I just got a new shamisen and it has no resonance and sounds more like a guitar than how it should sound. I have no screw to adjust the resonance/string vibration. I have tuned it correctly and all that jazz but it doesn’t have the signature shamisen sound. Did I just buy a cheap product? I’m very disappointed and am hoping I can find a solution to this issue. Any help?
Hi Madonna. Welcome here. Since your shamisen has no azuma sawari, there is probably a notch beside the kamigoma where the ichi no ito takes its place. Would it be possible to post a picture of this area so we can se what is wrong with the sawari. There are several ways to increase it and some sensei here will probably give you a good advice. Thanks.
Yes of course. Thank you! Right now it sounds somewhat like plucking a rubber band than a shamisen.
Hi Madonna!
Welcome to Bachido, and thanks for introducing your question to us! As Patrick suspected, it appears that there may be a problem with the notch for your sawari. I made a video for correcting the sawari for a shamisen effect (either with a file or with tape, both of which are used in Japan)
Besides that, the quality of the tenjin really doesn’t look that bad. At least, nothing about it would give me the feeling that it’s a low quality shamisen. May we also see some pictures of the skin? Who knows, the tension of the skin or the koma (bridge) may be part of the problem.
Hi Madonna!
Right now, I’m with Kyle - that instrument looks okay. Probably karin wood, yeah?
But double check that there’s a notch near the tenjin and that your ichi no ito is in it!
I also use a shamisen like that, and if the string isn’t in the rut, there’s virtually no sawari (which can still be fun to play with).
Interested in seeing the skin and koma too!