Hi
I’ve bought a shamisen from a shop in Etsy,
Overalls it’s a good nagauta shamisen but I don’t understand why, when I play below 10 ( especially around 13 14 ) the sound become weird. It becomes too sharp.
I look for scratch on the sao but I don’t see anything weird
The other part is good if I make a notation 4 sound it’s perfect
Did this ever happen to someone ?
Many thanks in advance
If you don’t see any structural problems and it happens on all three strings it might be that the neck is slightly shorter than average.
Hello Mina.
Can you meaure your Shamisen, down from the tip of the neck that exits the body, up to the tip of the tenjin? You can use the guide below.
Also, can you post a picture of your Sao, on the side the Fujaku strip is stick to?
And if possible send a recording of you playing all nots in sequence?
Here’s a. Picture of my shamisen I can’t take a better one now as I’m not at home
It’s a bit weird, I tough it was me who made something wrong but my teacher told me sho didn’t understand either
Many thanks for your answer
I was really lost on this
It does indeed look like a very good instrument, with clean joints, and in very good condition.
Judging by the picture, and specifically the position and length of the Fujaku, your Shamisen is the correct length for a Nagauta, and should be about 99cm long.
I don’t see your koma (bridge) in the photo. You can try tweaking the position of the Koma, and try a different koma (maybe your teacher can lend you one).
If you have a plastic koma, the sound might not be the best, as a bamboo or bone would do.
Also, if your koma is new, it may not yet have the grooves to slot the strings. Please check that with your teacher, and ask her if she can do it for you.
If she can’t, then I can give you instructions for you to do so. It’s very easy.
As for your strings and neo, your strings are tied to the neo too close to the tip of the loop. The string should sit almost at the corner of the edge. Check the attached picture.
Hi-ho
If your sound is too sharp, change where your finger is until it isn’t too sharp. Put your lack of frets to work.
However, I am a little interested in the mitsuori joints of your shamisen. They seem very visible considering the quality of the image.
Are they flush? Do they pop out?
As well, tell me more about your koma placement.
As John indicated, your string tying isn’t very clean.
You should endeavor to get the knot below the lip of the dou if at all possible.
