my own disaster

Building/Repair
#1

I had concert with my group yesterday and it went so bad. I think i will remember this day as The Black FFriday…well, what happened was that i knocked down my shamisen and broke it at the final rehearsal just b4 the gig… i still cant believe it…the top part of the neck got chopped off, its in a desperate condition and i feel heart broken… i ended up playing the gig on my old juita shamisen (thank god i have it and it is still playable, well not for long, the skin is cracking on it) , it was so weird playing the juita shamisen after three months of tsugaru fierce practice, its tiny, i didnt have the special cloth to prevent the shamisen form sliding off my legs, so it was in constant movement, i couldnt relax and enjoy it at all, after all my practice, now when i am kinda ready to play, this happens??..NOO!!
we have two gigs next week, so need to get used to the old one again, hope it will be strong enough to endure these concerts…
meanwhile, i know one guitar maker here in town, who (please) will fix the tsugaru one somehow…
if not i will need to win a lottery so i could buy one from you guys here…

i need to play, it is my addiction, very strong one, and the more I practice, the more I love it…its just great…

oh no and its broken…
i cant believe it!!
so fclumsy!

#2

anybody have a time travel machine???

#3

I feel for you man :confused: I don’t know how easy it is to get a piece that will fit the already existing one but I hope your guitar maker can fix it.

#4

Hey Sid,

I had a similar experience with my banjo. I somehow managed to damage it on the way to a bluegrass camp earlier this year. When I stopped to check it’s condition at a train station the nut had become dislodged and the strings, tailpiece and bridge had all come loose. Thank goodness for spare parts and fellow, very helpful, musicians!
Although in future I will not be taking an instrument on a train journey in a softcase! ><

I think the important thing is that you soldiered on and didn’t let it stop your gig. This may also be an opportunity for you to look at either re-building or getting a totally new instrument.

Gambatte!

#5

i really hope i can get it fixed, since i just got it two months ago when i visited japan in summer, i cant afford another one and have no experience and tools to attempt building one… its a nightmare, cause the concert was quite successful and we are getting more offers for gigs…i dont think my old shamisen will survive long …well hope for the best

by the way check us out at myspace:
the group is called Jungle Bean

cheers

#6

Hey Sid,

What a huge bummer!!! :frowning: I’m always afraid of the skin breaking before/during the gig, but having the neck break… whoofa…

Actually, of all the things on the shamisen to break, it’s better the neck than the skin, as repairing the skin is more specialized. Wood breaking is something most luthiers could fix. Did it break at the joint? The tenjin/sao joint?

We should set up a way to upload pictures to the forum soon. It would be best to see what it looks like.

#7

Dude, thats terrible…
I’ve broken a bunch of strings during gigs, but have been fortunate enough to avoid any serious damage.
I also had a crack in my tenjin, but got it repaired before it split.
It really sucks, but at the same time, it does sound like you’re going to be able to get it repaired.
Awesome job pulling out the jiuta and still kicking ass, way to be resourceful.

#8

Hi Sid,

I also broke the neck a little while ago! I have a friend at work whos brother is a joiner and when I asked if it could be fixed, him and his friends just said “glue is pretty f*****g strong these days”. They were not lying! It has been about three months and there is no sign of it coming off. So try a joiner if you can’t find a luthier that will fix it.

#9

thanks guys,
yeah the juita one saved me and must survive at least two more gigs this week…
i believe it will be fine. the damage is on the tenjin/sao joint, hehe had to look up those terms and find out what do you refer to, am learning here…ta

#10

Sid, is it possible it just broke the glue at the joint, or are we talking splintered wood break? Would be nice if it was just a matter of re-gluing. Two words: Liquid Nails. :slight_smile:

Best of luck with the gigs this week.

#11

uahaaa…i got my shamisen fixed… am so happy…

#12

haha must be a relief :smiley: good job?

#13

well, yeah great job…its obvious its been fixed, i can see where it was broken and glued together, but as long as it stays like that and i can play it, i am happy…

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