Question about wood and sao

General
#1

I understand that there are sound differences between karin, shitan, and kouki. What exactly are they? Does one have a sharper sound than the other? If for instance, I get a karin shamisen, can I still enjoy making music despite it not being of the higher quality woods such as the kouki?The fancy stuff is cool and all, but for the time being, I couldnt care less, I just want a shamisen in which I can play music on regardless of the wood. I have an Okinawan sanshin which I play Okinawan style and Amami style music on it (I have to switch the strings for it since Amami uses yellow strings). It may not be the fanciest thing to come out of the Ryukyuan king’s palace, but I play that thing with all my heart, and that’s really all that matters to me.

Don’t quote me on this one as I don’t remember the source but I once read that even the geisha’s shamisen are often made from the karin wood since kouki is so expensive.

#2

I may be wrong, but I think the choice of karin, shitan or kouki concerns the sao and not the dou that is ALWAYS karin wood. So the choice for the dou is the high quality of karin or not. The hardness of the sao is not involved in the sound quality but mostly the longevity of the sao without any damage, wear or tear… (I’m not sure my english is clear enough). The search of the quality of sound is well explained by Jamie in your other thread…

#3

Hey Patrick! Thank you SO much for clearing this up for me. I would lost without this community. And yes, your English was clear :slight_smile: Seriously, this forum is amazing!

#4

Yeah, like Patrick said, the dou has a larger impact on sound quality, although it is true that different kinds of wood will resonate differently.

One last thing I don’t think anybody’s mentioned yet is that there is a serious weight difference here, too. Kouki shamisen are surprisingly heavy, but that in turn feels very solid when you’re playing. Karin and shitan are much lighter, and can almost feel a bit flimsy if you’re used to the heavier stuff.

#5

Great question. Some random thoughts: I am also quite intrigued (naturally, being an instrument maker!) by wood densities and sound. I reckon that for the shamisen the skin makes the most difference in the multitude of sound qualities possible but despite that I wonder if a less dense wood might absorb more vibration and in that affect the sound. I think here of the difference of playing a stratocaster over a les paul guitar where the heavy les paul seems to have a greater sustain and different tone (noting of course the different types of pickups, which maybe have the same relationship to sound on a guitar as the skin does on a shamisen). Which I suppose then goes into the realm of different rather than better or less better!

I believe that the more dense wood will likely be more stable over time and perhaps in different climates, but again not totally sure.

The other aspect to me is that this is such fun geeky stuff to ponder, this topic. If I didn’t have much cash (and didn’t make my own - hey why not try to make your own!) I would go with the cheaper wood and no doubt still have as good an experience. Much better in fact if it meant having an instrument in the first place!

The other, ahem, darker aspects of various woods is that more expensive materials often means more rare which can also mean endangered or even extinct.

Over here in Thailand I am in the slow process of trying out different woods that approach the density of kouki. I actually asked about getting some kouki at one place that I found (can’t remember what the Thai term for it would be) and the people looked at me like I had pretty much lost my mind. They don’t have it at 7-11 either, which is saying something though you can still go there to pay for an aeroplane ticket and top up your phone. :wink:

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