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SUGI Basses- Anyone (else) play or try one?
- Thread starter B-line
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Little bit more info about Makoto "Nick" Sugimoto here!
My response from "Nick" his own self was quick and polite, very typical of Japanese bulders and culture in general. (I've had the same quick and gracious replies from "Johnny" K. Motohashi at Atelier Z &
"Harry" Totani from Harry's Engineering (Dragonfly basses). That's how they roll.
In Japan,after you ask to try an instrument, the salesperson takes it from the wall, tunes it and carefully wipes it down before handing it over- When you're done, he or she also inspects and cleans the axe before putting it back in place. Not exactly GC by an means!
Little bit more info about Makoto "Nick" Sugimoto here!
My response from "Nick" his own self was quick and polite, very typical of Japanese bulders and culture in general. (I've had the same quick and gracious replies from "Johnny" K. Motohashi at Atelier Z &
"Harry" Totani from Harry's Engineering (Dragonfly basses). That's how they roll.
In Japan,after you ask to try an instrument, the salesperson takes it from the wall, tunes it and carefully wipes it down before handing it over- When you're done, he or she also inspects and cleans the axe before putting it back in place. Not exactly GC by an means!
In Japan,after you ask to try an instrument, the salesperson takes it from the wall, tunes it and carefully wipes it down before handing it over- When you're done, he or she also inspects and cleans the axe before putting it back in place. Not exactly GC by an means!
Yes, I too experienced this.
I like that a lot!
Wow. Some extremely GAS-inducing basses, there. The craftsmanship is nothing but exquisite. These basses just ooze quality.
It's very dignified and cultural; a reverence for the instrument(s)...
BUT: I confess...
By the 3rd or 4th day of visiting shops and going thru that regimen tho, I began to get ...impatient.
So much to see that we here in the USA never get to play- Crews Maniac, STR, Bacchus, Sago, Sonic, Psychderhythm, and many many more.
So when the salesperson started this hand-over procedure, well, I kinda lost it and said-
"PLEASE! Just give me the bass... I KNOW what to do!!!"
My bad.
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I have one. Dont know what it is. Supposedly it is some anniversary or limited model Night Breeze. The humbucker pickups are probably made by Gotoh, if you can believe it.
Mr Sugimoto is a good friend to J.W. Black and I believe he oversees the J.W. Black Japan series guitars.
In case people dont know about J.W. Black, he is a former Fender custom shop master and one of the two pioneers in relic effects on guitars . I actually own a made in the USA J.W. Black Strat. Cost me a bundle, but even an absolute beginner in electric guitars can tell the tone difference between an expensive strat and an expensive JW Black. The JW Black is on another level. Every part is calculated and chosen correctly. You get a strat made by him, you will not need any more strats. It`s the final answer.
Anyway Sugi makes nice guitars. I might buy another Night Breeze in the future.
Mr Sugimoto is a good friend to J.W. Black and I believe he oversees the J.W. Black Japan series guitars.
In case people dont know about J.W. Black, he is a former Fender custom shop master and one of the two pioneers in relic effects on guitars . I actually own a made in the USA J.W. Black Strat. Cost me a bundle, but even an absolute beginner in electric guitars can tell the tone difference between an expensive strat and an expensive JW Black. The JW Black is on another level. Every part is calculated and chosen correctly. You get a strat made by him, you will not need any more strats. It`s the final answer.
Anyway Sugi makes nice guitars. I might buy another Night Breeze in the future.
Interesting post from the JW Black website:
Guitar Build Inquiries 2018
Currently,I am a small shop, a one person operation and do a limited number of guitars per year . Unfortunately, my guitars are all pre sold to my friend in Japan and only sold, licensed and warrantied in Japan ,
I do not sell in the USA marketplace, European or elsewhere, only Japan.
I am sorry I am not making anything available outside of my Japan commitments, my relationship is very important for me with my friend in Japan.
I've seen examples of JW Black basses for sale in Japan, and found this interview with his associate:
J.W.Black Guitars メーカーに問う!!
They (JW Black) are among the finest examples of Fender basses.
I can easily understand an affiliation with "Nick" Sugimoto- All the Master Builders: Suhr, Sadowsky, Anderson, etc usually hang at some point.
Also, I see here: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
that Sugi outsources and specs their pups. Makes sense- they are primarily dealing with the woods, fine assembly, and finishing rather than winding electronics!
The "Sugi Original Single-coil Pick-ups" they use sound GREAT, and as is very standard in high-end Japanese builds- have wood covers.
I think the straplocks also make a decent intelligence test. I failed, naturally. Does anyone else use that type? I hadn't seen those before.
