New here

General
#1

Hello, my name is Maxine. I’m new to this community and to the shamisen. I don’t currently own or play one, but have decades of experience in many other stringed instruments, including dabbling with the sanshin. I’m looking to get into shamisen, which naturally has me seeking an instrument. I know that these instruments can get quite expensive. That being established, I ran across this suspiciously cheap Etsy listing. What can you folks tell me about this?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/518492230/japan-vintageshamisen-set-classic

#2

It looks like a nice karin chuuzao shamisen… In good condition. Hard to say more only by looking at this Picture. Measurements are ok for a min’yo I think. Really cheap anyway ! Welcome here Maxine

#3

There are. I actually found one that looks like it’s in better shape, too. I threw caution to the wind and just purchased it.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/534691791/japan-vintageshamisen-set-classic

The neck is 2.6cm wide x 2.7cm
Overall length 99.5cm

There are other measurements listed, but I can’t copy/paste from the app and it would take me forever to copy it all over by switching apps. If you would like to know other dimensions, I can jot them down, if you’d like.

#4

The second one is a nagauta shamisen and the first one was probably a min’yo or jiutta. I don’t know the price for the second one but generally chuuzao are more expensive than nagauta (for the same level of wood, of course).

#5

Makes sense. For such a low price, I’m just hoping for something playable that can get me on the right track for learning technique. Hopefully it works out!

#6

Hello there,

I would agree with Patrick’s assessment. The second instrument looks very similar to what my friend started on (down to the stain on the wood).

Since it’s a hosozao, you’ll find some tsugaru techniques to be a little more difficult. However, the basic shamisen repertoire are all perfectly suited to it.

The one thing you’ll need to be aware of, and that gets posted quite a bit about, is sawari without an azuma sawari can be a little gentle.

You might need to play around with the tuning to get a strong sawari response.

As well, since this is listed as a natural skin (if true, read as Dog or Cat skin) the glue will be very susceptible to humidity, temperature, and moisture.

Be sure to keep it out of direct light and covered when not in use. I would also recommend investing in a back-up set of strings.

Happy practicing~

#7

Thanks for the advice! I’m considering installing an azuma sawari, myself. It depends on how finicky this particular shamisen wants to be. I also play the hurdy gurdy, so I am familiar with buzzing mechanisms and shimming to get the right sound. Hopefully some of that experience will be useful when it comes to the shamisen.

#8

Hey i pruchased an almost identical shamisen a few weeks ago and have been practicing and doing lessons from bachido just fine! Seems like a perfect place to start learning especially for the price. Good luck starting your jurney!

#9

Awesome! Thanks!

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