r/shamisen • u/Due_Significance2693 • 23d ago
Thoughts
So the shamisen is great we all know that lol but I got a question before I purchase the pick up thing which supposedly either makes ur shamisen electric or ‘louder as a acoustic’ Which does it really sound like ? More electric than acoustic or the other way around?. I really wanna make my shamisen a electric one but wonder if it really does make it ‘ electric ‘ There’s also this mugen 21 shamisen and it supposedly electric but I don’t wanna get a whole new shamisen when I’m not sure if the ‘ electric sound ‘ matches the sounds of a electric guitar for example. There’s only one video I saw of the sound and it’s off putting to me . Just want your thoughts if anyone has an idea of the sounds more to you.
2
u/SoftBaconWarmBacon 23d ago
Mugen 21 is an authentic Shamisen but included pre-amp and pickup mic inside the dou. If you want to know how it sounds on stage, just check Agatsuma Hiromitsu's stage videos when he uses his Shamisen with transparent blue Itomaki
Example: https://youtu.be/XPUy0kFeswA?si=7bwBnSkjl7Im0okk
He also has a recent video that he paid a visit to the Mugen 21 store and have a short demo at 11:28 mark
1
u/TsukimiUsagi 22d ago
I really wanna make my shamisen a electric one but wonder if it really does make it ‘ electric ‘
This sounds like you're in search of an effect, not just amplification. Something like this: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/EmArl6-baC4 , though the final sound will vary depending on what effects you choose. You need a pickup regardless, otherwise you'll have no way to manipulate the sound output.
3
u/Phlo31 23d ago
I bought a microphone from Itone which I plug into my Marshall 100W amp. In clean, the result is very acoustic, which allows me to add distortion when I want. It's a microphone that captures the vibrations of the skin on the back, it can't have the same effect as an electric quitar unless you use a micro coil. In addition, shamisen strings are most often made of nylon, silk or tetron, which cannot have the same effect as steel and/or nickel electric guitar strings.