Where to Buy A Shamisen?

the.ronin

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I was hanging out in Little Tokyo near downtown Los Angeles over the weekend and was lucky to listen to a duo playing shamisen. Just WOW. I mean, I thought it sounded good in Kubo & The Two Strings lol.

I really would like to have one now. Unfortunately, it's turning out to be a rather difficult instrument to find in my area much less the U.S. I was wondering if anyone knows of stores in the greater Los Angeles area that carries them? I do my best to avoid buying instruments site unseen but if that's the only way, that is fine. But then the problem is that these instruments also do not come cheap. A beginner shamisen is $400 without any gear and before shipping (Bachido store run by an American in Japan). There's always fleaBay but even then I'm looking at $500-$600 for what I think are legitimate instruments and these are used.

Having worked in Torrance where there is a huge Japanese community, I was surprised to find nothing on the internet as far as stores or otherwise. Also tried the Japanese cultural center in downtown LA. I may just contact the duo themselves (have their business card) to ask.

I know the Okinawa instrument is called a Sanshin and I believe is tuned differently. I think I'd like to stick with a Shamisen for now.

Any advice greatly appreciated.
 
Try McCabe's in Santa Monica. They have a one day workshop scheduled for July 9. So, I think they either sell them or could tell you where to buy one.
 
rance, thank you for the heads up!

I just talked to them and they do not carry anything related to shamisen, but it is great to know they have a workshop! I may very well attend the next one coming up in July.
 
You might try contacting Japan Foundation Los Angeles - they do a lot of arts and culture events and would probably be able to point you in the right direction. Another lead might be Bunka-do - as far as I know they don't sell instruments, but they've been around forever and are well connected in the Japanese music community.

And you should check out the McCabe's workshop! I spend a lot of time there and while I haven't done the workshop, I've heard rave reviews of it, and I'm sure the workshop people can point you toward a shamisen dealer.
 
Thanks everyone. I got very lucky and found a one off used one off ebay from a great seller in Hawaii.

Yes, Amazon sells them as well as sellers on ebay but most if not all are from Japan. I don't mind that but obviously shipping from Hawaii was much better - got it in a few days. Also, I would caution against some of those items. For starters, many are sanshin and not shamisen. Many also have ripped skins which often times are more expensive to repair than getting a new instrument.

I'm very happy with the shamisen so far. It's quite different from the guitar and ukulele. There is a small but active community on the internet too.
 
I just ordered one from a woman who makes them in Thailand! Have you found any way to learn how to play it?
 
LOL, was just going to say that they pop up on ebay once in a while.


Thanks everyone. I got very lucky and found a one off used one off ebay from a great seller in Hawaii.

Yes, Amazon sells them as well as sellers on ebay but most if not all are from Japan. I don't mind that but obviously shipping from Hawaii was much better - got it in a few days. Also, I would caution against some of those items. For starters, many are sanshin and not shamisen. Many also have ripped skins which often times are more expensive to repair than getting a new instrument.

I'm very happy with the shamisen so far. It's quite different from the guitar and ukulele. There is a small but active community on the internet too.
 
I was hanging out in Little Tokyo near downtown Los Angeles over the weekend and was lucky to listen to a duo playing shamisen. Just WOW. I mean, I thought it sounded good in Kubo & The Two Strings lol.

I really would like to have one now. Unfortunately, it's turning out to be a rather difficult instrument to find in my area much less the U.S. I was wondering if anyone knows of stores in the greater Los Angeles area that carries them? I do my best to avoid buying instruments site unseen but if that's the only way, that is fine. But then the problem is that these instruments also do not come cheap. A beginner shamisen is $400 without any gear and before shipping (Bachido store run by an American in Japan). There's always fleaBay but even then I'm looking at $500-$600 for what I think are legitimate instruments and these are used.

Having worked in Torrance where there is a huge Japanese community, I was surprised to find nothing on the internet as far as stores or otherwise. Also tried the Japanese cultural center in downtown LA. I may just contact the duo themselves (have their business card) to ask.

I know the Okinawa instrument is called a Sanshin and I believe is tuned differently. I think I'd like to stick with a Shamisen for now.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

Hey Ronin,

Friend Shirley Kazuyo Muramoto sent me this text:

Try Kyle Abbott at http://www.bachido.com Kyle even makes shamisen. He is based in Santa Cruz. I don't know who would sell shamisen in the SoCal area. Can you try contacting a minyo group, like Minyo Station? Maybe they know...http://www.minyostation.com/
 
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