Switching Shamisen Parts (Is it Possible?)

General
#1

I’ve been wondering - if you had two of the same Shamisen(s) "lets say if its a Nagauta Shamisen(s).

for example:

Shamisen (#1) - lighter neck color and white itomak(s)

Shamisen (#2) - darker neck color and black itomaki(s)

Let say the Both Shamisen(s) Dou (body) was kept in the same position. But lets say you took out the entire Sao (neck) - and switched it into the different body of the Shamisen.

Will Shamisen (#2 neck) fit in Shamisen (#1 body) and will Shamisen (#1 neck) fit in Shamisen (#2 body)

#2

also - the itomaki(s)

Are all the size of the Sao where the itomaki(s) slide in - Are they the same hole length? like will all Nagauta itomaki(s) will fit all Nagauta Shamisen(s)?

#3

I’m thinking about buying a ripped skin - Shamisen and swapping out the parts to the other Shamisen.

#4

Generally, that can’t be done because the sao is made to fit one particular dou.

#5

really? - strange: I thought all Nagauta Shamisen had the same dimensions.

I was trying to do is switch out the Itomaki(s) will that work?

#6

Generally they do, but the thickness of the nakago (part that slides into the dou) and saruo (area where the dou and sao connect flush) varies, one sao may not fit into another dou, as even a variance of 1mm means it won’t fit…

#7

what - I didn’t know that.

Since now you said that - How can I tell my Sao fit in my Shamisen Dou.

For some reason the neck is so dark color wood and my shamisen dou is lighter.

Is it possible that my neck doesn’t match the body. But it fits in - Can you see like the fitting or hear the fitting? (if it’s not the correct match) that so hard to tell now- you should do a video about something like that

#8

Because I found a auction on eBay - somebody selling a Nagauta Shamisen. The itomaki(s) I have. The color seems so faded - I would rather get black ones now.

So I saw an auction - so far its on bidding. but if I win the bid. I would only pay $70.00 for the whole Shamisen.

only the back side of the skin is broken. - actually I’m curious - what if you fix one side of the shamisen skin (with a different skin) will that really affect the sounding in playing? Because I was going to buy the Shamisen and send it to you and pay you to repair it.

#9

Easy answer: If the sao fits into the dou, then it fits. If the sao doesn’t fit into the dou, it doesn’t fit. :wink:

I hope I don’t sound like a smartass, but it’s really that simple. Color of the sao/dou doesn’t mean anything. You will know it doesn’t fit if you are unable to fit it in all the way. If it fits in completely (base of sao is completely flush to the dou), then you know it’s a match.

#10

Hey Kevin,

Try not to mess around with changing sao. You could end up damaging your shamisen, and if you stretch or mess up the “square hole” in your shami’s dou, its a nearly impossible, very expensive repair that must be done in Japan.

Not all nagauta itomaki will fit nagauta shamisen. When each shamisen is made, the itomaki are fitted exactly to that shamisen. Changing these without taking it to a shamisen store to have them fitted will result in your strings slipping. Im sure the ones you have now work just fine. Buying random itomaki is like buying a pair of shoes without looking at the size. ^.^

Itomaki make no difference in the sound. AT ALL. I have ivory itomaki which had to be shaved and sawed to fit my shami at a shamisen makers shop in Japan. After all of that work that had to be done on them, all they are good for is making my shamisen look pretty… Sort of. -.-’’ Kind of frustrating, actually.

Last year, Kyle did some work on a Jiuta shamisen my school owns. It had synthetic skins, but the front one was coming off. Kyle replaced it with calf skin, and it actually sounds perfect for Jiuta, but is not the same as dog or cat for Nagauta. If you have a working shamisen, just stick with that one for now.

Sometimes used shamisen aren’t good unless they’ve been looked at by a shamisen maker. There might be a lot more wrong with it than a broken skin. In fact, that should be the least of your concerns when buying a used shamisen, but thats another story.

Happy practicing!
Joe

#11

(Joseph) - When I about my second Shamisen (the seller asked me if I wanted the Ivory itomaki(s) for an extra cost) Let say if I said no (and got the black ones - how would I known the black ones were the originally fit my shamisen “Nagauta”)

#12

Hey Kevin.

Do you have a link to the shamisen you bought? Ill be able to tell which itomaki it was originally meant to have by looking at it.

Joe

#13

not really. I bought it from an eBay seller: “sailorking”

we did a private sell through PayPal billing. I have pictures of the Shamisen and the Ivory itomaki(s) I bought extra for

#14

So you bought the shamisen, and it originally came with black itomaki (which are made with ebony wood, btw), but you bought ivory for extra?

If you bought the ivory itomaki separately, the chances of them fitting perfectly is ridiculously small. They might “sort-of” fit, but you’ll have to deal with them slipping all the time.

Could I see a picture out of curiosity?

#15



the itomaki(s) don’t slip out - it fits. Just makes really really small wobbles. but doesn’t slip out

#16

Your third itomaki (for the third string) and second itomaki (for the second string) need to be switched. That might help the wobbling. Your shamisen from what I can tell is made out of Kouki wood, and has a really nice grain pattern with stripes. Are there stripe patterns on the sao?

Joe

#17

yes you - can continue on my photobucket to see the dou part of the shamisen

#18

But are there stripes on the neck? I cant really see. If there are, then the ivory itomaki are probably the originals.

Just change the itomaki that’s on the left side of the tenjin (ni no itomaki) with the itomaki that’s on the lower right part (san no itomaki), and you should be good to go!

#19

I think so - there’s a line pattern. Talk to Kyle - he has the full image of my Shamisen. I lost that picture.

#20

Okay, so that line pattern means that your shamisen wood is pretty high quality. And most shamisen with high quality wood like that come with ivory itomaki. They are most likely the original ones! Just do what I told you about changing the itomaki around. GOOD LUCK! (^.^)/

© 2020 Kyle Abbott