Review: Shinobi Koma Deluxe

Calvin_Ference · February 3, 2015, 2:34am

Hello Bachido!

I would like to take a few moments to share my experience with the Shinobi koma deluxe. I’m writing this mostly since when I originally bought this, no one had posted anything about it and I had quite a few questions about it. So hopefully this could help someone!

Who is it for?
Apartment dwellers and anybody with “loving” neighbors who love to hear your music!

Pros
Attenuates the sound… quite drastically! My Yamaha Silent Violin is louder than this! This is by far the most amazing thing is I can practice a solid tataki, while still having the feeling and sensation of it and whilst doing it at 1 AM! For someone who can’t play during the day due to being busy with university or work until late in the evening, this is quite great to be able to put in a 30 minutes of practice after a long day without disturbing the neighbors.

The material seems to be quite sturdy, not sure how long it will last but I do expect this to last me over a year if not more!

There’s also the fact that you can leave it on (at least I think). The koma does go from rim to rim of the dou so it rests on the wood and not the skin. So in theory (again, I think) you can leave it on without having to worry about rupturing the dou!

I do loosen the strings just a bit though, just to alleviate the tension a bit.

Cons
Annoying to put on. It’s simple to to put on or remove but it does require removing the neo and then sliding the koma on the dou and then putting the neo back on and re-tuning the strings to what they were. Also, the instructions I received were purely in Japanese… which is expected, but when I can only read about 10 kanji and (slowly) hiragana, it got quite complicated to figure out what was written!

But besides that, I’m pretty satisfied!

Notes

You will need to have a sensitive tuner if you do not tune by ear. Luckily mine I could change the sensitivity (DaTuner on Android) so it wasn’t so much of an issue until I notice the tuner was picking the sounds of my computer fans… so yeah, that can get a tad annoying but not something to fret about!

Anyone have anything to add?

Jacinthe_Ma · February 8, 2015, 2:59pm

Waiting for mine now. It’s in the mail! I’ll add to your comment once I have received it and tried it for a few days or weeks.

Yatagarasu_R · March 9, 2015, 5:56pm

I managed to put mine on without removing neo… not sure if it’s smart in case you scratch the skin Also I found out it’s maybe not necessary to cut it for nagauta - it’s originally for tsugaru and on a nagauta there’s a bit over 1 cm of overhang. It’s slightly out of alignment (not a problem I think), and occasionally strings, especially san no ito, like to jump out of the grooves.

Anybody have an idea if it’s possibly harmful to leave it on for a few days… weeks? What’s a good way to remove it?

Sound is not quite as muted as I thought, my instrument can go to about 85 dB with the regular koma, this drops the volume some 20 dB or slightly more. I think one could play it easily at 50 dB with some practice. It’s actually a quite enjoyable sound volume, though I think neighbours will be able to hear it here

Various shinobi koma could be interesting for people just learning their tataki. I’m sure the aluminum armor plate on this one is enough to protect the skin from the clumsiest and most eager beginner!

Calvin_Ference · March 10, 2015, 2:58pm

I’m going to have to add a con on the shinobi.

I managed to put mine on without removing neo… not sure if it’s smart in case you scratch the skin Also I found out it’s maybe not necessary to cut it for nagauta - it’s originally for tsugaru and on a nagauta there’s a bit over 1 cm of overhang. It’s slightly out of alignment (not a problem I think), and occasionally strings, especially san no ito, like to jump out of the grooves.

Yikes! Not sure how good that is for your shamisen. But as long as things don’t break, then all good I guess!

Sound is not quite as muted as I thought, my instrument can go to about 85 dB with the regular koma, this drops the volume some 20 dB or slightly more. I think one could play it easily at 50 dB with some practice. It’s actually a quite enjoyable sound volume, though I think neighbours will be able to hear it here

Hmm, I’ll have to measure the dB level later on myself. I have noted quite a significant decrease with the koma inserted. Maybe in my case it could be related to the acoustics of the rooms in which I play in, that might increase the loudness. My ears do buzz a bit after playing for a while without the shinobi koma on it.

I’m going to have to add a Con though. I did notice after a while the bachigawa on the koma started to peel off. I had to use some painting tape on mine to give a “protected” layer between the fluffy side and the bachi to replace the bachigawa.

Yatagarasu_R · March 15, 2015, 8:21pm

If you need to play REALLY quiet, throw away the bachi (actually, place it down nicely to avoid noise ). Carefully pluck with your fingers and you can play a very quiet and mellow tune.

Joel_Balestra · May 26, 2015, 4:18pm

Thanks for the review. I’ve recently been informed by my wife that my late night practice sessions are far more audible to the rest of the house than I realized so I’m looking to pick up one of the shinobi komas on the store. Does anyone know how the deluxe version compares to the higher end “Shinobi Koma - Kobashiki”? I found one review on the forums that was very positive, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a comparison between the two. Thanks.

Philip_Wheatley · May 26, 2015, 8:44pm

Thanks for these reviews. I have the very basic shinobi koma, which is actually sufficient at dampening the string noise to mean that my wife and cats can stand my playing late in the evening in our small little cottage. I have however been tempted by the deluxe version. The fact you have to fart around removing the neo strikes me as a bit of a pain in what is otherwise a pick up and go instrument and really puts me off the idea of getting one, especially as I like to alternate between letting the wife off easy one night and using the full-fat regular koma the next.

Calvin_Ference · May 28, 2015, 3:53pm

Does anyone know how the deluxe version compares to the higher end “Shinobi Koma - Kobashiki”? I found one review on the forums that was very positive, but I wouldn’t mind seeing a comparison between the two. Thanks.

Can’t say sorry. I’d be curious to hear the difference as well and even between the standard shinobi koma and the higher end models.

The fact you have to fart around removing the neo strikes me as a bit of a pain

Yeah it’s a pain, but I’ve actually pretty much keep it on at all times so it makes it still viable for a pick up and go instrument. I did notice that it dirties the skin of the dou… which bugs me.

However, I recently tried recording myself with the mute on, and it’s… well… shitty. The percussion is not dampened enough in comparison to the strings, so I had to put on a compressor in the post processing recording to limit the peak amplitudes.

Then again, technically I should be using an actual koma and not the mute for recording… it’s just kinda difficult in my apartment, the acoustics of the rooms makes it very difficult to play any acoustic instrument.