- Yokoyama Guitars -

Yokoyama Guitars is a culmination of the personal sensitivities of Yokoyama himself and his well-honed skills. Through long trial and error experience in selecting materials, coming up with designs and pursuing a certain sound, he gives meticulous attention to the crafting of each guitar. This is where his skills come in for working with natural materials and fully drawing out their unique potentials.

In terms of design, there is no mass production of identically designed guitars; Yokoyama applies himself anew to the decoration of each individual instrument. That’s the attraction of hand-crafted acoustic guitars.

The main specifications of Yokoyama Guitars.

【Body】
I offer both auditorium size round cutaway models and non-cutaway models. Select according to your playing style and performance style.

【Top】
The top material is crucial in determining the direction of the sound. At Yokoyama Guitars, in addition to the long natural drying and forced drying, and then the process of returning an appropriate amount of water, I complete the process by checking the quality with my own eyes and ears. Currently, I mainly use the following woods:

Sitka Spruce, Engleman Spruce, German Spruce, Red Cedar
(For other woods, please enquire.)

【Bracing】
I use Original W Lattice, Original Lattice and Modified-X patterns for the bracings. These are selected specially for each guitar. I use very carefully selected straight grain wood.

【Back and Side Woods】
The wood-type has a huge effect on the sound quality and depth of acoustic guitars. Just as with the top wood, the back and side woods require a long period of time for seasoning. The drying process is laborious and needs time, but done thoroughly this leads to few distortions after completion and a level of precision that will allow you to enjoy your instrument for a long time.
Currently I mainly use the woods below, but I am flexible; I continually try to find materials that give a good sound. I expect to have a broad range of possible woods.

Indian Rosewood, Brazilian Rosewood, Mahogany, Hawaiian Koa, Camatillo, Ziricote, Lacewood, Zebrawood, Bocote etc.
(Please enquire about other woods.)

【Back】
I use a gentle arch for the back. I have found that this gives the best sound quality without placing extreme stress on the wood.

【Head】
Yokoyama Guitars' trademark head with its characteristic shape is well-known. I design my guitars so as to reduce the stress between the nut and the peg posts. The heads come in a variety of styles, with standard woodbinding and Spolted Maple, Rosewood, etc. on the front plate. In the case of Spolted Maple in particular, I make the most of the natural design of the wood so that no two designs are ever alike.

【Pegs, Nut, Saddle】
I use Goto pegs (GOTOH SGL510Z) for stable tuning. For the nut and saddle, Vintage Bone is standard. (Please enquire about other components that you require.)

【Neck】
I use a Mahogany one-piece neck or a Honduras Mahogany two-piece neck. Both have their merits. Selection depends on the rest of the guitar.

【Heels】
After much trial and error, I offer 3 types of heel which address the issues of balance of strength, enhanced playability, etc.

・Asymmetrical Non Stepped Heel
　This omits the difference in level to the body.

・Asymmetrical Stepped Hee
　This has a cut on the side of the first string.

・Standard Heel
　The orthodox style.

【Fingerboard end】
I offer both the orthodox style and original designs. The “2-step wave” is made by cutting the higher frets to match the curve of the high fret part. This gives a three-dimensional unique design by creating a difference in height on the fingerboard.
While being a simple design, it is a shape full of originality. The recently added “Non step wave” is a design for players wanting to use higher frets on the side of the lower strings. This gives an appearance similar to that of the 2-step but all the frets are playable.

　･Standard(Orthodox flat style)
　･2 step wave style
　･Non step wave style

【Rosette】
I use Spolted Maple, Koa, Rosewood, etc. to give a distinctively individual and natural design to the rosette. The pickguard designs are wood inlaid through a high-precision process.

　 Possible woods:
　　･Spolted Maple
　　･Indian Rosewood
　　･Hawaiian Koa
　　･Chestnut
　　･Brazilian Rosewood
　　･etc

(Abalone inlays and ornamental lines are also possible.)