Question About Disassembly

Building/Repair
#1

So I know there’s a great video on how to assemble my shamisen, however, I have never had to DISASSEMBLE it so I’m unsure of the safest way to do so.
The airlines say my hard case is too long to be a carry-on so I was going to disassemble it, bubble wrap it, and stick it in my ukulele case. That said, my shamisen feels pretty old or at least not the best cared for before I got it, I’m afraid if I shove the neck in too hard, the body’s corners will snap in or something equally dumb.

Any advice?

#2

I have a shamisen that is, in fact, older than I am.

I have disassembled and reassembled it multiple times. While there’s always a chance that the glue holding yours together has disintegrated more than mine, I wouldn’t worry.

If it does collapse, well, it was going to eventually!

1 Like
#3

Does your shamisen have a " joint " in the neck?
If so, you can disassemble it with this method.

  1. Hold the Shamisen with the side with the Bachigawa facing you. leave the bridge off.
  2. Remove the Neo (the cord that holds the string) from the Nakagosaki (where the Neo is attached).
  3. Loosely wrap the string around the Tenjin in a circular motion.
  4. Hold the neck under the joint closest to the body with one hand,
    and with the other hand, slap the neck from the side until the gap is somewhat larger.
  5. When the gap is large enough, push straight up.

Be careful not to try to force it out, THE JOINTS will BREAK!

#4

Correction: … side with the Bachigawa … → … side without the Bachigawa…

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