by Saiichi Sugiyama.

Saiichi Sugiyama

I was first introduced to vintage guitars in 1973 by columns written by Tomiaki “Tommy” Hidaka (1950-1986), the singer-songwriter-guitarist of a Japanese band, Garo. They were heavily influenced by the British and American rock of the late '60s and were a well-respected young band in the budding Tokyo rock scene of the time, until they had a major chart success with a pop song written by a M.O.R writer. They then became a nationwide celebrity for a little while before breaking up.

It was a B side of their second pop hit that caught my 13-year-old ears, which had what I now know as the Les Paul sound played by Tommy. I had to find out more about this first long-haired bohemian looking band to have a chart success in the then very conservative Japan playing Martin D-45s on the Japanese TV. So, I gathered up the courage to subscribe to their fanzine published by frightening-looking older girls.

The fanzine was mostly about food and colours they liked and where they shopped for clothes. But, within the pages, I found a column written by Tommy about “old guitars” that he was collecting, including a '58 Les Paul Standard, a '54 maple neck Stratocaster, as well as some talk about guitarists Eric Clapton and Paul Kossoff. The article included some hand drawings he'd done of the guitars. It opened up a whole new world for me. I found myself buying the LP records he'd recommended and from there I discovered the world of blues.

I became friends with Tommy and ended up offering him my spare ticket to the 1976 Neil Young concert at the Budokan. Once I told him that I was ready to buy my first electric guitar, he enthusiastically joined me and suggested we meet at his favorite guitar shop.

I was worried if I could stretch my finances enough to buy a Les Paul Deluxe with mini-humbackers or a Custom. At that point, the “re-issue” Les Paul Standard – a Deluxe with large humbackers - hadn't reached the guitar market in Japan. Tommy told me to buy a 1961 SG Junior (with the LP decal on the headstock) instead and that became my first electric guitar. I've never looked back since then.

I told you about all this because it was Tommy who worked with Tokai to produce the vintage replicas in the following year, 1977. He was the first and the only Japanese musician in the '70s to play a 1958 sunburst Les Paul and a 1954 Stratocaster on stage and along with Mac Yasuda. Mac also ran a language school in Kobe and had a guitar shop “Mac’s Guitar Gallery” that spread the gospel of vintage electric guitars. For Tommy, it was the sound of the vintage guitars that mattered and he was looking for ways to re-create that sound.

He first commissioned his luthier, Mr Koyama of Chakki ,to produce a replica of his 1958 Les Paul, using the best tonewood that the violinmaker had in stock and 'some genuine '50s Gibson parts. He kept that guitar for the rest of his life and I had the honor and privilege of inheriting that guitar. It is a remarkable guitar.

He then went on to collaborate with Tokai near Nagoya for a project of making exact replicas of his Les Paul and Strat around 1977. Tokai took precise measurements of Tommy’s guitars and discussed the wood and parts with him. I went to see Tokai’s factory on Tommy’s introduction.

The Tokai people were bit befuddled to have an 18 year old on their doorstep who wanted to check out their trade secret computer controlled router in operation. But, they were very kind to show me around. I remember seeing beautiful flame tops being shaped by a huge computer controlled woodcutter.

I just now realised that there I was, standing on a factory floor filled with the beautiful smell of tonewood in the Japanese countryside in 1978, seeing the future. Other Japanese guitar makers followed suit and in 1982 Fender opened up its line of Japanese Fender guitars. Today, the ultimate replicas of those early vintage guitars are made by US companies, bearing the names of Gibson and Fender.