Second string (Ni no Ito) Keeps breaking, won't stay in tune

Building/Repair
#1

Hello. I am from Canada and am new to the forum and to the shamisen. I recently purchased and imported a Shamisen from Japan. I still can’t tell if it is a nagauta or jiuta shamisen and wasn’t aware of the difference when I purchased it. It was used and missing the smaller string (San no Ito) when I bought it. I purchased a large lot of strings on Yahoo Japan Auctions and replaced the string myself when I got it. It works fine and stays in tune. I didn’t know the strings were different for each version of the shamisen either. I have around 7 pairs and maybe a dozen of what looks like the Ni no Ito.

The problem is that the Ni no Ito randomly snapped overnight last week. I came downstairs and found it broken, so I replaced it. Then, it wouldn’t stay in tune, no matter what I did. That night, it broke again. I wanted to know why you think it broke like this and wouldn’t stay in tune? Am I using the wrong strings? I am using the one that is the middle size. It went on fine. It’s also spring here in Quebec, Canada. The weather is changing and my instruments generally become affected by this. I do not have a climate controlled home either, so the temperature changes and the humidity levels rise and lower day by day. Could this cause the shamisen Ni no Ito string to not stay in tune and break?

Thank you for your help. If it would help, I could post pictures. =)

1 Like
#2

Hi Brian,
Welcome to Bachido! Strings break for a lot of reasons:
Where are the strings breaking? If it’s at the koma (bridge), there may be a sharp point there that is cutting them.
Also, it sounds like you might not be releasing the tension on the strings after you are done playing. It’s not a bad idea to do that, as it may save the strings, and it certainly takes stress off of the neck, which over the course of years could lead to warping.
You may be tuning your shamisen too high in the first place - what pitch do you tune it to?
And finally, the strings could be old, and maybe the ni no ito in particular have lost their tensile strength.

#3

The middle string appears to be breaking around the middle top of the sao, it isn’t breaking near the koma. I purchased a large lot of strings off of YJA and they seem kind of dull, not bright yellow, but a more faded yellow, and they feel dry and are not elastic. Maybe I purchased a set of very old strings.

I like to keep the shamisen in tune, so yes, I do not release the tension after playing. I am a guitarist so this is a natural habit I’ve developed, since you don’t have to do this with a guitar. I also heard one should remove the koma after playing. Do you think this would help? My shamisen is tuned CGC, so I don’t believe it is the tuning.

Thank you very much for your answer, it is really appreciated. I’ll try and restring it again today and see what happens. My san no ito from the same lot is working fine on the shamisen, it’s just the ni no ito I’m having trouble with. Then again, the san no ito looks like it’s made of a different material, it is clear and yellow and not ‘wound,’ kind of like the smaller strings of the guitar versus the larger ones.

#4

Hi. Gerry could confirm but removing the koma is practically an obligation, if only to preserve the skin. I think everyone follows this rule.

#5

Right, Patrick. It’s a good idea. And lowering the pitch of the strings at least slightly is also something pretty much every Japanese player does. There’s probably something to it, as they’ve been at this game for about 300 years.
Brian, it does sound like your strings are probably old, but there’s no harm in using them until they’re done.
If you want to prolong your string life, you can tune down a bit from C. I’ve noticed with some historical recordings of the Goze that they often tuned much lower - almost as low as you can go and still play - and I’ve read that this was specifically to save the strings, which they couldn’t afford to replace often.

#6

Excellent advice everyone, thank you! I will make sure to remove the koma after playing and tune the strings down. I agree this would take some tension off the strings. I will also make sure to remove all tension from the strings after each playing session.

In terms of the ni no ito not staying in tune, do you believe that it was the string I used? The string that was on it before held its tune well. I will tune it most likely later today and see.

Thanks again!

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