DrGonzo
Yoh.. just heard the sound of a Koto (bass) in this song: Steven Wilson - Insurgentes. and nearly popped = give it a listen.
Which re-affirms that Japenese Instruments are my favourite ethnic sound.
has anyone every come across one locally? Where would one get a hold of such a thing?
Jack-Flash-Jr
Owned one while living in Japan - they're awesome to play (and get some very non-traditional slide sounds out of simply by bending). I bought it from China and it got shipped to me... the cost of getting it to SA was simply not possible though (at the time anyway), they're very big. Never seen one here but you might be able to get something online...
Edit: you can always try contact the embassy. The cultural desk might have pointers, thing is the Japanese ones will be super HQ and super expensive too hence China suggestion (which could be dodgy).
DrGonzo
Shot Jack! thats great idea, speak to the jap embassy.
damn cool sounding instrument.. I use the sampled one in kontatk quite a bit, although not nearly as cool as playing a real one i imagine.