Making of the Shamisen - Itomaki -

http://shamisenofjapan.com/ Updated Note: This was the very first attempt at making a tsugaru shamisen. Three years later, I've made an exact (at least, "close enough") duplicate of a tsugaru shamisen and have made a book to teach you how to do the same. This book, Shamisen of Japan, gives you full instructions on how to make and play tsugaru shamisen. If you are interested in tsugaru shamisen, check it out! http://shamisenofjapan.com/

Making the Itomaki (tuning pegs) took quite a bit of practice to get the pegs round and to get the handles 6 sided but after making about 5 pegs, I could get the process down to an hour/peg

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Shamisen
• Construction
• Wood
• Tsugaru

[SGRock94]

What kind of wood do you use? and where can i buy the skin?

[fiddlefella]

@SGRock94 That shamisen was made from Maple wood, but I'd recommend African Padauk, or harder. You can get the skin at Mid-east . com

[fiddlefella]

I had done a *tiny* bit of wood stuff before then (made a small table and a failed oldtime banjo), but I really didn't have much of any carpentry skills before then. I just took it slow and was as careful as I could be.

Also, there is this video of somebody making a nagauta shamisen, which I watched. Mimicking the guy in the video helped a lot.

[stormbringer444]

Maybe this is an asinine question, but is that a violin reamer or a cello reamer you used? I've never actually been close enough to either instrument to see how small or large their pegs really are, and the nearest instrument shop to me is about an hour away.

[fiddlefella]

It's a violin reamer though I ream it to the very edge which makes it larger than violin pegs.

w w w . stewmac . c o m/shop/Tools/Reamers/Peghole_R­eamers . html

(be sure to take out the spaces)

[Hikikomori013]

If you do a web search for "Cookie Tin Banjo" there's a do it yourself project that starts by making a reamer and matching peg turner out of a broken pair of scissors and a block of wood.

If you plan to do a series of instruments, buying professional tools would really pay off; but for just one, these would make the process so much easier.

[Anim8edDeath]

how exactly did you learn carpentry to make a shamisen like that?

[xMASdestructionx]

Silk, nylon, or gut.

[seamonkeywater]

whoa all that takes a skilled hand for that lil piece.

[sylle999]

what jind of strings do it use ?

[stormbringer444]

Ahh, maybe it wasn't such a dumb question then. Thank you very much for the info and the link.