Dear Daniel, Not simplistic at all, it's a good question. We did worry about exactly that but in practice it seems that the long gut strings, once their initial stretch has been taken up over the usual few days, go back into stable tune fairly quickly after a few hours on the plane. I don't think it would work with nylon or nylgut. The instrument is kept in its long form for most of the time and only "folded" for travelling.
And David, How interesting! I had never heard of these folding shamisen; it just shows there's nothing new under the sun! Best wishes, David At 08:44 -0400 26/6/07, Daniel Shoskes wrote: >Perhaps an overly simplistic question, but how difficult is it to >get an unfolded instrument into reliable tune? We all have the >experience of a peg loosening in an unattended case and then having >to deal with that string going out of tune between pieces for the >next day or so. Isn't an unfolded instrument almost as bad as having >a completely fresh set of strings? Perhaps continuo fliers always >get to the gig well ahead of time for days of rehearsal, but it >would seem to be a difficult proposition if the gig was the same >evening. > >DS > >On Jun 26, 2007, at 8:34 AM, LGS-Europe wrote: > >>Japanese shamisen (three string banjo-type instruments) can be taken apart >>in a similar fashion. The neck has two joints that slide into eachother. The >>body also slides over one of the neck parts, so it can be taken apart >>completely, put into a box and carried by a geisha from one appointment in a >>teahouse to the next. My shamisen is over 50 years old, and the joints still >>fit perfectly. I can put the middle part of the neck two ways, even, without >>feeling the joint. I can see the joint, though, as the parts are made of >>different pieces of wood. The joint shows hairlines exactly at fifth and >>seventh 'fret' positions, a very convenient visual aid, as a shamisen >>doesn't have frets. Just likes David van Edwards' foldable theorbo, the >>strings are kept at bridge and pegs for greater convenience and longevity. >> >>David >> -- The Smokehouse, 6 Whitwell Road, Norwich, NR1 4HB England. Telephone: + 44 (0)1603 629899 Website: http://www.vanedwards.co.uk To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
