to share where this journey all started, with my very first shamisen build.
I made this first shamisen over a decade ago back in high school, before Kyleās Shamisen of Japan was published (though I actually reached out to him then, which I was just blown away by what he did as someone the same age as me with it, and watched some of his first build videos on YouTube for reference.) This shamisen was very crude, made from whatever red oak I could get from Home Depot, using very few hand tools, almost no woodworking experience, and paid for through my very first job working part time at McDonaldās. Overall, for the entire shamisen, tools, and accessories, the whole thing cost less than $150.
The body ended up being quite larger than typical, but overall the sao and tenjin were fairly close given I was making some best educated guesses looking at proportions from videos online. For skins I used calfskins for banjos, stretched using some crude wooden clamps, rope, and a base similar to a traditional stretching base, glued on with Elmerās white glue. These are still the original skins, which have not been changed, and though rather loose, worked well enough to start learning on. Because the joints were pretty crude, you can see a lot of filler, made from wood glue and wood dust, to close the gaps between the boards making up the dou at the corners.
Looking at features like the saruo, you can see it was a simple beginner build, with a block glued to the sao and shaped to a very simple squarish taper.
On the tenjin, I glued two blocks together for the full thickness. The joint was also a simple square joint, and the tenjin followed a very basic curve. The itomaki pegs were massive on the handle, and way too small on the taper for the holes in the tenjin, and as a result I had to resort to heat shrink tubing to get the itomaki to stay in tune. Even with this, it slipped often, and was kind of a pain to tune.
On the sao, you can still see the original position markers, made from masking tape and colored with red and black permanent marker, which has faded over the years. The entire shamisen was finished with a simple coat of Watco Danish Oil.
Despite how crude this first shamisen was, it was the beginning of my journey into the world of tsugaru shamisen, and allowed me to start getting into it, especially at a time before resources like Bachido made access to low cost beginnerās shamisen widely available. Somehow, I even managed to get the sao dead-on straight, with very low action and no string buzzing, even without the lengthwise taper. It didnāt sound all that great, but it was built solid and heavy like a tank. I learned a lot building and playing it, and it played a significant role in my life in the following years. It got me through some difficult times in college, allowed me to make some awesome friends, helped me get out of my comfort zone a bit, and is the reason why I met my amazing wife. A big reason why I put so much into Masamune is because of how much this first shamisen has impacted me. After college, I stopped playing, but always wanted to make a really high end one to get back into shamisen. Now, years later, things have come full circle again with Masamune.
I will be sharing the final reveal pictures of Masamune at the end of the week, so stay tuned for the conclusion of this build!
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Holy monkey, beautiful styleā¦ my brain thinks of dragons also viking when seeing your artwork. My shamisen is basic.
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