Is it necessary to remove the koma after use if the shamisen has a synthetic skin such as Ripple or Fibersen? Is that practice only necessary for ‘natural’ skins? Or is it still recommended for all skin types?
That’s a great question, Josh! For the skin, it might be okay to leave the koma in. It’s really strong stuff. However, the koma is still pretty delicate. I’d wonder if leaving it in would put prolonged stress on the koma itself…
That’s a good point. I hadn’t considered how the string tension might affect the koma itself over time. Especially if it’s the type without the brace under the second string…
Hi, was going to post a new topic re this. Did you leave your Koma in Josh? I too want to leave the Koma on as I find if my Shamisen is ‘pick up and play’ I practise more. I was going to put some gaffer tape in position to protect the (synthetic) skin. Is that a bad idea? I don’t want to damage the Koma but I thought its putting it under more stress if I keep removing it and adding it back? So confused.