Famous guitars of legendary musicians.
Rock music has always been associated with guitars, and almost every unit includes the sound of these instruments into its compositions. It is often the talent and the skill of a guitarist that creates the unique and recognizable sound of a band, and J-rock is no exception. Starting from the first albums of Loudness, BUCK-TICK, X JAPAN or D'ERLANGER up till now, the guitarists are responsible for the musical part of songs, thus attracting many new fans with their skills. It's quite natural that guitar producers are guided by the famous guitarists' needs.
In late 60's and early 70's, the practice of 'endorsement' in the US appeared - it's an agreement under which guitar producers supply guitarists with instruments of the required type and construction, but reserve the right to use the ideas given by the guitarist and implement those ideas in the instrument in their serial production. A guitarist in this case became the endorser of the company. In order to get such a title, the musician has to be either popular or skillful/talented, both together, of course, being even better. A successful artist can apply for royalties, but that depends on his popularity and skills.
The practice of endorsement was especially widespread in the early 80's when Japanese company Ibanez began to recruit many famous guitarist, then offer its general customers the exact replicas of the instruments. On one hand, it attracted many new buyers, and on the other, the intensive cooperation with musicians helped them to introduce lots of improvements, which again reflected positively in the company's sales. Such policy has made Ibanez one of the market leaders for the last 30 years. Unfortunately, marketing directors of the company focused on the global market so much that they practically ignored the domestic one. It has its own logic - if you have the world's greatest guitarists amongst your endorsers, you don't have to put much effort in promoting within your own country. That's why the Japanese market became the battlefield between Fernandes and ESP; both companies are successfully represented in the whole world. Amongst ESP endorsers are many famous musicians, but Fernandes offers a unique technology of the sustainer. Speaking of Japanese artists, Fernandes has its own advantages. The number of its endorsers are not that many, but amongst them is one of the most renown guitarists.
Fernandes
In the beginning, it is also worth mentioning that the company also owns the brand 'Burny,' under which they produce guitar replicas of other companies.
The most successful collaboration for the company was with X JAPAN. Their representative in the guitar world became hide. He actively cooperated with the company and didn't only confine himself to buying the instruments, but also strove for serial production of his guitars. The great guitarist, talented musician and unbelievably popular person in Japan became the creator of one of the most popular guitar models in the country. Even now, the Fernandes catalog lists an impressive range of his endorsement models. hide paid particular attention to the production of his guitars, playing every model associated with his name. Even when buying the cheapest model of his guitar, you can be sure that he played the same one, testing its quality and its proper sound.
Now, the best and the most expensive guitar in his name is the Burny MG-340X CS. The red and yellow guitar has a sustainer and is one of hide's most used instruments during 1996-1997. Some cheaper guitars include the Burny MG-145X CS, Burny MG-145X LD, and Burny MG-145X HY models. They're united by the same construction and also have a sustainer. The difference is only in their color: MG-145X CS copies the color of the older model MG-340X CS, MG-145X LD has kept the natural wooden color and Burny MG-145X HY is his legendary 'Yellow hearts' - the yellow guitar covered with hearts. Since the late 80's, the catalog holds MG-145X, the guitar of unusual flower print, which became the symbol of the band. During the long period of its production, it was subject to various changes, and the last specification was approved in 1997; since that time, the only thing to change about the guitar is its price. Now it costs about 145,000 yen. To end the list of hide guitars, one should mention the Burny MG-105X CS, Fernandes MG-100X BLK and Fernandes MG-85C CN models. Burny MG-105X CS kept the color of the older model but lost the sustainer and got cheaper pickups. MG-100X BLK is all black and was often used by hide between 1993-95. Last comes the Fernandes MG-85C CN, a semi-transparent guitar with one pickup which is produced in black and green.
Amongst other Fernandes endorsers are two of the most influential Japanese guitarists whose skills are acknowledged not only in their native country, but abroad as well. First is Ichiro Takigawa, known as Cipher, a member of legendary D’ERLANGER. It's hard to name all the guitarists, Japanese and otherwise, who consider him as the musician that influenced them the most. His collaboration with Fernandes began back in the late 80's when his guitars from time to time appeared in their catalog. It's worth mentioning that Fernandes got interested in him when he was only 15, when D’ERLANGER was still an unknown up and coming band. Unlike hide, he never sought to enlarge the list of his guitars, and as a rule, his once-present guitar in a period of time was the one used for serial production. Currently it's the Fernandes TE-380C, a specific type of telecaster completed with two EMG pickups. An unusual violet color, pointed headstock and unique sound make the guitar one of the most interesting in the Fernandes catalog.
There is no need to introduce Tomoyasu Hotei. He is the most renown Japanese guitarist. His musical career started in the popular 80's band BOOWY, and then he had an incredibly successful solo career. He is widely known outside Japan; his songs appear in the soundtracks of popular Hollywood movies ("Kill Bill," for example), but in the world of music, he's famous for his participation in the omnibus Merry Axemas - A Guitar Christmas, released in 1997. It was a Christmas present for all connoisseurs of guitar art and guitarists of standing reputation such as Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, Jeff Beck, Steve Morse participated in its recording. In the Fernandes catalog, both of his guitars - TE-380HT BL-SW and TE-115HT BL-SW - are represented. They are both based on telecaster and differ from each other by the pickups and the wood species. They have the same black and white print, which is a characteristic feature of his guitars. They have been produced since the mid 80's and have since undergone several changes, but their appearances have remained the same.
L’Arc~en~Ciel's ken is also one of Fernandes' endorsers. One of the most outstanding guitarists in Japan, he is famous for his expressive performances and love for classical models of guitars. Their cooperation began in the first half of the 90's and helped the company to improve Stratocaster based guitars. Like hide, ken also likes to have a vast representation of his guitars in the catalog. He also thoroughly controls the mass produced guitars, copied in full among his own instruments. As of now they list 3 of his guitars in the catalog - LD-105kk, LD-115kk and LA-115kk. The first two are Stratocaster replicas, constructed in accordance with his desires. Those guitars are popular amongst many guitarists thanks to their design and perfect sound. The bright red LA-115kk is one of the most interesting in the company's catalog. It is designed for aggressive sound and fast performance, which is highlighted by the catchy appearance.
BUCK-TICK began to work with Fernandes in the beginning of 90's. This cooperation brought lots of radical ideas in design and sound of the instruments to Fernandes. Hisashi Imai's aspiration to search for new sound helped the company to create original instruments. There are now two of his guitars in serial production. BT-120MM is his legendary instrument, the exact replica of his current guitar. Its unusual design and clean bright sound make it very attractive to the customers. There's also Stabilizer, a guitar of radical design equipped with a sustainer. There are golden and silver colored models in the catalog. The main guitar of Hidehiko Hoshino is released under the Burny brand and is named LG-85BT. It's a silver instrument in the form of the classical LesPaul guitar. It comes with the pickups produced in accordance to the musician's desires.
Janne da Arc bassist ka-yu also signed up for Fernandes endorsement. Under the Burny brand, they produced two of his bass guitars, KRS-Truth SLS and KAB-Liar SPK. He is the only Japanese bass player whose instruments are in the catalog at the moment. The band's guitarist, you, is also with the company. It was an undoubtedly happy decision to hire him for endorsement. He is quite famous among virtuoso artists. The catalog currenly contains his JDA-115Y guitar.
