Alexey - we seem to be in the same general location, I’d love to hear your thoughts on getting a shamisen out here in the Lower Mainland!
Buying a Shamisen with a busted skin is always a gambling, you could get something good but on the other hand you could invest more money to get it good.
In my opinion if you’re outside of Japan you should wait for the new shami buddy, seems is going to be pretty tight.