They do look really cool. But considering the fact that the shamisen bachi was adapted from the biwa bachi, I feel like there’s probably a reason shamisen players dropped the hooks/flares at some point. Dunno what it might be, but maybe if you played around with one you’d figure it out.
Actually, you might have something there, Cody. Kyle had said earlier that he had a shrimp shape in mind for the handle - but the biwa shape would be good, because they you’d be able to play both sides and it would look really cool coming out of the end of your hand. (Don’t forget, performing is visual, as well as auditory!)
You’d still need to round off the one edge where your pinky knuckle rests. I dropped the bachi that I had carved the notch in for my pinky, so I had to play the other side (that I hadn’t carved yet), and OY!! That edge there just shreds my pinky knuckle.
But, I’m also kind of sympathetic to Chris, who started all this (WTG!) that I don’t want to mess too much with the traditional bachi shape - just because … well, it’s traditional - and it looks cool. And you can stand it on it’s end and say it’s really cool artwork, lol.
You guys should think of other ways of customizing bachi you make 
See the multiple materials? People here in the thread have mentioned they prefer the smoothness of plastic but the comfyness of wood. Why not interchangeable parts at some point? screw on bekkou heads for your bachi~ different grips depending on song or style. Maybe even adding small weights inside the bachi so it feels heavier / lighter as you see fit? Its not an insane thought really there is a pc mouse that has weights in grams you can add into the mouse when you like. 
Material is still interesting almost needs a foam grip possibly for bachi or maybe even a strap for your hand like a Wii-mote ? http://i.imgur.com/R2WN3OA.gif
or possibly a strap like a camcorder?
cana-
yes that is the goal of this venture: to create a much cheaper and quality bachi that new players can buy and customize to make it easier to get used to
also be on the lookout for “Reinventing The Bachi 2”, in stores soon! some updates to post and in need of more community feedback, probably sometime after work.
very true
Will be very very nice to see all this come into the shops an such.
Maybe even add a way to make them yourself in the bachido book or just online on the website using common household items? (icescraper… etc etc)
as a beginner who went through many different things before i decided on this project, i think the biggest hindrances to shamisen learning are 1) expense and 2) accessibility.
there are tutorials on how to make a bachi in kyles book, but wooden bachi are just… awful. compared to bekkou that is. it would be a much more enjoyable and probably easier to learn on something more flexible than wood, but much cheaper than bekkou.
and good luck finding a household item to replace it. an icescraper is more an insult than an option when it comes to bachi haha
ahh but is it :o?
I saw one with the likeness of my bekkou bachi and i nearly bought it ^^
only thing different was weight… sadly i love weighty bachi so i didnt get one :3
I have posted updates to my horn bachi work on a new thread.
So~ Any news?
Yes a short update, posted here:
Bonjour !
je poste mes photos de la tenue de mon bachi. la couleur rouge sur les doigts indiquent la force d’appuis sur le bachi.
j’ai beaucoup de difficultés à jouer avec ce bachi en bois. je le trouve trop lourd et trop épais sur l’extremité carrée, ça me fait très mal au petit doigt.
voilà mon témoignage. je souhaiterais trouver un bachi moins épais et moins lourd.
je joue parfois avec une credit-card, moins de bruit et moins de difficultés mais ce n’est pas un bachi !
avec ce que je viens d’écrire, j’espère que quelqu’un pourra trouver un nouveau modèle de bachi pour jouer plus facilement. ^^"
sur la photo “C”, j’indique en rouge la partie trop large et trop épaisse. peut on faire quelque chose ?
plus confortable ! j’ai vu qu’il y a du métal dans le bois !!
je ne suis qu’un débutant mais je trouve que le bachi est trop lourd, trop épais, trop large et il fait mal à la main.
il faudrait quelque chose de plus léger et plus facile à tenir.
I’m just a beginner but I think the bachi is too heavy, too thick, too wide and it hurts hand.
should be something lighter and easier to hold.
do you think that a smaller bachi; like on the picture (the smaller one) is good to play shamisen ?
