String quality and tuning.

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#1

So I recently purchased a nagauta shamisen, and it came with strings that appeared to be copper strings wrapped in a clear nylon or plastic coiling. The shamisen was already strung, but when I tried to tune my ichi no ito the itomaki would slip. So I got some peg dope, unstrung that string, applied peg dope, and tried to restring it. However, when I did this, the clear plastic coiling on the string broke, ruining the string. I used the replacement string, and the exact same thing happened.

Is this my fault, or are copper strings wrapped with plastic coiling poor quality strings?
And, do nagauta shamisen tune lower than tsugaru shamisen? Or do I just need to apply more pressure?

Thanks,
Nick

#2

I’m not sure how strong the metal is, but I doubt the shamisen neck can withstand the force that metal strings apply to it. This is why there is a metal rod inside guitars using steel strings. I just wanted to give a warning that trying to apply more pressure to get the string strung harder might warp the wood of the neck.

Someone correct me if I’m wrong!

#3

What Karl said.
My teachers even cautioned against using nylon first and second strings, saying that what you save in the short term you will pay for when you have to buy a new shamisen.
Do yourself a favor: throw out those steel strings and buy some real shamisen strings. The more you order at once, the less the shipping costs will be per string. When I was playing for hours every day, I really went through strings, so you might want to order a bunch of each. On the other hand, I was told not to get too many at once because they have a shelf life - I think the Japanese phrase is that the strings “catch cold”.
I wonder how strings hold up for other people on the forum - maybe some other people could chime in on this.
By the way, one trick to making a string last longer is this: when you see wear happening at the place where the bachi usually strikes it, flip the string around so that the side that was tied to the neo ends up wrapped up in the ito maki. If you are playing a lot and breaking strings regularly this can save you some money.

#4

Is this the nagauta shamisen you got, by chance? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Shamisen-soft-case-and-Bachi-Japanes-3-string-instrument-hand-made-/320805454611?pt=LH

It’s sold with metal ichi no ito and two nylon strings. A Bachido member who bought it also had troubles with the ichi no ito itomaki slipping.

Yeah. Get a good set of shamisen strings. It’ll sound much more authentic. I’m not so sure about the shelf life (Of course, I say that out of complete ignorance :wink: ) I had thought the “catch cold” was after they start to stretch.

In my case, yes. The strings start to die pretty quick, mainly because of the stretching. However, when I loosen the strings, don’t play it for several weeks, and then tune it up again, it seems the strings sound fresher. It could potentially just be a trick of the mind, I’m not sure.

That’s a good trick about flipping the string! I should try that. A few months ago, I was striking the ichi no ito, and I saw it starting to unravel and snap in front of my eyes. Those things aren’t cheap. :wink:

#5

Yes, Kyle! That is in fact the shamisen I bought. After a little bit of research it seemed strange that they would send me metal shamisen strings, when no company I could find sold such strings.

I’ll have to look into some higher-quality strings.

#6

j’ai une corde qui a cassé ce matin, je l’avais mise sur le shamisen il y a deux jours et je l’avais accordé. j’ai laissé les cordes tendues avec leur accord, j’ai retiré le koma et j’ai laissé le shamisen comme ça. ce matin, je n’avais pas encore joué, pas mis le koma non plus et la corde du milieu a cassé. elle s’est cassée à la position 1 pour les doigts. je ne sais pas ce qui s’est passé. ce sont des cordes traditionnelles en soie. que s’est il passé ?

I have a rope that broke this morning, I had put on the shamisen there two days. I left the taut strings with their agreement, I removed the koma and I left the shamisen like that. this morning, I had not played yet, not put koma either and the middle rope broke. it broke at position 1 for the fingers. I do not know what happened. these are traditional silk strings. what has happened?

#7

As Kyle explains in his video about the strings, the silk strings tend to break more than the other type of strings.

Also, I think you should not only remove the koma but also loosen the strings a little.

Which string broke? 3 no ito?

#8

Hi folks
I am building my first Kankara Shamisen and I am now looking for strings, preferably nylon as this is a test build. Yes, I can purchase the real ones on the internet but I am trying to see if I can get them locally. From the internet, I have found that I should have the following gauges: 25 - Ichi No Ito, 15 - Ni No Ito and 14 - San No Ito. I have not been able to find these gauges at any music stores so I am hoping someone can give me more technical information on them, ie diameters.

#9

hola and could you post a pic of your kankara?

#10

Those numbers are probably specific to sanshin strings, so might not mean anything to someone in a guitar shop. You can probably find some classical guitar strings that are of a similar gauge. To give you an idea of the thicknesses you’ll want, here are two shots of my kankara strings, first put against a ruler, then put close together for comparison.

#11

Hi BH

I have attached two photos. The first is the full one piece neck and the second the tenjin. I have built these from a simple plan I found on the internet. I like playing with wood, so “plain” is out of the question when I make things. The neck is made from laminated New Guinea Rose wood and Queensland Maple. I will attach more photos when I put it all together.

5YcK6kT,N7Rnv6y#0

#12

Hi Gerry

Thank you very much for the photos. I played around with them in Turbocad and I make them out to be 1.5, 1 and .8mm and believe it or not, that works out to gauges of 25, 17 and 13 (approx). I do not think I will have any problems finding strings of those sizes now.

#13

sorry if there are no photos folks. I thought I had followed the instruction fully but looks like I got something wrong. I will try again.

http://imgur.com/EvLFZ2y,5znNbZr#1

#14

wow that looks nice . . . since in general I am not so into playing around with wood I definitely went and can only go a rather “plain” route but might be able to pick up one or the other detail at least from sophisticated kankaras so I always love seeing pictures of them for inspiration . . . although judging from what I did so far it might seem a stretch I do actually think from that (little) experience that a truly cool compact instrument has come into reach and I intend to try building it sometime . . . :slight_smile:

(among the posts at Shamisen – BH are pictures of the 3 sticks with strings I made from scratch so far as well as of some actual shamisen pieces I got as a gift and put together somehow)

#15

I find my itomaki for the ichi no ito tends to slip as well. Both of my instruments are somewhat older, so it might have something to do with the age of the instrument itself. It’s a problem I have on both the jiuta and gidayu shamisen I have. For what it’s worth I use the strings bachido sells.

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