I do love the pickups. I was surprised at how expressive the instrument is.
Man, now I'm really thinking about a 5-string again. Anyone know of any deals?
I love this one.
Sugi NB5E MAQM/ASH -BRP- 【S/N,180048】 | G'CLUB
Would go nicely with my Lakland tetsuya (my main bass).
I do love the pickups. I was surprised at how expressive the instrument is.
Man, now I'm really thinking about a 5-string again. Anyone know of any deals?
I love this one.
Sugi NB5E MAQM/ASH -BRP- 【S/N,180048】 | G'CLUB
Would go nicely with my Lakland tetsuya (my main bass).
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How about one in Blue as a companion to Red?
I give up! They're all awesome.
My straplocks have not even left the plastic zip-loc bag they came in!
And whatever they do as far as winding the pick-ups, I'm down with it. They sound rich, full, and surprisingly powerful for a passive bass.
Yes Free Sugis for all!
(With an administrative/processing fee of between $3-10K depending on model)
I played a J.W. Black bass a month ago. I would have gotten one if they were in 5 string but obviously, Mr Black is an old school guy and makes them only in 4 string. It's quite an instrument. Vintage type in his interpretation. It's something like an Alleva. He only makes 5 or so guitars a month so trying to find one is pretty difficult. Considering that when he was working at Fender, his guitars were easily 2X the current price, J.W.Black guitars are a bargain. The only problem is trying to find one outside of Japan and even in Japan, they get sold very quickly.
Anyway Sugi's are great. I put them up there with Fodera customs. Quite a lot cheaper than Foderas but with the same quality.
Also Sugi specializes in passive bass. Once in a while an active with OBP or Darkglass comes up for sale but as far as I can remember, they are passive. That said, as a passive guitar, I think they are one of the best in the world.
Anyway Sugi's are great. I put them up there with Fodera customs. Quite a lot cheaper than Foderas but with the same quality.
Also Sugi specializes in passive bass. Once in a while an active with OBP or Darkglass comes up for sale but as far as I can remember, they are passive. That said, as a passive guitar, I think they are one of the best in the world.
Sugi built the older GW models? I did not know this, I always assumed it was Fujigen. Does it have the F-starting serial number, or something else?
To my best knowledge, the Prestige series has always been built by Fujigen-Gakki / Team J.Craft (which I suspect are the same people) - at least for the most part. It might be that for some special models they of course could have outsourced the work to Sugi. If anyone has any better knowledge, please share
That is fantastic. I had no idea Sugi were involved in making these. I had long considered the Japanese GWB to be a true 'unicorn' bass. The pricetag alone and the relatively niche appeal of the instrument suggested to me there would be few made and that has bore out in the years since the GWB became an exclusively Japanese model. It looks amazing, treasure it!
I would like to buy back my Fretless, which I sold when we had some large bills that came out of nowhere a year or two back. It’s still at the store I sold to. Hope to save up to it, since in the intervening years I bought a house and added boy #2 to our family (not much me-money). Ebony fretboard, Koa Top, African Mahogany back, set neck, quasi-hollow body. Sounded great, easy to play, super lightweight.
From those 3 GWB - GWB35 is made in Korea, and BWB205 and 1005 in Japan, but i don't know if Sugi mades 205.
I don't know about previos GW series, but GWB1005 is made by Sugi.Sugi built the older GW models? I did not know this, I always assumed it was Fujigen. Does it have the F-starting serial number, or something else?
To my best knowledge, the Prestige series has always been built by Fujigen-Gakki / Team J.Craft (which I suspect are the same people) - at least for the most part. It might be that for some special models they of course could have outsourced the work to Sugi. If anyone has any better knowledge, please share
Sugi built the older GW models? I did not know this, I always assumed it was Fujigen. Does it have the F-starting serial number, or something else?
To my best knowledge, the Prestige series has always been built by Fujigen-Gakki / Team J.Craft (which I suspect are the same people) - at least for the most part. It might be that for some special models they of course could have outsourced the work to Sugi. If anyone has any better knowledge, please share
Seems to me:
(From Sugi's "About Us" link concerning Mr. Sgimoto
" he established the “Fujigen Custom Shop”. He has been the General Director of Fujigen Custom Shop for the last five years.
So its very apparent that Ibanez Prestige basses and the Sugi "Nightbreeze" model are fraternal twins:
"Nick" Sugimoto's footprint is all over the Ibby's. Now whether the actual builders/crafters were at Fujigen or Sugi's shop, IDK.
The SR Prestige I owned was a superb bass, active w/ Bartolini pups. My Nightbteeze is passive, like all of Sugi's basses, with the rare exception of a few with a pre-amp.
