Tuning Minyo Shamisen

General
#1

Hello,

I just received my Minyo Shamisen, but when I try to tune it to Niagari, the first Itomaki will stop turning. It feels like the string will almost break. What I am really curious about is where the correct Itomaki goes in regards to the holes at the top. None of the pegs have notches or are numbered. The only difference in them are the tops of them. One has a small tip while the bottom is completely flat, and the other two Itomaki look to be the same size tip (a little larger) and the bottoms are both a bit rounded on the edges. I think I have them in the wrong order, but no way of telling.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Edit: After trying many adjustments, it’s a little better, but still doesn’t sound right. I can’t get it to buzz either. I have one of the older versions that does not come with an Azuma Sawari. I watched Kyle’s video about making adjustments so that it will make that sound, but the Kamigoma is very high.

http://imgur.com/oqjGru8

#2

Hi Alex. The koma looks very high ! Do you have a picture ? Is there a notch close to the kamigoma for the ici no ito ?

#3

Hi Patrick.
Here are a few pictures:

Looking down on the koma:

http://imgur.com/2an9mN6

Koma from the side:

http://imgur.com/uI1CFPs

I moved the ichi no ito so you could see the notch:

http://imgur.com/eLOL9gQ

#4

The koma seems ok. The notch too… This way the ichi no ito should touch the “sawari yama”. I don’t unedrstands why it doesn’t…

#5

I could record the sounds of the strings if you’d like. I had a hard time tuning it, but it might help explain what’s happening.

#6

Well, you can try but I 'm not sure I could understand the problem by listening the sound. Looking at your first picture, I guess it cannot buzz. Strange. Maybe the specialists there in bachido could help… You could although post a side view of the kamigoma area so we could see the space between the ichi no ito and the sawari yama… Ah you could also take a picture of the area where the dou meets the sao. If it does not fit well, the sao could be inclined and that could increase the distance between the ito and the sao…

#7

Here is the where the ichi no ito touches the sawari yama:

http://imgur.com/1c6FSXE

Here’s where the sao meets the dou at an angle:

http://imgur.com/xmMwMu9

And here is where the dou meets the sou at the side:

http://imgur.com/vvQiZai

#8

Is the ichi no ito on its notch ? It’s difficult to see that. I think there is no problem in the dou and sao connection.

#9

Hey Alex,

If this is your first time with a shamisen, you might want to drop the tension on all of the strings. They might be over-wound. This would cause slipping and difficulty staying in tune.

To diagnose the buzz problem; if your first string is in the notch, you should be getting some buzz. However, shamisen that lack azuma-sawari often have a very gentle buzz that takes a lot of practice to really bring out. So that may be part of your problem.

More generally, you might not actually have a standard min’yo shamisen. The hatomune is very gentle and much more like a nagauta. Thus, depending on the size of the dou it may actually class as a kouta, hauta, or nagauta shamisen. Not that this is really important for playing, but it will affect the sound you should expect.

Finally, if you’re curious about your itomaki, please post a picture of them.

I also have some questions.

What is the skin on your dou made from?

Where did you acquire this instrument?

1 Like
#10

Yes, I have noticed some rare times where I have been able to make it buzz, but I’m not really sure what’s causing it. I can rest my index finger very softly over the ichi no ito and make it sound, but that definately doesn’t help when playing actual notes. I’ll play around with the tuning a bit more to see if it helps.

Here is a picture of the first two itomaki which look the same:

http://imgur.com/Fo9Iou4

Here is the last itomaki:

http://imgur.com/xMo3Upf

The seller listed the skin of the dou has being artificial.

I purchased this from Ebay.
I’m not sure if this link works, but it might have more information.

#11

Hey again Alex.

The glare of the camera makes it a little difficult to tell, but I see what you were referring to in your first post.

Most likely, the odd-one-out is a replacement for a lost or broken peg.

Is this your ebay link?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Japan-Vintage-SHAMISEN-Set-Classic-Stringed-Instrument-CYUZAO-w-Cloth-Case-4924-/252696921896?hash=item3ad5e90728:g:p2EAAOSw-0xYYKZJ

#12

Hi Alex and christopher. I checked with my nagauta traditionnal shamisen and I clearly see the sawari yama is much too low, Alex ! Bad picture but you can compare with yours : http://i.imgur.com/j9ho0kD.jpg
There id quite no space between the ito and the wood…

#13

@Patrick: Thank you for the picture, all of my strings are very high off of the sao. My koma could be the problem.

@Christopher: Yes, that was the one I bought. I thought I had it linked in my previous post, sorry about that.

#14

Alex, I don’t think the koma is the problem. Mine is quite as high as yours. i think the problem comes from the form of the tenjin in the kamigoma area. This area in your shamisen is really high and should not be higher than the sawari yama.

[Album] Imgur

Here are other examples of how it should be…

#15

Those are really helpful, I’ll try adjusting it when I get home later.

#16

Hey Alex,

If that’s your shamisen, then the whole instrument is plastic. I’ve only ever played on wooden instruments, so I’m not sure if there’s an issue with your specific one or just a problem inherent to that kind of instrument. It likely explains your tuning problems, however.

I hope Patrick can offer you some good advice, but you definitely need to lower the action on your strings somehow.

Best of luck~

#17

I would like to, Christopher, but I could not give any advice, being myself a bad handyman… We know what to do but Kyle or another manufacturer could probably go further now…

#18

Alex, I play minyo. Can you tell me if the item ski are correctly ordered? The first pic makes it look weird. Should be the ichi no I to (1st string, thickest) is in the top itomaki closest to the “men”, and on the side of the shamisen away from you when holding it. The ni no I to (middle string) should be in the middle itomaki, and the san no ito should be on the bottom.
Sometimes the issues with spacing are from that. Or the strings are wrapped under the itomaki rather than over them.

1 Like
© 2020 Kyle Abbott