The guitar formerly known as Yamaha SG800 serial number 070904
Matsuda No.145A
DIY :
When I come across custom cars and motorcycles on streets, I can’t help looking at them, especially eccentric ones. Some cars with their big engines sticking out from the hood. Some motorcycles don’t look comfortable to ride at all. Though they may not achieve balanced functionality well, they have an irresistible attractiveness to them. Their charms are beyond practicality. It seems to me that they can obtain their charms from free minded pragmatic actions that are fostered by DIY culture in the US, which is making great contrast to industrial product designs based on sophistication and integration. Here I am. I want to make something with the same charm. I want to make something like a “hot rod”.
Identity:
Identity can change, make layers, break, and be reconstructed in this project. It is not something with an essential core inside, it is fluid and a container of everything.
Yamaha SG :
It is probably the most important element in this project. Because It is the guitar I dreamed of having, even though I could not afford it when I just started playing guitar in high school. Now I get a chance to have it to make something special with it. It means a lot to me.
About the guitar finish:
This compelling hazy orange red finish is done by Addam Stark at Addam Stark Guitars. And this is the color I saw in the sky on September 9th, 2020, when I woke up.
On that day, the SF Bay Area where I live was covered by hazy red orange air which was a result of multiple wildfires around northern California. It was unreal. I felt as if I was on an alien red planet in a sci-fi movie. It had an almost apocalyptic feel.
In this project, I wanted the same color I saw that day reflected on the guitar top. With his artistic expression, Addam did an amazing job simulating my experience through his guitar finish.
Climate is changing. Drought and heat waves are getting severe. Rain storms are getting intense. – my neighborhood including my shop flooded twice in 2023.
This hazy orange red on the guitar is a reminder for me what happened in my neighborhood. It is the color for warning.
